Replacing your home’s air conditioner is likely one of the biggest decisions you will make this summer to ensure your family’s comfort. Whether to choose between an AC repair or an entire air conditioner replacement is a choice you may have to deal with. Fortunately there is a point at which you can know it’s time to stop putting money in to AC repairs and choose to replace your air conditioner.
Increasing AC Age
Something to keep in mind before getting too involved in to the process is the age of the air conditioner. Like most mechanical devices, air conditioners will wear down over time. With a new air conditioner, recent technology offers increased comfort and better reliability, for less money. While it’s not on the same scale, you could equate heating and air conditioning equipment to computers. The technology does have a lifecycle and newer, more advanced upgrades are continuously being created.
Increasing AC Repair Costs
With an appliance as intricate as a central air conditioner, there are parts that wear out and break down over time, especially if routine maintenance has not been done. A well-maintained unit should work well throughout peak air conditioning season. A good rule of thumb when deciding to get a new air conditioner is that if annual AC repair costs approach $1,200, it maybe a good time to replace. That’s because the average monthly payment of an entirely new air conditioning system is the equivalent of a single repair cost.
Another way to think about this is, if the cost for the AC repair is 1/12 of the cost of a new AC replacement, the benefits of the replacement air conditioner in low monthly payments, energy bill reduction and increased comfort likely outweighs the investment in the AC repair.
Decreasing Efficiency
Seeing decreases in your energy bill doesn’t take long when it happens month after month. It can be easy to write it off as an irregularity, but be sure to take a closer look at the energy you’re consuming and see if those increases are due to greater usage, or more likely due to something else like lower efficiency of your home’s air conditioner. The older your AC system gets (and the longer it goes before being maintained), the more inefficient it will become. It may also be a light bulb that it’s time for air conditioner replacement.
Noise Pollution
Older air conditioners and ductwork run much louder than today’s new AC systems. That annoying clanking you’ve become familiar with, or the overall noise level when the air conditioner is running could mean the end is near for your current air conditioner. You may not realize how much noise you and your family have been living with until you live with the extreme quiet that a newer, more modern air conditioning system can offer.
Of course, these aren’t the only issues that highlight the need for air conditioner replacement, but they are a number of the more common ones that we see daily. Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning can help by providing a free assessment of your home’s air conditioning system to help determine whether the time has come for your air conditioner to be replaced, or if it’s best to go forward with an AC repair. Livermore has trusted us for a reason, and that’s because your comfort is always top priority. Give us a call at 925-364-5427 or set up a free appointment today.