It won’t be long before your air conditioner is getting used every day for quite a stretch during the heat of the summer. Is it up for the challenge? If you’re not sure, it’s time to make a decision. Should you stick with your old air conditioner or is it time for AC replacement? Here are some pointers that can help you decide.
Maintenance
One of the biggest factors that determines how long an air conditioner will last is how well-maintained it is. Have you been getting annual professional check-ups for your AC system? If so, wear and tear is reduced, and strain on the compressor is limited, so the system can last for its full lifetime. If not, it may only last half as long as it should.
Age
An air conditioner is intended to run for at least a decade. With proper care and a bit of luck, it could last even longer, but if your air conditioner is twelve, you should be thinking about a replacement. Since lack of maintenance makes an air conditioner age more quickly, you should consider your air conditioner quite old at 6-8 years if it hasn’t been regularly maintained.
Frequency of Repair Needs
Even small repairs can add up to big costs if they’re happening frequently. For the purpose of this discussion, “frequent” would be every single year or worse, more than once a year. Once an air conditioner starts needing work so often, the problem will only get more severe as the system deteriorates with age.
Cost of Current Repair Needs
Does your air conditioner need repair now in order to run for the summer? If so, how much will that repair cost? This should be weighed alongside the other considerations. If your air conditioner needs an expensive repair but is only a few years old and has been maintained regularly, repair is a good choice. That same repair on a ten-year-old air conditioner, especially if maintenance has been spotty, is a poor investment.
Efficiency
First, if you’ve been getting regular maintenance, but your air conditioner is no longer as efficient as it once was, it is approaching retirement age. At a certain point, no amount of maintenance and repair will get that efficiency back up to where it should be, and your electric bill will just keep rising.
On the other hand, it might be worth replacing an air conditioner even if it isn’t in terrible shape quite yet just to get one of the new high-efficiency models. Recent advances in HVAC technology have been very impressive. Today’s options are much more efficient than your older air conditioner ever was. Instead of watching your electric bill rise, you could be seeing it drop dramatically.
If you’d like to have a conversation about AC replacement in Spring Lake, NJ with an expert, we’d love to hear from you.
You’re More Comfortable With Atlantic Air Systems. Schedule your appointment with us today.