Appliance Lifespans: When to Repair and When to Replace

The most expensive home repairs are the ones that surprise you. A water heater that fails on a Sunday, a furnace that quits in a cold snap: those are emergency purchases, made under pressure, usually at a premium. Knowing roughly how long your home's major items last turns those surprises into planned, budgeted replacements. Here are the typical numbers and a simple way to decide.

Typical lifespans

These figures come from InterNACHI's Standard Estimated Life Expectancy Chart for Homes, the chart most of the inspection industry works from. They assume regular recommended maintenance and normal wear, and InterNACHI is explicit that they are guidelines rather than guarantees or warranties.

Two caveats worth holding onto. The chart is US-based, and Canadian freeze-thaw cycling is hardest on roofing and exterior components, so treat those as a baseline rather than a local forecast. And where the source gives a range, the range is the honest answer: a furnace at 15 years and a furnace at 25 years are both ordinary.

| Item | Typical lifespan | |---|---| | Refrigerator | 9 to 13 years | | Dishwasher | ~9 years | | Clothes washer | 5 to 15 years | | Clothes dryer | ~13 years | | Range, gas | 15 to 17 years | | Range, electric | 13 to 15 years | | Oven, gas | 10 to 18 years | | Microwave | ~9 years | | Water heater (tank) | 6 to 12 years | | Water heater (tankless) | ~10 years | | Furnace (gas) | 15 to 25 years | | Central air conditioner | 7 to 15 years | | Heat pump | 10 to 15 years | | Sump pump | ~7 years | | Asphalt shingles, 3-tab | ~20 years | | Asphalt shingles, architectural | ~30 years | | Windows (vinyl or fibreglass) | 20 to 40 years | | Windows (wood) | 30+ years | | Windows (aluminum) | 15 to 20 years |

If you do not know the age of an item, the manufacturer label may contain a date code, and the model and serial numbers let you verify it with the manufacturer, your purchase records, or the service history. Photograph those labels once and you never have to guess again.

The repair-or-replace rule

A useful rule of thumb combines two questions: how expensive is the repair, and how far through its life is the item?

The 50 percent test: if a repair costs more than about half the price of a new unit, replacing is usually the better call.
Weigh it against age: a moderate repair on a four-year-old washer is easy to justify. The same repair on a twelve-year-old washer is throwing good money after bad, because the next failure is not far behind.
Factor in efficiency: an older furnace, air conditioner, or water heater can cost noticeably more to run than a modern one, so a replacement can pay part of its own way through lower bills, and may qualify for a rebate.
Check parts and warranty: if parts are scarce or the item is out of warranty and near end of life, lean toward replacement.

Put simply: repair a young item, replace an old one, and let a big repair bill on an old item make the decision for you.

What tends to go first

Most appliances do not fail all at once. They fail at a wear part, and the useful question is whether the failed part is a wear part or the machine.

Refrigerator. Door seals and condenser coils are the maintenance items. Natural Resources Canada's guide to choosing and using appliances gives two tests for the seals: they "should hold a slip of paper snugly", and a lit flashlight left inside should not show light around a closed door. The compressor is the other end of the scale, and chasing one on an old fridge is rarely worth it.
Dishwasher. Filters, spray arms and the door gasket are serviceable, and often the real complaint behind "it stopped cleaning properly". A failed circulation pump or control board is a different conversation.
Clothes washer. Inlet hoses, the drain pump and the door or lid switch are components. Bearings and the drive system are the machine, and usually announce themselves by noise first.
Clothes dryer. The lint screen and the outside exhaust vent come first, and both matter twice over. NRCan notes a full screen "can cause your dryer to consume up to 30 percent more energy", and a clogged vent is a fire-safety issue, which Health Canada flags alongside venting to the outside and keeping the outlet clear. A subtler tell: NRCan says unintentional over-drying "may mean that the humidity sensors are no longer accurate and the dryer needs servicing."
Range and oven. Elements, igniters, door seals and knobs are parts. A failed control board on an older unit is usually what ends it, for the reason below.

Parts availability, and why it decides it on an older unit

On an older appliance the question is often settled by someone else: a technician who cannot source a control board has no repair to offer, however sound the rest of the machine is.

Ask for the part number first. Before authorising a diagnosis, ask whether the likely parts are still available and what the lead time is.

The law may help, and it varies by province. Quebec's Consumer Protection Act carries an availability warranty requiring merchants and manufacturers to make replacement parts, repair services and "information required to maintain or repair the item" available for a reasonable period after purchase, unless unavailability was disclosed in writing before the sale. Quebec also applies a reasonable lifetime warranty, under which an appliance "must serve for normal use for a reasonable period of time", judged on the price paid, the contract and the conditions of use. Quebec went further again with a warranty of good working order, in force since October 5, 2026 and running from delivery of the good: six years for refrigerators, ranges, freezers, air conditioners and heat pumps, five for washers, dryers and dishwashers, with the repair at no cost to the consumer. Read the eligibility before you count on it, because it applies to appliances bought or leased new from a merchant, and the OPC does not state that it reaches back to goods bought earlier. It is more likely to shape your next purchase than to rescue the machine in front of you. Federally, Bill C-244 received royal assent in November 2024, amending the Copyright Act so a digital lock can be circumvented for diagnosis, maintenance or repair. None of it guarantees a part exists, but a premature failure is worth a call before it is written off.

Energy use belongs in the arithmetic

On the big consumers, running cost belongs in the decision. NRCan's summary of refrigerators is that "today's refrigerators are much better energy performers than older models", crediting better design, compressors, insulation and seals. Compare like for like on the EnerGuide label, which gives an estimated annual consumption in kilowatt hours, check the ENERGY STAR listings, and look for rebates before you buy.

When a repair is a bridge, not a fix

Sometimes the right answer is a repair you already know will not last, and that is fine as long as you say so out loud: getting a fridge through to a planned kitchen renovation, or a washer through to a move, is legitimate. What turns a bridge into a slow bleed is not naming it. Write down that it is a bridge and the date you intend to replace the unit by, and do not authorise a second bridge on the same machine.

How to get more years out of what you have

Maintenance can help extend these lifespans, though it is not a guarantee, and following the manufacturer's own maintenance schedule matters most:

Change furnace and HVAC filters on schedule. A clogged filter makes the system work harder and die younger.
Flush the water heater periodically to clear sediment, especially in hard-water areas.
Clean the refrigerator coils and the dryer vent (the vent is also a fire-safety issue).
Keep the roof and gutters clear so water goes where it should.

A simple seasonal maintenance routine covers most of this and is the cheapest way to delay a big-ticket replacement.

What to record when something is installed or replaced

The only cheap moment to capture an age is the day the work happens.

Record the make, the model number, the serial number, the install date, who installed it, the warranty end date, and whether you registered it with the manufacturer. Add parts replaced and their dates as they accumulate, because a repair history is what tells you whether a machine is on its second pump or its fifth. Photograph the data plate and the invoice while the installer is still standing there.

Starting from an existing home instead of a new install, the age is usually still recoverable from the label: our guides to reading a furnace or outdoor unit serial number and a water heater serial number cover the method, and the home system lifespan calculator reads a year against the published figures above.

Why tracking ages pays off

The homeowners who never face an emergency appliance purchase are the ones who know, at a glance, how old each major item is and when its warranty ends. That lets you budget a replacement a year out, shop it calmly, and catch a warranty claim before it lapses. Keeping the age, model, serial number, and warranty date for each item in one place is exactly what Habyn does for homeowners, and our guide to tracking warranties and appliances goes deeper on the how.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a furnace last in Canada? InterNACHI's chart puts a gas furnace at 15 to 25 years, and regular servicing and filter changes push you toward the upper end. Efficiency drops toward the end of that range, so a replacement can lower your heating bills.

Is it worth repairing an old appliance? If the repair costs more than about half the price of a new one, or the item is well past the middle of its expected life, replacement is usually the smarter choice.

How do I find out how old my appliance is? The manufacturer label may contain a date code, and the model and serial numbers let you verify it with the manufacturer, your purchase records, or service history. Photograph the label so you have it on hand.

Does maintenance really extend lifespan? It can help. Filter changes, water-heater flushing, and coil and vent cleaning are cheap and, done on the manufacturer's schedule, can add useful years.

Knowing what you own and how old it is turns home upkeep from a series of emergencies into a plan. Habyn keeps the age, warranty, and service history of every major item in one place. See how Habyn helps homeowners.