Furnace Replacement Services in High River & Okotoks

I often hear people saying that high-efficient furnaces aren’t as good as the old mid or standard-efficiency furnaces.  They say they break down often because there are too many controls in them. Well, there are a lot more controls and parts to today’s furnaces but each one is there for either better efficiency or, more importantly, your safety. The pressure switches and combustion blowers are then to ensure that all the exhaust gases get where they need to go (outside). The gas valve and flame sensor ensure that fuel isn’t being put into the furnace when it is not fired (save from potential explosion). The limits are there to make sure that the furnace doesn’t overheat, which is usually due to a clogged filter.  

On the other side of things, you have parts like a variable-speed blower motor that uses less electricity. There is a secondary heat exchanger that gains you about 10-15% efficiency. It’s the same thing with cars these days. There are more parts for efficiency and safety. But you wouldn’t let your car go without an oil change, would you? The same can be said for high-efficiency furnaces. They should have a maintenance check performed on them once a year. This maintenance check will usually spot and correct any potential issues before the furnace has a chance to fail. So make sure to get those new furnaces maintained yearly and replace those filters and your new hi-efficient furnace should last for many years to come! As always, if you have any questions or need our help, please call G.M. Mechanical at 403-652-1282 or visit www.gmmech.net.

This is a great question when it comes to budgeting for the future. Water heaters typically last 10-15 years when they have soft water supplied to them and are flushed out annually. Not doing any maintenance and letting this area's hard water get at it can reduce the life down to 5-8 years. The softeners themselves have an expiration date as well. For a typical household on town water, they tend to last around 8-10 years before requiring replacement. This can be extended to 12-15 years with maintenance. Next, we have heating appliances. Most people have a furnace in their house. With proper maintenance, a furnace has a lifespan of about 25 years. For those without furnaces, who have boilers, once again with proper maintenance, a boiler should last upwards of 50 years! I often get people saying to me that the older furnaces and water heaters lasted far longer than the new equipment without any maintenance. While the old equipment did last a long time, it was inefficient and not very safe. Newer furnaces and water heaters have safety devices built in to ensure that the carbon dioxide and, more importantly, the carbon monoxide leaves the house instead of becoming a potential threat. If you were reading closely, you noticed the word “maintenance” repeated several times. It’s like going to buy a new car, never changing the oil, tires or brakes and wondering why it breaks down on you. The equipment in your house is no different and requires maintenance as well!