Repair Or Replace: How To Determine What's Right For Your Air Conditioner

The summer season offers a ton of benefits. You can finally bring out your floats and spend days lazing around in your pool, throw epic summer BBQ parties, and bask in the glory of summer blooming perennials turning your garden into a colorful paradise. Sadly, there are a few tradeoffs as well. For starters, you'll have to contend with high electricity bills, especially if you're unwilling to try offbeat hacks like spreading yogurt on your windows. Given this, you certainly wouldn't want to read too much into your AC making expensive-sounding noises. But you'll have to take action if it starts blowing hot air, actively raising the humidity in your room, turning off at irregular intervals, or giving off a foul odor no amount of air freshener can mask. However, what exactly should this action be? Should you call a professional for repairs? Or, should you cut your losses and just spring for a replacement unit?

Well, to make the right decision, you must determine your AC's age. If it's younger than 10 years, repairs make the most sense — in almost all cases. But if it's approaching its 10-year anniversary or has surpassed this threshold, it might be time to replace this major home appliance. Of course, this isn't a one-size-fits-all approach. To elaborate, if your unit is out of warranty and you'll have to foot the bill for service costs and part replacements, you want to do a quick check and decide whether it'll cost you less to have your faulty appliance repaired. There are also other factors to consider, like your air conditioner's energy efficiency and the type of refrigerant it uses.

If your AC is still under warranty and it has generous terms, contacting the brand and having them schedule a repair is the best option. Even if your unit had a limited coverage period and the company is willing to pay for replacements if you cover the labor charges, having it repaired still makes sense. Things get tricky when the warranty expires and you're on your own. Under such circumstances, the first thing you want to do is make a list of all the times you've had your unit repaired. In case this is the first instance, you'll want to have it looked at and fixed. Even if you have had to have minor repairs done almost once a year, it's fine — provided the cost isn't too high.

Wondering how to make a decision based on cost alone? Simply follow the $5,000 rule. According to this, you must first find out the cost of repairs. Generally, having your compressor repaired will cost you anywhere between $900 and $2,900, whereas a condenser coil can run a bill of $1,000 to $4,000 (or more). A circuit board will fall in the range of $75 to $600 while you'll have to pay $100 to $400 for a capacitor. Remember, technician charges will be extra. Once you have the range, multiply it by the number of years you've had your AC. If the resultant figure is below $5,000, you can opt for a repair. If it's over, it may be worth replacing it. Additionally, if it keeps breaking down regularly and you have already spent a decent amount on repairs, spring for a new model.

Besides the cost versus life analysis, there are other ways you can determine if a replacement would be a better option. For starters, check your model's SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) or SEER2 rating. This will help you judge whether it's energy-efficient or not. Models with a rating of 13 (the floor) and above (between 16 and 20) are considered good because they consume less electricity than lower-rated units. To put this into perspective, a model that's a few years old will greedily gulp down about 30 to 50% more energy than its recently-manufactured counterpart. This will naturally lead to higher electricity bills, especially if you live in a region (think Florida) that experiences hot and humid climate for the better part of a year. So, if your AC is rated around 10 or below, you stand to save more money in the long run if you replace it with a more energy-efficient model.

Another thing you want to look at is the refrigerant being used. The EPA banned the production, import, and use of R-22, a.k.a. Freon, in 2010. So, if your device runs on this, it'll be more economical for you to replace it. Otherwise, its repair can get quite expensive (not to mention the leak is bad for our planet), especially since a technician would have to get their hands on recycled or old-stock Freon. And when you buy a new one, ensure it uses R-454B (even R-410A is being shown the door since it can contribute to global warming). Additionally, purchase a new AC if your current one is too big or small for your space.