One of the worse home issues is having your air conditioning unit catastrophically fail during the peak of the summer season. When annual maintenance or repair costs start increasing, many homeowners worry if it is time for a new central air conditioning installation. This tends to be easy to evaluate with the help of a reputable professional.
First is a little cost vs. age analysis. The first number one needs is the average cost to replace. HomeAdvisor reports that new air conditioning installations cost an average $5,238. The second number is a repair impact score. For this, a homeowner multiplies the cost of a repair by the system’s age. For example, if the repair of a 15-year-old air conditioner is $500, the impact score is $7,500. Since the impact score is greater than the average cost, it is time to replace.
Nonetheless, another important factor to consider is energy-efficiency. Today’s central air conditioning systems are up to 40 percent more energy-efficient than those built just 10 years ago. Even if repairs are not an issue, as a central air conditioning unit ages, it has to work harder. Everything experiences diminished efficiency over time. It is just a fact of life. An air conditioning professional can evaluate your system’s energy consumption.
Once you decide to make a new air conditioning install, ConsumerReports recommends not assuming you need the same-sized system. Home improvements can change a home’s energy efficiency, such as new ENERGY STAR certified windows or adding insulation. This could translate into needing a smaller unit. However, if there are room additions, more cooling may be needed. An air conditioning professional can evaluate your current needs.
If you would like to talk more about if you should install a new air conditioning system, or need more information, please contact us.