There comes a time in an HVAC system’s life where you have to ask the hard question. You know, the big question:
Is it time to replace the air conditioner?
Of course, there’s no reason to feel sentimental about that. At least, none of our customers have ever felt sentimental about it when we showed them just how much extra money their old and degrading system was costing them.
Replacement is all about timing. You want to replace before the system is able to squeeze extra dollars out of you, but at the same time, there’s no need to replace it too early. Here’s how you can figure out the difference:
To Repair, Or to Replace? That Is the Question
We would always encourage you to get repairs or maintenance before shelling out for a brand-new system. The problem, however, is that there is going to be a point where the system is so old that repairs do little to improve the situation. You might get a nice efficiency boost for a little while, but it won’t be long before the cooling bill starts rising or the system is demanding more repairs.
Here are the main factors you can look into before making the decision:
Frequency of Repairs
As mentioned above, unnecessary repairs is a big reason to get rid of your air conditioner. If your air conditioner has been needing more and more repairs lately, it’s a big sign that your AC might be beyond its limit. In fact, if you’re needing as much as one repair per year, we’d consider that suspicious for a healthy system.
Instead of putting any more money into repairs, we’d suggest expressing your concerns to a qualified air conditioning repair expert in New Braunfels, TX and having them inspect the system.
Cooling Bills
Next, you’ll want to see what your cooling bills look like lately. If you have the records to do so, look at the current costs compared to how they were over the last few years. A steadily increasing bill indicates that the AC is starting to lose its cool and can’t sustain efficient energy usage.
Of course, you’ll also want to make sure that your cooling habits haven’t changed substantially over the years. But even then, it’s unlikely that a change in cooling habits will be able to justify consistent increases. It’s best to have an expert take a look if you’re not sure.
Age of the System
Above all, you should see how old the system is. If you don’t know, there are ways to check by looking up the manufacture date or serial number. A well-maintained air conditioner should last you about 15 years, but we’d suggest considering it “old” at about 10 years.
Once it gets old, you’ll want to keep a close eye on it to ensure it doesn’t start costing more or needing more repairs. If it’s having those issues and is younger than 10 years old, you might want to try a different contractor!
Need help determining if your AC needs replacement? Contact Thayer Air Conditioning today to request a free estimate.
