When you are a homeowner all maintenance and repairs fall on your shoulders, along with the costs. That means there will come a time when you have to decide whether or not to replace your central air conditioning unit. Replacing your home unit isn’t cheap so the big question is how to know when you need a new central air conditioning unit for your home or if you can get away with repairing it again. Let’s look at when it is time to replace your old ac unit.
Too Many Repairs
If you have had to call in an HVAC company again to look at your AC and this time you’re facing a fairly expensive repair job it might be cheaper in the long run to get a new unit. Factor the costs you have spent on repairs against the cost of a new unit, chances are you are better off with a more energy efficient air conditioning unit.
It is More than a Decade Old
Air conditioning units have a 10-15 year life span. You can usually make it to 15 years if it has been well maintained. If you’re unit isn’t working as well as it should or you need it repaired you are probably better off just getting it replaces. Remember that air conditioning units are far more energy efficient that they used to be a decade ago so you will reduce your monthly energy bills.
Too Expensive to Operate
If your monthly energy bills are too high it could be your AC unit needs repair or it could be a low SEER rating. Newer air conditioning units are far more efficient with a SEER rating of 13 older units have a much lower rating and end up using more electricity to keep your home cool. Here is the SEER rating system explained.
Your Old Unit Uses Freon
The federal government is phasing out air conditioning units that use Freon in order to conserve energy that means if you need to replace the Freon in your older unit it is going to cost you a small fortune. You will be forced to eventually make the switch so the next time you need to call for a repair it might be a good time to consider replacing it instead.
Replacing your central air is a pretty big expense, but in the long run it is far cheaper than continually paying for service calls and watching your energy costs sky rocket as you try and keep your house a comfortable temperature.