Repair Vs. Replace: 5 Signs to Know When Your Air Conditioner Needs Replacement

 

Knowing if you should repair or replace your air conditioner can be a puzzle. When your cooling system doesn’t cool your room anymore, what comes to your mind? Fixing or replacing? Many homeowners with a broken cooling system have found themselves in the shoes of considering spending on fixing their air conditioner or just adding some extra cash to buy a new one. 

While some damages are pretty slight and need just a little touch from the experts, some call for a replacement. Meanwhile, there are signs your air conditioner shows, which is their way of communicating their soon-coming demise. It is your responsibility as a homeowner to be able to decode these signs and take the necessary steps.

In this article, I will spell out these signs for you, so that you can understand the language of your air conditioner, and know when to place an order for a new one.

Let’s get started!

1. Old age

It is not only living things that grow old. Non-animate things also do. Your air conditioner is an example. When your air conditioner gets old, it begins to malfunction and is prone to frequent damage and repair. Sometimes it could reach its threshold age pretty quicker than expected. But various factors cause the lifespan to vary, making some die quickly and extending the life of others.

I don’t need to be a psychic, but it’s obvious you are thinking of the typical lifespan of an air conditioner. Let me answer your question before I progress.

What is The Typical Lifespan of an Air Conditioner?

It’s important to answer this, so you don’t have to just conclude that your air conditioner is due for change just because it damages often and it has stayed so long in your hands. How many years exactly should it stay? The modern versions of air conditioners can last for about 15-20 years. While the older versions can stay for 10-12 years.

I won’t advise you to take these figures and work with them like a formula. Because just as the lifespan of humans dangles around 120 years but many don’t reach that figure, that’s the same way. So many factors are responsible for the shortening or extension of this lifespan. Let me list some of them for you.

Maintenance habit — Proper maintenance habits can extend the lifespan of your air conditioner

Proper installation — If not installed by an expert, it could easily run into faults

Frequency of usage — you shouldn’t expect it to go beyond its lifespan if used round the clock.

2. Frequency of breakdown

Air conditioners tend to break down during the extreme heat of the summer. This is because the unit overworks itself to lower the extreme temperature that comes with the summer. 

This can be averted if you properly maintain your unit and ensure an expert comes for yearly servicing. HVAC experts can easily spot issues on your unit and fix them before it escalates to more serious damage, which the cost of fixing will make you consider replacing. if your unit keeps breaking down, you’ll have to keep fixing it. 

The cost of fixing, when summed up, can hit an outrageous price that when compared to the price of replacing, seems economical. The frequent breakdown might be the only cry for a replacement that your unit knows.

3. Expensive damage

This is my piece of advice: when you notice your air conditioner isn’t cooling anymore or cooling slowly, you should contact HVAC technicians. Consider replacing it if the repair costs more than 50% of the price of a new air conditioner.

Also, some experts will recommend you use the $5,000 rule before considering changing the unit. Let me show you how the $5,000 works:

Multiply the age of your air conditioner by the repair cost. If it exceeds $5,000, you should consider changing the unit. Let me give an example. 

Let’s assume your air conditioner is 6 years old and the repair cost is about $500, multiplying the two figures will give $3,000 which is less than $5,000. This means repairing is still a good idea. However, if it takes $750 to fix an 8-year-old air conditioner, multiplying it will give me $6,000 which is greater than $5,000. This means replacing the cooling system is a better idea.

4. High energy bill

A malfunctioning air conditioner drains energy fast. This will reflect on your energy bill. All things being equal, your energy bill should fluctuate around a range. It only increases reasonably during the extreme cold of the winter or the extreme heat of the summer. 

The increments during these times are still reasonable. But if you notice an unusual hike in your energy bill, it’s an indicator that your air conditioner is losing efficiency. It’s a cause for alarm, and its solution is calling an expert for a change.

5. Use of R-22 freon

If you are using an air conditioner that can be dated as back as 10 years ago, then your A/C still uses R-22 Freon as a refrigerant which is harmful to the environment. Because of the damage, this compound causes to the environment, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) phased it out and stopped its production in the U.S. in 2020. 

This doesn’t sound like a loud bell, but it will when your refrigerant gets exhausted or leaked out. In a worst-case scenario, it won’t be available. In the best case, it will be extremely costly. So, if your air conditioner still uses Freon, it’s time for a change.

Repair Or Replace

Repairing or replacing? Before taking any action, you should first get in contact with HVAC experts. Precision Air Solution is the best here in Benicia. We service, install and sell the best quality at the most affordable price. We can also further pout you through in making your decision on whether you’ll need to repair or replace your broken unit. Book an appointment with us today! We’ll be happy to help you upgrade your air conditioners.