Exactly How Long Will Your Home’s Heating and Cooling Appliances Last?

Your home’s heating and cooling needs make up 48% of your total energy use on average. But not only that, the cost of replacing heating, ventilation, and cooling equipment is enough to make many people’s rainy day funds run dry.

So exactly how long can you count on your home’s HVAC equipment to last?

The Average Lifespan of HVAC Equipment
Our Cloquet HVAC contractors have seen just about every type of HVAC emergency you can imagine, and probably a few you can’t. And when you’ve been providing the best local HVAC Cloquet has to offer for more than half a century, you learn the hard way just how fickle older equipment can be.

If you’re moving into a new home, it’s crucial to ask about all of the HVAC equipment — the air conditioning system, the ventilation, fans, furnace, boiler, water heater, and pumps. These appliances may be working fine today, but if they’re old equipment, or if the previous owner ignored regular maintenance, then your HVAC system might already be on life support.

According to local HVAC services like ours, you can expect equipment to last for:

• The average air conditioning unit will last 10 to 15 years
• Boilers usually last anywhere from 15 to 30 years
• Furnaces usually run for an average of 15 to 18 years
• Heat pumps typically last for 16 years
• Electric and gas water heaters last for 10 years on average
• Tankless water heaters typically last for 20 years or more
• Thermostats are unusually sturdy by HVAC standards, lasting for 35 years

Warning! Many HVAC Units Fail Well Before the Average Life Span!
The average life expectancies listed above can vary wildly depending on a number of factors. The best local HVAC services will tell you the same thing: without regular maintenance, your home’s equipment will break down sooner than later.

Imagine if you never took your car in for servicing, or if you skipped your dentist appointments for five years or more? Most local HVAC services recommend annual service for your HVAC system, which is necessary to getting the most from your purchase. Ignore maintenance at your own risk!

That Old Home Has Inefficient HVAC Units
Let’s look at the humble thermostat. Even though these units last for 35 or 40 years, most people upgrade them well before then. That’s because new technology leads to better, more efficient thermostats, and that’s doubly true for more complex equipment like residential boilers and air conditioning units.

Remember when we told you your home’s heating and cooling accounts for half of your energy use, and thus your utility bills? Well most homes depend on old, inefficient AC units. Switching to high-efficiency air conditioning services can slash energy use from 20-50%. And when it comes to residential construction, the law requires new gas furnaces to have an efficiency rating of at least 78%, but some new models achieve almost-perfect efficiency ratings of 97% or more.

If you believe your home’s heating and cooling systems are on the fritz, then don’t wait to call for the best local HVAC services available. Otherwise, you could end up paying for replacements instead of HVAC repairs!