Boilers may be considered an alternative form of heating for the home, but for many homeowner that have had a boiler in their home for years would never switch over to forced central air. Boilers do have their perks over the more common forced air furnaces, and one of these perks is the ability to last for extremely long periods of time. Some boilers can even go up to 40 years before breaking down entirely, and if you have never replaced the boiler that is currently operating your home, ask yourself, “How old is my boiler?” Odds are the unit is getting on in the years and because everything has been working fine, you probably have not even thought to check the condition of the system. Doing so may have you leaning towards replacement in the very near future.
2 Big Old Boiler Problems:
- Lack of Energy Efficiency: Boilers that are over 20 years old, even if well maintained, cannot hope to be very energy efficient. These old systems were simply not built for energy efficiency and in many cases, the unit is somewhere around 50% inefficient. Every time that old boiler kicks on it waste tons of your money, and unless you want to keep paying more than necessary, you should replace the unit with a new high efficiency model.
- Safety Concerns: Other problems that you may be facing with the old boiler and not even know about are safety concerns. That tired old unit has gone through thousands upon thousands of cycles. During each cycle the heat exchanger expands and contracts and with time this process takes a toll on the metal. You could develop cracks or breaks in the heat exchanger that could allow carbon monoxide to leak into the home. The only way to know what kind of condition your heat exchanger is in is to have it checked by a pro every year. This problem is inevitable if the boiler lasts long enough, and you are better off replacing the system when it starts to get on in the years that to attempt to squeeze a few more unsafe years out of the unit.
The moral of the story is that your old boiler needs to be replaced! That is the bottom line and though you may not like it, replacing the system will have greater benefits than you could have every thought possible with that old system in the home. Upgrade today and secure the safety of your wallet and your family.
Good work. Keep it flowing!