How Efficient is a 20-Year-Old Furnace?

At Gilmore Heating, Air and Plumbing⁣, we love helping our customers navigate their HVAC problems. You can always count on our Gilmore team to give you honest and professional advice. Sacramento homeowners often ask us, “How efficient is my 20-year old furnace?” In this blog, our trusted Sacramento HVAC technicians have put together the information you need to know about the efficiency of your 20-year-old furnace. 

So, How Efficient Is a 20-Year Old Furnace?

Unfortunately, at 20 years, no furnace is running as efficiently as it once was. 

For starters, HVAC repair experts confirm that any furnace that has been in use for 20 years is nearing the end of its lifespan. The components of a 20-year-old furnace suffer a lot of wear and tear over the years. The aging process plays a significant role in lowering the efficiency of the furnace.

Over the last few decades, technology has changed immensely. New technological advancements are being introduced every day, which is why cutting-edge technology two decades ago is obsolete today. Newer furnace designs and components are made to be more efficient and more durable, and these are attributes that are probably lacking in your furnace that has been in service for 20 years.

The U.S. Department of Energy indicates that a 20-year-old furnace wastes at least 22 % of the energy it consumes. In other words, you lose more than 2 dollars from every ten that you spend on heating your home.

Compare that to a new furnace whose AFUE (annual fuel utilization efficiency) rating is 95%, meaning that you only lose half a dollar for every ten dollars’ worth of energy consumed by your furnace. The rest is used to generate heat for your home. These differences add up over time, so a 20-year old furnace that isn’t as efficient as it once was is robbing you of your hard-earned money.

Signs That Your Furnace Is Inefficient

The thing with inefficiency is that it doesn’t happen overnight. Gilmore HVAC professionals say the drop in efficiency is normally a gradual process, so you are unlikely to realize it immediately when it happens. However, several signs suggest that your furnace is becoming inefficient. Here are the most telling signs according to the experienced HVAC repair technicians at Gilmore Heating and Air.

• The gas bill is inexplicably higher than it used to be. Our Sacramento home service experts say that any unusual increase in water or electricity bills is a good indication that something is not right. If you notice that your gas bill is now higher than it’s been in years, the chances are that the furnace is now working twice as hard to provide the same level of heating that it used to deliver.
• The frequency of service calls has increased. If you are finding yourself calling a Folsom HVAC company regularly, then your components are working harder than they should and will continue to break down.
• Hot and cold spots in sections of your home. Uneven heating can also occur in homes with new furnaces, but this is more common in households that have aging furnaces. If you have noticed hot and cold spots in different parts of your home, alongside the other signs mentioned earlier, then it is likely that your furnace is on its last life.