To survive a Philadelphia-area winter in comfort, you need a home heating unit that’s up to the
task. Your present heating unit may have served you faithfully for many years, but now it’s not
quite as reliable. We’re going to give you four excellent signs that it’s time to upgrade your
Philadelphia home’s heating unit.

Your Heating Bills Are Mysteriously Expensive

Of course, a heating bill will go higher as the temperature goes lower, but sometimes the
increased cost doesn’t seem to be related to a sudden drop in the temperature.
A hike in a heating bill can also be easily attributed to an increase in the utility company’s rate or the cost of heating oil.

However, if you investigate and discover that your heating bill has become more expensive
without any discernible cause, you are probably in need of an upgrade to your heating unit.
As parts wear down, the unit has to work harder. The harder the unit has to work the more
electricity, natural gas, or heating oil it uses.

Your Heating Unit is a Much Older Model

We’re all familiar with the old phrase “they don’t make them like they used to.”
People often say those words to express their opinion that back in the good old days consumer
items were better made and more reliable.

Perhaps that’s true when it comes to homemade ice cream and buggy whips but not so much
when it comes to home heating units.

Older heating units are notoriously inefficient, meaning that they fail to utilize a good percentage of the fuel that enters the unit. As a result, they need to consume much more fuel than modern units in order to achieve the same temperature.

You could compare old heating units to old cars. They may be beautiful to look at, but they
guzzle fuel. In contrast, a modern car weighs less, takes up less space, and uses far less fuel.
Just as operating an old classic car on a daily basis would drive up your monthly gas bill,
likewise, running an old furnace day in and day out will escalate your monthly heating bill.

Your Heating Unit Makes Strange Noises

Before a unit dies, it may begin to make suspicious noises. Perhaps, for years your heating unit operated silently or nearly silently. It cycled on and off without bringing attention to itself.

Now, however, you hear rumbles and whines, groans and wheezes when it comes online.
You Have Trouble Getting Your Home Comfortable
Any heating unit can only do what it’s designed to do. You may be asking your heating unit to do too much.
If your home is no longer comfortable, ask yourself if the home has undergone changes that
have put more stress on the heating unit. For example, expanding a home means asking the
unit to heat more floor space. Did you convert an unheated attic or basement into a heated
room? Did you turn a carport into an extra room? The new room may not be very large, but it
still requires heat.
There are other changes that can also overtax your heating unit. Adding windows and patio doors increases the amount of heat that you lose in a room. The heating unit will then struggle to compensate for the lost heat.
We’ve outlined four signs that your heater needs an upgrade. Which situation best describes
your circumstances?
Take the first step today to upgrade your Philadelphia home heating unit. Contact HVAC Philly.