
Many homeowners in our area have gas-powered furnaces in their households to keep their families warm. A furnace is an excellent choice—it’s powerful and cost-effective. Today’s models even have a higher efficiency rating than just a decade ago, with the highest AFUE (annual fuel utilization efficiency) rating for a gas furnace being 98%. Trust us when we say that’s an efficient heater!
But in addition to efficiency, you want to be able to rely on safety when it comes to your heating system. That’s not to say that gas-powered furnaces are inherently dangerous. But if you don’t properly care for yours, it can become dangerous.
The most common cause of an unsafe furnace—particularly an aging one—is a cracked heat exchanger. Even if you don’t have a problem with a heat exchanger, if your furnace is 15+ years old, it’s time to start looking into an upgrade. We’ll dive more into the “why” of this below.