Should You Repair or Replace Your Heat Pump?
If you have a choice to replace or repair your heat pump and it’s not an easy choice at all. So for this purpose, we discuss many considerations in the article through which you will choose the correct decision for your house.
Your present heat pump is able to deliver comfort to the house accurately. Once it is not able to deliver comfort then at that point, you have to call your HVAC contractor for the fast fixation.
Suddenly all your plans changed, when you notice that your heating pump needs repair.
If this situation comes then at this point you have to take important decision: replace or repair your heat pump means that you have to make small investment on repairing? Or make big investment for the replacement of present heating pump? How you find which one is best and suitable decision for your house?
We helped many house owners to get the right decision at this situation. But when we consider HVAC we find some white or black issues.
We discuss many factors through which you are able to get right decision to replace or repair a heating pump. At the end of this article, you know each and everything about the options, risks as well as costs are also included.
Is your heating pump still runs even without repair?
“Yes” is the appropriate response of this question. Yet there are numerous dangers when you are not doing maintenance of your heat pump. If your heat pump is running and suddenly you noticed a major drop in the quality of heating and cooling, or it starts making noises or its not working accurately in terms of providing cooling and heating. Also, it takes so much time just to work properly.
The best example is whether you are having an older system and which start making noises more than the previous one. So, this system is not able to run for next five years but if you are doing proper maintenance of the system then it will continue to run for many years. So, it means simple repairing can save your life and your system will run smoothly for next years.
And the bad example is, that something which affect your entire system. So, now simple maintenance of system is not enough for your system because may be you need to change the main component and for this you will face a bill of dollars like $1000.
Let’s say there is a system and its running and monitored frequently, but you can’t notice immediate risk because it will lose the system efficiency and comfortness slowly like in a process. Repairing will be stopped if you want to stop but, I will tell you it will cost you more money in future.
How long is the life of your heating pump?
Each heat pump manufactured in such a way means it’s life cycle ranges from 10-12 years, but it depends on the maintenance quality which the heating pump receives. You should not repair that heating pump which spends more than 12 years and if your heat pump is 15 years old then due to some reasons you have to change your heat pump and purchase a new one.
Basically, a repairing technician performs all types of test on your heating pump, but he is not able to tell that how long it will go. It’s a work of guess.
Unlike furnaces and air conditioners, the heating pump is basically
designed in a way that it will provide you cooling in the summer and heating in the winters just to make you feel comfortable in the house. Since the heating pump completes the task, it will not last for 30 years but furnaces might run smoothly for 30 years.
Will heating pump consume more electricity in case of low efficiency and heating/cooling?
Yes, once your system starts getting older and provides low efficiency and heating/cooling and also you have an option of repairing but still cost you so much money in terms of electricity bills.
Inaccurate size:
Inaccurate size of your heating pump also affect the life span. If your heating pump is so much powerful to or your heating pump is not so much powerful just to provide enough heating/ cooling to your house. So, in this way your system will be impacted. You have to change this heating pump sooner.
Estimate the energy stars:
Over 60% of air conditioning units, according to the Energy Star, are installed with the wrong charge. In the other words, there is a greater than 50% chance that your system had a poor installation or will age more quickly for no reason at all.
Also Read: HVAC system installation process
Replacing or repairing the heating pump? Some important factors are mentioned below:
- What amount of heating/cooling will be diminishing?
- What does the repair cost? $200? or $2000?
- How long the repairing will go? A technician basically recharges the refrigerant and if there is some leakage and technician didn’t notice that leakage then your heating pump will continue to leak and increase your cost and its affects heating/cooling system and on efficiency too.
- How long the system will work efficiently with proper maintenance?
- How long the system will work efficiently with short maintenance?
- What amount of your systems cooling/heating bill increases?
- Is your system making weird noises?
- Did you notice that your level of comfort starts diminishing? Means if you are spending too much time at house and you notice low efficiency and much more.
- By replacing your old furnace, the rate of your house is not increased but this option comes under in the important factor when you are selling your house. If you purchase new furnace and then start selling your house, it will attract more buyer because the new system is already in the house. Is it beneficial for you?
By comparing the system cost of replacement and repairing, many experts suggest replace your heating pump when repairing cost increased by 50% then the replacement cost. But you have to change the older systems which spends more than 12 years and purchase new one. The simple formula is when your repairing cost increase by 1/3 of the cost of replacement, you have to change the system.
Also Read: What is HVAC system and How does it work?
How many years you can pass with your Heating pump?
As your heating pump become older you think that you can use your heating pump more 1 or 2 years. But this option will increase your house bills. So, now your system has become old and might work less efficiently and it’s also possible that there is no any mechanical issue.
Many house owners want their heating pump to works many years as long as you want. But the cost of a new heating pump is not a small investment. Particularly when you weigh the price against your energy costs.
The negative aspect is that there is a difference between 15 to 20 years’ system (more than this) or the modern system based on these two reasons:
Yearly Cost: It results in annual savings of many several hundred dollars. But one thing you have to keep in mind that your old system efficiency won’t even approach a latest new one.
Comfortness: How often do you or your family members in the house? We often hear answers between 60% and 90% of every time. But in the Quarantines of COVID, 100% is the answer for so many houses. In the entire year, everyone can notice the comfort quality differences.
The other important consideration is that equipment’s of HVAC doesn’t become less expensive in coming years. The system which you want to purchase this year will increase the same system price more than 3 to 10 percent in next year.
In this decision variables are also included like your yearly cost or budget and other factor is that how many years you want to stay in the present house.
Efficiency ratings of heat pump:
Only you can decide that more efficient heating pump is beneficial or not for investment. So, lets discuss that how you recognize efficient working heating pump.
Well, heating pump provide you both cooling and heating, basically manufactures suggest two totally different ratings to rate efficiency of heating pump.
So, the more efficient the heating pump will be the more you are able to save money on energy cost in the long term. In result more efficient heating pump provide you more comfort.
- Seasonal Energy efficiency ratio (SEER).
- Heating of seasonal performance factors (HSPF).
These two ratings are calculated by energy consumption means how much energy is used by the heating pump. If both these rating are higher than it means you are using efficient heating pump. But both the ratings are measured differently.
For cooling purpose, efficiency of heating pump is measured by SEER rating. For the calculation of this rating, comparing the air production in the summer season with the total electricity amount which the system consumes in Watt per hours.
A new heating pumps Average rating of SEER is from 13-25. Probably your system which is 15 years old having SEER rating of 10 or less than this rating. Since 23 January 2006 in united states, every system sold must have rating of 13 or more than this SEER rating.
For heating, efficiency of heating pump is measured with the rating of HSPF. It rating from 7.7 to 10 rating of HSPF.
Energy department established that 14 rating of SEER is the minimum efficiency of cooling is allowable for the residential source of air like air splits and heating pump. Standard minimum efficiency of energy is 8.2 rating of HSPF for heating pump.
Total Replacement Cost of heating pump:
Now, you can easily understand that how many factor are involved which affect the replacement cost. What does it ultimately cost?
Cost of installation and heating pumps:
| Entry level heating pump | From $4,900 to $7,100. |
| Middle Range heating pump | From $5,600 to $10,000. |
| High end heating pump | From $6,900 to $12,900. |
The important factor which separate all these tiers is your heating pump is single and two stage or variable capacity. This price range takes into account the price of a product, the maker, the models, labour and other charges. This series also includes systems of heating pump that communicate, as well as a range of system sizes and levels of sophistication.
Well, in these ranges replacement cost of furnace is not included which is necessary for matching the equipment. Variable speed heating pump must have to work with the variable capacity of furnace or air handler.
I must say that investing on the new efficient heating pump than you see a major decrease in the electricity bills. The modern system in the market is basically designed in such way that it will provide you a superior flow of air in summer or winters.
Repairing Vs Replacing the heating pump:
Now you know some risks and how you have to take right decision for you. Here are various you must have to consider like:
- Comfort differences between old and new systems.
- Current Repairing cost of a system.
- System replacement cost.
- Yearly House improvement budget.
- how long you must remain in the existing residence.
- It doesn’t matter that your system is in warranty or not. The system which is in warranty should never ever be replaced, on the other side the system whose warranty is expired than it will be more and more costly for repairing.
If all these considerations are not enough for you then start conversation with trusted HVAC professional to address various issues.
If you want to get complete information, checkout this article where I discuss about HVAC installation and How much does a new furnace replacement cost in 2023
If you want to know how furnace works, then checkout this article here we discuss that how does a furnace work and how it provides heating and cooling in your house.
