How Old Is Your Furnace?

Hopefully everyone knows that getting a tune-up before the winter sets in is important for increasing the length of your equipment life, improving efficiencies, and saving money on energy costs, but do you know exactly how old your furnace is? While we recommend without hesitation the necessity for annual maintenance, if your furnace or boiler is over 15 years old, you should start considering investing in a new system.

So how do you find out how old your furnace or boiler is?

Newer units usually will have a manufacturer’s date somewhere on the furnace. Unfortunately, with older furnaces, it can be a bit trickier. Usually, you will have to find a serial number listed somewhere on the equipment. The serial number will have insight to various different components of your furnace or boiler, including its age. Doubtless, you do not have a book of serial numbers at your disposal, so you will have to be a bit cleverer at that point.

Where to look:

• There is a door on the outside of your furnace. On the interior of that door, there may be a tag or label with the serial number, potentially the date as well.
• Fan blades: Turn off the power to your furnace using either the power switch or the master fuse, then look at the fan blades. Older furnaces will often have the date stamped on the fan.

How to find the age:

• If you found the serial number, look at the first four digits. The first two could represent the month, and the last two could represent the year. Example: 0479 would be April 1979 (you should really invest in a new one).
• There may be a sticker on your furnace or boiler that shows when it was last serviced. Often times, the technician will also include an installation date. The installation date should be a good indicator of how old the system is.
• Just call the manufacturer. Even if you were unsuccessful in finding the serial number, often times the manufacturer can help piecemeal the age by comparing pictures, etc.

Is Your Furnace Over 15?

With new technologies making increasingly more efficient and effective models of furnaces or boilers, you not only can decrease your carbon footprint, but you can save a lot in Bioheat® fuel and energy costs. New systems are between 20%-40% more efficient than previous models and have Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiencies (AFUE) of over 90%. All of these factors add up to big savings for you.

So, if you have an older furnace or boiler, we recommend doing some research and finding what upgrade will be best for you. Don’t forget, your friendly, local home comfort service provider can help you find the size, make, and, model perfect for your home and family.