With ample upkeep, your air conditioner will provide worry-free performance for many years. But, like any other thing in your home, it will eventually need to be replaced. Knowing when to replace it is important to skip pricey repairs, expensive utility bills and comfort disruptions.

When it involves being cool and your residence’s energy efficiency, our Air Concepts of Middle Georgia pros have your best interests at heart. There’s a lot that goes into figuring out when your air conditioner requires replacement. Here are a couple of points you should consider when you’re thinking about updating your 15-year-old air conditioner.

Age

Most of the time, the Department of Energy says most air conditioners last for 15–20 years. If yours is 15 years old, it’s well past the halfway point. It’s wise to begin preparing for air conditioning installation before it fails so you aren’t roasting while you’re waiting for a new one.

Reliability

How trustworthy is your air conditioner? Does it cool reliably, even on the warmest days? Or is it frequently malfunctioning? When your air conditioner is less trustworthy it’s time to initiate preparing to get an updated one.

Repair Bills

Over your air conditioner’s lifetime, it’s anticipated for it to need a few little repairs. But if your air conditioner repair cost is more than half the cost of a new air conditioner, it’s wiser to just get a new one.

Energy Efficiency

Every air conditioner comes with a SEER rating, which ranks how proficiently it consumes electricity to produce cold air. If your air conditioner was installed in 2006, it will be at minimum 13 SEER per federal guidelines. However, your air conditioner loses efficiency as it ages.

Today, 15–18 SEER is a popular range, but efficiency can go as high as the mid-20s. Air conditioners with greater SEER ratings are typically costlier but might pay for themselves over time through improved energy savings. And getting an energy-efficient air conditioner, especially one that’s an ENERGY STAR® air conditioner, can make you eligible for extra rebates.

Comfort

Are you cool when your air conditioner is working? Or are you often dialing down the temperature to stay cool? An old air conditioner could have problems keeping your house comfy due to reduced efficiency. A modern air conditioner, particularly a variable-speed air conditioner, can minimize high humidity and hot and cold spots. Instead of running at full speed all the time, these air conditioners operate at multiple speeds to adjust your comfort.

Noise

Your air conditioner should give cooling you can feel, not hear. If noise is a concern, call us about upgrading to a variable-speed air conditioner. Most of these air conditioners cool at a sound level that’s like a regular conversation.

Smart Thermostat Compatibility

Getting a smart thermostat is a good approach to maximize your energy efficiency, with very little effort needed from you. And, depending on the rebates provided by your utility company, you may be able to get a free smart thermostat or get one for very little. Most of these thermostats can pick up on your temperature preferences and then create an energy-efficient schedule to match. They also know when you’re at home or out and about and adjust temps as necessary.

If you use an aging air conditioner, a smart thermostat might not work with it. Installing a new air conditioner is a wise method to ensure smart thermostat compatibility.

Refrigerant Kind

If your air conditioner was installed before 2010, it probably runs on Freon®. Also known as R-22 refrigerant, Freon is no longer being produced because of its damaging effects on the ozone layer. You can see if your air conditioner has R-22 by looking at the sticker on the outside unit, which will show the refrigerant type.

If your air conditioner is operating fine, you can keep on using it. However, if it ever experiences a refrigerant leak, fixing the problem will be pricey. That’s since Freon is only available in reduced, recycled amounts.

Newer air conditioners run on Puron®, or R-410A. But you can’t just put Puron in a Freon air conditioner, because pressure requirements are different.

Our Technicians Make Air Conditioning Installation Stress-Free

If you’re still debating whether you should replace your 15-year-old air conditioner now, consider this. The Department of Energy says doing air conditioning replacement for a 10-year-old model can result in 25–40% in energy savings! And those savings can really accumulate as time passes.

We know that air conditioner cost is your top question. That’s why collaborating with Air Concepts of Middle Georgia for air conditioning installation in Milledgeville and Middle Georgia and surrounding areas is easy and affordable. Our techs will help you select the right model for your needs and then go over all the possibilities. These include special offers to help you save more and financing for qualified customers to make your new air conditioner work with your budget.

Get in touch with us at 478-200-5689 to request your free, no-pressure estimate right away!