What's The Best Decision?

August 7, 2018 Brian Nagle 

Putting off major decisions until the last minute is rarely a great strategy, especially on a 100 degree day.

This morning, with warm temperatures climbing towards a 100 degrees here on Long Island, a few thoughts.

Our phones are ringing off the hook with homeowners who didn’t believe they needed a service contract, and now their AC doesn’t work. We want more service business, but we want the right service business. You wouldn't drive your car for 40,000 miles without changing the oil; or would you?

If you own a home with an air conditioning system more than 20 years old or older, you likely know how many headaches it can cause by breaking or needing constant repairs. The question is whether or not you should continue to have the unit repaired and serviced, or whether it would make more sense to have it replaced altogether.

The rational thought process is; don’t want to waste money by getting a new HVAC unit before you need one, but at the same time you won’t want to continue spending money every time a new problem (or the same one) arises. Also keep in mind, a unit that old is a much lower efficiency energy guzzler compared with newer, more efficient models that could potentially use a fraction of the power to provide better cooling performance.

Spending a little bit of extra money now may mean you won’t have to worry about excessive repairs in the future, plus you’ll likely see a massive reduction in your monthly energy costs. A safe number to think about replacing the system is 13-15 years. If your AC system is 13 years or more and has needed repair, it’s a good time to replace it so you can avoid costly repairs and start over with a brand new, energy star rated energy reducing unit.

Your decision should factor in how many years you will be in the house, and what your energy bills are today. They're the darlings of the industry available today, the variable speed inverter condensers, which use 30-50% less electric than standard existing single stage central air conditioners. These units will be the industry standard within the next 5 years. If your system uses R22 Freon, as of December 31, 2019, only synthetic Freon will be available in the United States. (Remember the Ozone Layer controversy.) If you need a major repair, such as the compressor, blower motor or condenser coils, replacing it, makes much more sense than repairing it. Newer units can significantly reduce monthly costs and can have over 25 SEER (seasonal energy efficiency ratio) ratings, qualifying for the top energy rebates. Being concerned about the cost is understandable, but most HVAC companies, including True Mechanical Corp, offer competitive financing options for those who qualify. You never know, the money you save each month may be greater than your monthly financing payment. When having a new HVAC unit installed, it is important to have an experienced professional do the job because over or under-sized units lead to premature failure, poor humidity control and inconsistent cooling and heating performance.