It’s just about that time of year. You’re going to be turning your air conditioner on again soon. How will it do? Have you had AC maintenance done? Are you confident that it can continue keeping you cool all summer? Or is it getting old, struggling, or perhaps requiring repair? What should you do?
Well, you know you can’t head into a Louisiana summer with unreliable air conditioning. That leaves you with two options. You need to repair your old air conditioner or replace it with a new one. What should you do? How can you decide? We’ll help you figure it out.
Weighing Different Factors
With a system as complex as an air conditioner, there isn’t a super-simple answer such as, If the air conditioner is X years old, buy a new one. Instead, you’ll have to consider a few different aspects of your air conditioner and weigh them together as you make your decision. Here are the factors you need to keep in mind.
- Age: This is a huge factor. Air conditioners can keep chugging along for ten or twelve years under reasonable circumstances, and sometimes a bit longer. As they reach old age, they’ll be more and more likely to require repair, struggle to keep your house cool enough, and consume more electricity.
- Condition: If you’ve been diligent about getting maintenance done every year, your air conditioner is more likely to still be running well at the ten or twelve-year mark. If you’ve gotten maintenance sporadically, it might not be doing as well. And if you’ve never had your air conditioner professionally maintained, it might only survive half as long as that estimate!
- Cost of Repair: If your air conditioner needs repair right now, in order to keep running for the coming summer, get an estimate of how much that repair will cost.
- Frequency of Repair: Even if each repair is quite affordable, how often do repair needs crop up? If they’ve been occurring at least once a year for the past few years, that pattern is likely to not just continue, but get more frequent. These costs add up!
Doing the Math
Now that you know which pieces of information are the most important to consider while you make your repair-or-replace decision, how do you weigh them together? We’ll show you a couple of different ways to do the math.
- The 5000 Rule: Multiply the age of the air conditioner by the projected cost of the repair it needs. Only invest in air conditioning repair in Covington, LA if the answer is below 5000. If the answer is close enough to be a tough call, remember that a poorly maintained AC could be considered older than it actually is, and an AC that frequently breaks down will continue to do so.
- The 50% Rule: This one is simpler, but requires that you determine the cost of replacing your air conditioner. If the repair is less than 50% of the replacement cost, it’s a reasonable investment. If it’s more than 50%, replace the AC instead. Again, if the numbers are close, choose a replacement if the air conditioner is older, poorly maintained, or needs repair often.
If you have any other questions about your air conditioner or your replacement options, we’d be happy to help you find answers.