How long should a furnace last in a cooler climate?

Question

How long should a furnace last in a cooler climate?

Answer 1

do regular maintenance, preferably twice a year and will last longer.

Answer 2

as long as you take care of it then it should last over 10 years

Answer 3

Every furnace has a different  warranty period.  You'd have to check with the manufacturer of your particular unit.  You need to be more specific in your question before we can answer.

Answer 4

most furnaces have a warranty as far as to parts,if you want a furnace to last a long time it should with proper cleaning and maintenance.

Answer 5

we remoldel our house in 86 got new furance and is still being used today we again remoldel our house 2 years ago and we were going to do furance but was still in great shape and runs great oh and its a oil furance but most of the ones today will last about 8 -10 years

Answer 6

My house was built in 1957.  I moved in here in 2000.  This house still had the original furnace in it....AND it was working just fine!  I did replace it after living here for a year.  It was not a very efficient furnace, plus it sounded like a combine engine when it would run.  I lost sleep because of it being so loud, but the fact is, it was still running...even after all those years.  By the way....I live in an area where the winters are brutal.  I hope this helps.

Answer 7

A furnace should last 15  to 20 years and some of the older ones are still running fine. Have them serviced and cleaned every year and they should last a long time.

Answer 8

I just replaced mine after 35 years,my oil man said the average furnace lasts about 15 years (many variables) some are built much better than another,cast iron vs boilerplate as an example ,my new one is more efficient 85%.your oil co is the best place to get advise.

Answer 9

My furnace was installed in 1968.  I live in British Columbia and the winters can be long so the heat is turned on during September and through to May.  I even turned it on the other morning when it was quite cool.  I had the thermostat replaced last winter but, other than minor cleaning, have done nothing and it works beautifully.

Answer 10

Modern furnaces will last 12-15 years if they are maintained properly. Unfortunately, we have seen 6-8 year old units that have been subjected to no care, destroyed beyond reasonable repair. Maintenance and proper sizing will allow many furnaces to run years beyond the average. Oversizing a furnace is responsible for shortening the life of many units we see. This situation over heats the furnace, prematurely wearing out heat exchangers and parts, in general.

Answer 11

It can last a lifetime.  But one of the more important issues with a furnace is checking the burner.  Sometimes they get cracks in them and can cause co2 to get into the home.  We got a gas furnace in Indiana which is a pretty cool climate with was 87% efficient.  That furnace should operate for 20-30 more years.

Answer 12

What do you consider to be a "cooler climate"?  I've lived in the Southwestern Part of Louisiana all of my life (going on 82 yrs. now), and we seldom have 'hard freezes'

My wife and I lived in the same home for over 50 years in Lake Charles, LA, and during that time, we went through TWO different heating systems.  The original house was equipped with central HEATING only; but designed to accept a/c cooling at a later date, if desired. The original central heating system was "Day & Nite" by brand name, and it performed splendedly to provide us with evenly controlled heating during our usually MILD cold winters.

We had three window air conditioning units to provide us certain AREAS of cooling for reasonable cooling during the hot Summer nights. This setup served us WELL until we decided to GO with TOTAL Central Air Control of both COOLING & HEATING of our home. We bought into a "Special Package Deal" with a new contractor operating in our Area. We 'jumped in' like innocent, trusting lambs, and, THANK GOD!!, it turned out to be on the 'up and up'!

The new contractor removed our old trustworthy 'Day & Night' furnace up to the plenum chamber and installed a new Air Cooling/Heating System -- complete with a new gas-fired heating furnace and central house blower, and air conditioning cooling coil package INSIDE; and an a/c coolant gas compressor and heat exchanger radiator , with fan, unit OUTSIDE.  It made a beautiful difference in the all-year-'round comfort of our home. We never had more than MINOR adjustments to our "IDEAL" setup for all-year-'round comfort control.

Answer 13

15 or more good years if electric.

15 or less good years if gas.

Before you start making alot of costly repairs.

Answer 14

10 yrs. is pretty much the standard warranty for a heat exchanger in a gas furnace, although some high end models warranty longer.

Answer 15

The gas furnace in our house in Cleveland is a Trane and over 35 years old. From what I can tell it is still going strong.

I think in general a good gas furnace should last as long as the house, so long as it is maintained properly and the manifold doesn't crack.

Mechanically, a furnace is very simple. Heat source, blower motor, and thermostat.  Blowers can go out  but are easy to replace.

Answer 16

The heat exchanger in the old ones where many times thicker and often lasted 50 years. I worked on one almost 100 years old, an old coal burner that had been converted.

But the new ones are much thinner for efficiency but normally they run at much cooler temperatures. Dirty filters that slow the removal of the heat, overheat the furnaces and crack them.

Also furnaces that are oversized for the ducting overheat the furnace and shorten lifespan.

They should last 20, 30 years,  or more if properly installed with only some repair, like a motor or inducer fan.

Many installers put in furnaces that are too big. If the old inefficient one is replaced with one of higher efficiency but of the same BTU rating it is too big.

Good Luck.

Answer 17

I am in Michigan, and believe me our furnace gets a workout in the winter, and air conditioner in the summer. 20 to 25 years is probably  a good life for the newer more efficient models. We have a 93% gas furnace, and it has been very reliable.

Answer 18

Fifteen to twenty five years .