Superior AC & Heat inspected my furnace on Monday and determine that I needed to replace the furnace. Since I was also desiring to add AC to my home, I decided to bundled both projects and get a new furnace and AC Unit together. The team arrive at my home Wednesday morning at 7:45 am; the new furnace was installed by 1:00 pm and they completed the AC Unit, tested it and cleaned up by 4:30 pm. Great work; I highly recommend them.
If your thermostat has a small lever that moves along a calibrated scale that indicates “longer” (not the heat temperature lever), you can try adjusting this—the heat anticipator. Just set it one calibration mark closer to the “longer” setting if the furnace goes off and on too frequently or one mark away if the furnace allows room temperature to rise too high or drop too low before going on or off. It may take several hours for the thermostat to stabilize at this setting, so wait a while and then adjust it again if necessary.
An annual inspection of your unit can ensure that the various potential problems mentioned above are detected early, and before they require complete replacement. During this inspection, for instance, a professional might find small cracks in your heat exchanger or a faulty seal in your blower motor. Some manufacturer's warranties even require these annual inspections to maintain validity. Typically, your furnace inspection will cost between $80 and $150 depending on the area in which you live and the professional you work with.
Even if your air conditioning unit is still working, depending on the type of system in your home today, you could recoup your investment in a new system in as little as three years. However, that doesn't mean that your system needs to be replaced. Furnaces, air conditioners, and other heating and cooling systems have made tremendous gains in efficiency over the past five years, so if you have an older unit, it is worth taking a look at whether or not a repair is the best investment.
A pinging or popping sound coming from the duct work can come from thermal expansion—the ductwork expanding and contracting as it heats and cools. Or, air blowing past a loose flap of metal can make the sound. Track along the duct runs, listening for the sound. If you locate it, make a small dent in the sheet metal to provide a more rigid surface that’s less likely to move as it heats and cools.
Cleaning the debris that builds up on your filters will aid with the flow of air. When your air filter is clogged, your air handler must work harder to compensate for the blockage of air flow. In addition to driving up your utility bill, the reduced air flow through your heating and cooling system can cause your heat exchanger to overheat and shut off too quickly.