Winters in Denver can be hard, especially when your furnace is not heating your home correctly. If you turn on your furnace only to find that it is not working, is not heating your home correctly or it is making strange noises, you will want to call for furnace repair.
Some furnace repairs can be quite costly. Here are four of the most expensive furnace repairs and how you can avoid them.
Blower Motor and Capacitor: $500 – $1,500
Simple blower motor repairs might run $150 to $450 while complete replacement could cost $1,500 depending on the brand. This motor and fan, known as a squirrel cage fan, pushes the air through your ducts. Lack of regular cleaning leads to unbalanced or damaged blades.
How to avoid: Regular inspection, cleaning, and keep up with air filter replacements. It is important that the blower motor be inspected and cleaned every so often to ensure it is running at full power.
Draft Inducer Motor: $500 – $1,500
A simple fan wheel in the draft inducer motor is inexpensive to replace, but replacing the entire unit can cost up to $1,500, depending on the model and brand. The draft inducer motor pulls the combustion gasses through the heat exchanger and pushes those gases out the flue to prevent carbon monoxide buildup, so it’s very important to fix if broken.
How to avoid: Regular inspection and a reliable carbon monoxide monitor.
Circuit Board: $500 – $1500
Replacing a furnace circuit board can cost up to $1500 depending on the brand and age of the unit. The circuit board is responsible for operating every component in the furnace and without it your furnace will not function. High efficiency models will cost quite a bit more while single-stage models may be less than $1000.
How to avoid: Regular inspection and cleaning. Unfortunately, a circuit board is a piece of technology and simply fails sometimes, but if the furnace is not well maintained, the circuit board’s lifespan shortens.
Gas Valve: $400 – $1,000
A furnace gas valve allows natural gas or propane to flow to your unit. Furnace gas valves occasionally stop opening and closing properly with age. If this valve does not function, it could be a hazard to your health and home as gas or propane will freely flow from the furnace without combustion. Gas valves are rarely repaired because the labor cost surpasses the cost of a new part.
How to avoid: Regular inspections and cleaning. If there are particles interfering with the gas valve’s ability to close completely, gas could be leaking into your home.
It is very important to take preventative measures with a furnace because one small issue can cause many more. Many of these issues can be prevented with regular inspections and cleaning.
Are you in need of a furnace inspection, cleaning, or repair in the Denver Metro Area? Grand Home Services is located in Aurora, Colorado, and provides HVAC and heating services throughout Denver. Contact us today!
