Typical HVAC System Life Span

Over time, heating and cooling equipment wears down and loses efficiency. At this point, you’ll need to upgrade to a new furnace, air conditioner, or geothermal system. To best plan for heating and cooling upgrades for your Lexington home or business, it will help to know the typical life span of HVAC equipment.

Life span of air conditioners

The average air conditioner can be expected to last between 10 and 15 years. System life can be negatively impacted if the air conditioner is not matched correctly for the cooling needs of the home. If a system is undersized or oversized, components can wear out more quickly, leading to earlier system failure and a need for replacement.

Life span of furnaces

Today’s gas furnaces can be expected to last approximately 15 to 20 years. Electric furnaces that are well maintained may be able to offer a service life of up to 30 years. Many furnace component failures that may occur over the system’s service life can be replaced individually at a cost which is more affordable than replacing the entire heating unit.

Life span of geothermal heating and cooling systems

Geothermal systems offer the longest service life of any heating and cooling system. Indoor components, such as your geothermal heat pump, can be expected to last approximately 25 years. The system’s ground loop can be expected to last 50 or more years.

Increasing system longevity

The best way to protect your heating and cooling systems over the years is to have preventative maintenance performed on an annual basis. Preventative maintenance performed by a skilled HVAC technician will improve the performance and efficiency of your heating and cooling equipment. A maintenance tune-up each year will help eliminate issues that can cause early system failures, therefore helping to extend the service life of your systems.

If you have questions about the service life of your Lexington heating and cooling systems, contact Climate Control today.