The Ever Burning Question: Should You Repair or Replace Your Air Conditioner?
Should you repair, replace or replace even if not in need of repair? I would like to give you some ideas on whether to replace or repair an air conditioner. The following is not meant to be a comprehensive discussion of air conditioner replacement. From my years of experience as an air conditioning contractor in Orlando, Florida, I will try to touch what I think are important considerations regarding air conditioner replacement.
First, if you are contemplating air conditioner replacement, you should call us at Marathon Air. We will carefully evaluate what is wrong and give you an estimate regarding what the repair will cost you. We help our customers evaluate the air conditioner replacement question many times every day.
Less Than Five Years Old: Repair Your A/C
Now if your air conditioner is less than five years old it is probably still covered by a warranty on the compressor. This is the most expensive part of a system. So, if your system is less than 5 years old, the answer to the air conditioner replacement question is always to repair any problem.
More Than Five Years Old: Possibly Replace Your A/C, Or Maybe Not, Depending
However if your air conditioner is over five years old it may not have warranty coverage. This means a compressor or evaporator repair (which is major) will cost more money. And air conditioners older than this will most likely be less efficient than newer models. The reality is that air conditioners are machines, which means that they can be repaired indefinitely. However, an air conditioner built 25 years ago may be running just fine, technically “needing” no repair, yet be using much more electricity than a new efficient air conditioner, which may make it more economical to replace it. Thus, any unit say over 15 years is not worth any major repair. For example, a compressor repair might cost 1800.00, while a new system may cost 4500 dollars, which is a difference of 2700 dollars. You can easily save 700 dollars a year on electric cost, so in just over 3 years the extra electric cost would have paid for your new system. The electric savings varies and needs to be evaluated on a case by case basis. Government and utility rebates can also make the payback of air conditioner replacement even more advantageous.
No One Wants to Be Hot
Another reason to replace a system is to gain reliability. A business open to the public is not inviting if the air conditioning is not working and the temperature spikes to ninety degrees. Constant AC outages make both the employees and customers equally unhappy. A new system is less likely to fail, which keeps everyone content.
Do You Plan On Sticking Around For A While?
If you are leasing your business location, with plans to move your business soon, then obviously you should not replace the old HVAC unit. On the other hand, if you are planning to stay at your current location for a long time, you may reap the energy efficiency savings by an air conditioner replacement with a new energy efficient unit that is more reliable than the old one.
We Work All Over Central Florida
Marathon Air provides primary commercial air conditioning (although we welcome and perform some residential), refrigeration and ice machine repair to cities all over Central Florida, including:
