An air conditioner is a good investment. It can last twelve or more years, under ideal circumstances. But at a certain point, it starts to be more trouble than it’s worth.
When your air conditioner is getting older, should you keep spending money on repairs? Or is it time for a replacement? Here’s some info to help you decide.
Many Factors to Weigh
It’s not as simple as a time limit, after which your air conditioner is no longer worth repairing. There are a variety of factors to take into account, because every situation is unique. Here are the main things to keep in mind.
- Age: This is definitely a primary factor. After ten years, you can be sure that no matter what you do, you won’t get more than a few years of continued cooling from your air conditioner.
- Maintenance: Not all ten-year-old air conditioners are in equally good or bad shape, though. Have you had professional AC maintenance done every year? If so, you’re in a good position to get those few more years from a ten-year-old AC unit. If you haven’t, you’re remarkably lucky it’s lasted this long! Without maintenance, your AC is more likely to fail in just 6 or 8 years.
- Cost of Repair: If your air conditioner requires repair right now, how much will that repair cost? It’s perfectly reasonable to pay for a minor repair in the hope of getting another summer or two out of your air conditioner. But a major repair might be costly, and if you won’t have your air conditioner for very much longer regardless, it isn’t worth a huge investment.
- Frequency of Repairs: Older air conditioners have minor issues and failed small components more and more often as they reach the end of their lifespan. Any one repair might be affordable and quick. But the costs add up when your air conditioner keeps needing more attention, and at that point, it’s also more likely to have an inconvenient major breakdown just when you need it most, like during a heat wave.
Considering the Factors Together
As you can see, no one item on this list should be the only thing that matters when it comes to choosing whether to keep your old air conditioner or get a new one. But how can you weigh the factors together? There are a couple of simple bits of math you can do. First, determine the cost of the repair your air conditioner needs. Then try either or both of these methods.
- The 50% Rule: No single repair should cost more than 50% of the price of a new air conditioner. If the repair is that costly, you would be better off choosing air conditioning replacement in Spokane, WA.
- The 5000 Rule: This one is a little more detailed. Multiply the age of the air conditioner by the projected repair cost. If the answer is less than 5000 (for example, a ten-year-old air conditioner needing a $200 repair gives you 2000) it is worth getting the repair. If the answer is over 5000, such as if that same air conditioner needed a $600 repair, it’s time to invest in a new system instead.
Whether you’re looking into your replacement options, deciding to get your old unit repaired, or hoping for a little more help as you make that choice, we’ve got you covered.
ACI Northwest is here to help. Contact us today with any questions about your air conditioning.