Should I repair or replace my furnace?

Answer three safety questions, set your furnace’s age and repair quote, and see where it lands between repair and replace, with the $5,000 rule of thumb and ENERGY STAR signs.

This tool applies rules of thumb and published guidance. It is not a professional inspection. If you smell gas or your CO alarm sounds, leave the home and call 911. Repair and replacement prices are published estimates, not quotes. NeighborFix Guide is a free referral service, not a heating contractor.

About this tool

Answer the three safety questions first, then set your furnace’s age and the repair quote. The gauge shows where it lands between repair and replace, and why.

How it works

Safety first

If you answer yes to any safety question, the tool shows what to do right away. For a gas smell, fire department guidance is to get everyone out, not to touch switches or use a phone or flashlight inside, and to call 911 and the gas company from outside or a neighbor’s house. For a carbon monoxide alarm, the CDC says to leave right away and call 911. A yellow or flickering flame means the furnace isn’t burning right and could be giving off harmful fumes, so it needs a technician before you use it again.

The $5,000 rule

Multiply the furnace’s age in years by the repair quote in dollars. Over $5,000 points toward replacing; under points toward repairing. It is an industry rule of thumb, not a standard, and replacement prices have risen, so results near $5,000 are a toss-up. The tool shows the math so you can check it.

The gauge

The needle starts at age × quote ÷ $10,000, so exactly $5,000 sits in the middle (with no quote it starts at 0.3 of the way). Each of these moves it a tenth further toward replace:

  • older than 15 years, the point where ENERGY STAR suggests considering a replacement, and again at 30 years, the top of the 15 to 30 year life the Department of Energy gives furnaces;
  • a repair costing more than half of a typical new furnace on a unit 10 or more years old, which is HomeAdvisor’s 50-percent rule (we use the midpoint of $2,823 to $6,897, or a local range when one is given);
  • each ENERGY STAR sign you tick: frequent repairs, rising bills, rooms that are too hot or too cold, a noisy system;
  • an AFUE of 70% or lower, which the Department of Energy describes as an older, low-efficiency system.

Below 0.45 reads “lean toward repair,” 0.45 to 0.55 “close call” (about $4,500 to $5,500 when nothing else applies), and above that “lean toward replacing.” The weights are our rule of thumb, so the reasons are listed next to the gauge.

Sources

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