It’s no secret that purchasing a heating system for your home is an investment, and most homeowners wish to get the most out of their investment before they have to replace it again. The longevity of a system or component can be affected by the hours of use over a year. Usually, the more mileage a unit gets, the sooner it will need to be replaced. Here is the difference in lifespan between heat pumps and furnaces.
Furnace Lifespan
When comparing the lifespan of furnaces vs heat pumps, first you must know the general lifespan of a furnace. Furnaces are said to have a lifespan between 15 and 20 years. Furnaces, although you may think they only run in the heating season, perform double duty in the summer as they’re integral to the air conditioning system. Whether you’re using a ducted split system AC or Heat Pump system, the furnace is on-call all year long. It may not be heating during the summer, but there’s wear and tear throughout the year.
Heat Pump Lifespan
Between furnaces and heat pumps, heat pumps have a shorter lifespan of just 10 to 15 years. Heat pumps, whether ducted or duct-free, work to both heat and cool your home through one system. With a Heat Pump, however, the outdoor unit works to both heat and cool and is subject to many more hours of run time than an AC-only outdoor unit. Meaning it experiences more wear and tear than an AC.
What Else Affects The Lifespan Of Your Heating System?
While both furnaces and heat pumps have an estimated lifespan, this can be cut short due to several factors, most of which can be prevented. Your furnace or heat pump’s lifespan may be diminished due to:
- Poor installation
- Poor/lack-of maintenance
- Improper usage (working the units outside of their design specifications)
- Oversizing or under-sizing the system for your home
How To Prolong The Life Of Your Heating System
While there are ways that you can diminish the lifespan of your heating system, on the contrary, there are also ways that you can prolong the life of your heating system including:
- Changing/cleaning filters regularly
- Calling for repair immediately when you notice something is wrong
- Scheduling annual preventative maintenance
- Using system properly as directed by HVAC experts and system manual
Whether you’re looking for a furnace or a heat pump,
Team Harding is here to help!
The home comfort specialists at Team Harding have been proudly serving Ottawa’s HVAC needs for over 25 years. Our team of licensed technicians strives to provide our clients with dependable service and quality equipment.
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