Furnace Replacement in Midtown St. Louis, MO. As the winter weather starts, you might be thinking about replacing your furnace. Maybe it’s keeping your house warm, but at a high cost; maybe you want to help the environment by reducing your carbon footprint; or maybe your home just isn’t as warm in the cold as you’d like it to be.
Replacing your furnace is a big decision, no matter why you’re doing it, and understanding the basics will help you with it. There’s a lot to consider, and we’ll overview the most important factors here, such as:
Whether your Midtown St. Louis, MO home needs a furnace replacement or repair to keep you warm, SmartHouse Heating and Cooling has got your back. We take a customer-first approach with every house we visit, and we always suggest what we believe will be best for your situation. We’re available to contact 24/7 – if you have a question, get in touch today by calling 314-644-1570, texting us at 314-310-2242, or reaching out online.
There are several signs that you need to replace your home furnace, and few of them will surprise you. The truth is, if there is any reason you’re thinking about replacing, you need to call a local Midtown St. Louis, MO HVAC contractor to evaluate the furnace and give suggestions on whether to repair or replace.
The clearest indicator is performance. If your furnace is not warming your home sufficiently, even when it is functioning properly, a replacement is probably needed.
Another common criterion is the age – most furnaces, if taken care of properly, last 15-20 years, and while some can outlast that, they often need to be repaired frequently. Plus, older systems are often out of warranty, leaving you to shoulder the cost when something fails.
If you’re already replacing another part of your HVAC system, like extensive ductwork, replacing your outdated furnace at the same time provides you with a newer, more efficient system that is covered by a total warranty.
To recap, you should consider replacing your furnace if:
Frequently, you can fix an older furnace, but repairs often are costly, and can add up with older systems out of warranty.
Repairs to existing furnaces can take some unexpected turns. The parts may be unavailable from the manufacturer, making them more expensive. Plus, after the initial part is replaced, the technician may locate additional issues, requiring further unexpected repairs.
If your older furnace seems like it always needs repairs — especially during the chilling Midtown St. Louis, MO winters — it’s likely time to consider replacement.
Upgrading to a new furnace boosts performance and efficiency, helping you keep your bills down and shrink your carbon footprint, while improving your comfort.
Upgrading also can allow for smart thermostats, zoning systems, and variable speed motors for better control, plus you can consider replacing your furnace with a heat pump for vastly increased flexibility in your home’s temperature control.
Your new furnace will give you a new, longer-lasting warranty, helping you avoid high expenses for repairs in the future.
SmartHouse offers both furnace repair and furnace replacement services in Midtown St. Louis, MO. Call us now at 314-370-1816, or reach out online to get started.
If you know it’s time to replace your furnace, but aren’t sure what to look for, here are a few aspects to keep in mind: efficiency ratings, gas vs. electric furnaces, and motor speed(s).
For gas, oil, or propane furnaces that produce heat by burning fuel, energy efficiency is measured with the Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) system. This is expressed as a percentage of how much fuel is converted to heat and how much is lost – an 80% rating means 80% of the fuel is used to make heat and 20% is wasted. A higher percentage means less fuel loss and in turn, less spent on fuel. AFUE is not used for electric furnaces because electric heating doesn’t burn fuel in the same way and has next to no heat loss.
Most traditional heating systems use either electricity or gas for fuel. Gas furnaces burn natural gas to create heat and rely on a natural gas connection and venting infrastructure. Gas furnaces with AFUE ratings of 90% or higher are classified as high-efficiency furnaces.
Electric furnaces use electricity to generate heat through resistance coils and may require an electrical upgrade, depending on your home’s setup. Because they don’t involve combustion, electric furnaces generally operate at or near 100% efficiency.
The amount of stages, or speeds, your furnace has affects its ability to effectively warm your home:
Heat pumps both heat and cool your house in one device, rather than needing separate systems for each. They work by moving existing heat into or out of your home, rather than making new heat by burning fuel.
Heat pumps work in both steaming hot summers and freezing cold winters, a dichotomy that all Midtown St. Louis, MO residents know only too well. During winter, heat pumps absorb heat from the outdoors (even in freezing weather) and release it indoors. In the summer, the process is reversed as the heat pump transports the heat from inside your home to out.
Heat pumps offer many advantages over conventional systems, including:
The Daikin FIT heat pump features variable-speed inverter technology for energy efficiency, highly accurate temperature control, terrific dehumidification during Midtown St. Louis, MO’s steamy summers, and unintrusive noise levels.
Heat pumps can also be combined with an existing gas furnace, in what’s called a “dual fuel system.” The heat pump cools your home, and handles most of the heating, with the system automatically switching to the gas furnace in frozen conditions, ensuring warmth and comfort no matter how cold it gets outside.
Right now, we’re seeing the best deal we’ve ever seen for high-efficiency HVAC systems, due to intersecting incentives that can give you a once-in-a-lifetime savings deal:
Alongside Ameren’s rebates, there are currently tax credits available from the federal government for high-efficiency heating and cooling systems put in by December 31, 2025. To take advantage of these tax credits, you will need to use a system such as high-efficiency central ACs, air source and ground source (geothermal) heat pumps, mini-split ACs or heat pumps, and smart thermostats (with installation).
Knowing your new system is installed correctly— fully code-compliant using industry best practices—means you’ll enjoy headache-free, energy-efficient comfort for years to come. That’s why working with the right technicians is critically important.
At SmartHouse, we take care of the whole process – from picking out the right system to fit your situation to professional setup and beyond! We’re here to make your experience smooth and stress-free, focusing on honest, clear communication, friendly, expert service, and outcomes you can count on!
At SmartHouse, we’re here to help you stay warm, level up your comfort, and keep your temperature costs down. When we get started on a project, our technicians ask, “What is the right thing to do?” before making any decisions. Let us show you the SmartHouse difference.
We also offer these services in Midtown St. Louis, MO:
