With winter upon us and the cold temps making their way through town, it’s only natural to start thinking about your furnace. You want to make sure your home is warm and toasty for the holidays, and as the long winter days drag on through the New Year, you’ll need a warm place to hunker down until spring arrives again.

Aside from general maintenance and checkups, when was the last time you assessed the condition of your home furnace? Chances are your heating expert has given you a good idea of how your furnace is holding up during inspection time, but if it’s been a while and you haven’t taken inventory of your furnace’s wellbeing, wintertime is the perfect time to start paying attention.

Here are some signs you might need to fix or replace your furnace all together:

• Uneven temps throughout the house—Do you feel like some rooms are colder than others throughout the house? If your thermostat is giving you trouble, it might be a sign that your furnace isn’t distributing the air as well as it once did.

• Your furnace is old—If your furnace is old and you’ve had to make repairs within the past two years, it might be time to replace it. Furnaces wear out and cause more problems as they age, and you might end up spending more in repairs than it costs to buy a new furnace. If your furnace is older than fifteen years, you should definitely begin looking for a new one.

• Your gas and electric bills are increasing—This is another sign your furnace might need replacing. While there are plenty of reasons your electric bill could increase, a furnace is one source that can contribute to this problem. As furnaces lose their efficiency, they might have to work harder to produce enough heat, causing your bill to skyrocket.