Could you imagine surviving our hot summers without air conditioning? I think I’ll pass on this.But the thing we need to remind ourselves of is that our air conditioner can’t last too many summers (and maybe chilly winters).
So, if you don’t want to end up with the A/C that broke down at the peak of a summer season or just when it’s too cold outside to refrain from turning it on, you need to keep a close eye on your air conditioner and make sure to replace it before an A/C emergency happens.
And here are a couple of signs that might tell you that it’s just about the time for you to make a call and ask a couple of HVAC pros to come to your place, inspect your air conditioner and schedule its replacement.
How do you know that you need to replace air conditioner?
1. Everything has its life span
Just like you’re not supposed to eat food after its use-by date even if it looks fine, you’re not supposed to use your air conditioner after it hits 10-15 year mark.
First of all, it’s not the safest choice to make it work longer than that. Secondly, it’s not the most energy efficient decision.
The intensity of use decreases the lifespan of your A/C unit as well. So, be strong enough to part with your 10-15 years old cooling friend and shop for a new one that has an Energy Star label to cut down your electricity bill by up to 20%.
2. Your air conditioner fails to cool you down
Do you notice that different areas of your house or even different parts of the same room aren’t evenly cool? Does your unit fail to maintain the temperature you set it at?
Does your house feel boiling hot even when your air conditioner works on its highest settings?
Poor air flow and temperature regulation issues might mean that your air conditioner is not able to cope with its direct task anymore. However, it does not necessarily mean that you have to splurge on a new unit. Sometimes everything your air conditioner needs to work fine is a duct clean-up.
Sometimes it’s the compressor that makes it act kind of funny. And sometimes it’s not even your A/C unit, but thermostat that needs to be repaired.
You can’t tell what the problem is for sure until you get your air conditioning system inspected by an experienced HVAC pro. If you’re lucky enough, he might be able to fix it.
But some air conditioner repairs just aren’t worth conducting (for instance, when getting a new unit will cost almost as much as fixing your current one).
3. Excessive dust and humidity
If you notice that your house gets more humid than usual for no reason and that your surfaces get dusty a lot quicker than normal, pay closer attention to your air conditioner’s performance.
If these factors pair with its faulty behavior, you need to schedule a check-up for it.
4. Weird noises, odors, leaks, and constant action
When something isn’t right with your air conditioner, you might be able to notice that it sounds quite strange.
Strange sounds might indicate belt slip or lack of lubrication issues, while unpleasant smells are normally caused by cable insulation burnout.
Those problems are not that hard or pricey to tackle. However, they might mean that you need to go replacement unit shopping.
The fact that your air conditioner leaks or seems to work non-stop should make you even more suspicious and willing to book a HVAC pro’s visit ASAP.
5. It breaks down too often
Just count how many times you called your HVAC guy and asked him to fix your air conditioner. Now, calculate how much money his services cost.
Maybe, it’s time to stop wasting money on material to patch your old item and invest in a new one?
Might sound like a huge one-moment spending, but this purchase will actually protect your family budget from getting robbed every single time your faulty air con decides to break down.
6. Insane electricity bill
Well, that old-school air conditioner, which was installed at your house ages ago, might work just fine.
However, if you’re not too pleased with your electricity bill, you should consider replacing your good old hardworking A/C and get a new, energy-saving one installed.
If you think about the fact that A/C produces up 70% of our summer electricity bill, you’ll figure out that the new fixture will make up its cost in the long run.
