When do you buy a new A/C unit?

[si-am]

Just curious about what other people would do!

Our A/C is original to our house... built in 1984. We haven't had any problems with it, except that when we had to get a new furnace a few years ago, the technician seemed pretty skeptical that the A/C unit would last much longer.

We got an estimate today for a new unit... about $3k (which includes replacing a whole bunch of other related stuff) which isn't quite as bad as I thought.

But part of me wonders if I should just wait til ours breaks totally? Or do I want to risk that happening in the dead of summer when it might take forever to get a replacement?

 

[msmayor]

We replaced ours after 15 years...and opted to replace the furnace at the same time.

Often, the furnace and A/C work more efficiently when "mated" to each other, and therefore many folks will change them both at the same time if they are around the same age.

If your compressor is from 1984, you are probably spending a fortune to cool your home...todays units are FAR more efficient than one 27 years old.

I would replace it in a heartbeat before the hot weather arrives.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I guess you could look at efficiency of your AC. How is your electric bill?

A unit put in in 1984 is probably not going to be energy efficient and also while you may think it works OK, a new unit is going to be nicer with cooling you house better.

If your electric bill is not taking a beating and your house is cool then I would wait.

In addition you need to be on the lookout for the government stuff that is going on with refunds and energy efficiency. You might have missed the boat there. Check it out though. We got one for our dishwasher.

 

[si-am]

Thanks for the input!

Our electric bill is about $200-$250 in the summer... but we keep the house unbearably hot (85 when we're not home, 78 during the hours we're here).

The savings might offset the cost of the A/C really... at this point I'm leaning towards getting it but there's that small part of me that is wondering how many more years we can get out of our old one!

 

[nathalee81]

Just curious about what other people would do!

Our A/C is original to our house... built in 1984. We haven't had any problems with it, except that when we had to get a new furnace a few years ago, the technician seemed pretty skeptical that the A/C unit would last much longer.

We got an estimate today for a new unit... about $3k (which includes replacing a whole bunch of other related stuff) which isn't quite as bad as I thought.

But part of me wonders if I should just wait til ours breaks totally? Or do I want to risk that happening in the dead of summer when it might take forever to get a replacement?

We replaced ours about five years ago and our house is one year younger than yours. However, my friends have a house as old as yours and they haven't replaced their AC yet. The AC in their house still works, but we have had talks about how much our electricity bill is in the summer and I know she spends a couple hundred dollars more than me (we live in the South and we USE our AC's during the summer).

We spent about the same as you to replace ours. We didn't replace the furnace, as the previous owners had replaced it a couple years prior-but I would recommend, as others have, to replace it at the same time if it is as old as the AC.

I would say if it is in your budget to do so, I would replace it before the summer comes. But, that kinda depends if you live in a place where you could do without AC during the summer. Life would be quite unpleasant without AC where we live, that is why we replaced it before it died completely.

 

[Dan Murphy]

The energy efficiency/lower bills would be dramatic. Also check with electric company to see if there are rebates available from them.

Also, the tax incentives were extended late last year.

http://energytaxincentives.org/consumers/heating-cooling.php


http://energytaxincentives.org/consumers/heating-cooling.php#ac

 

[piglet50]

do it now. we replaced our gas furnace and a/c outside unit in 09. we saw an immediate 31% savings in our summer electric bill. the winter bill was down 19%. (we decided to raise our heat from 65 to 68 because i'm home during the day now) our furnace was 25 yrs old and the a/c unit was 15.
we are very pleased. besides, who wants to be stranded on a hot summer day?

 

[si-am]

We are in GA, so going without AC in the summer would be pretty painful.

I think my husband has made the "executive decision" to go ahead and do it. I'm worried, but I guess it's kind of like every big purchase (car, house, roof, etc.) You don't ever really feel comfortable with it up front but are glad you did in the end.

 

[Feralpeg]

In Florida, AC units only last about ten years. I've had mine not quite seven years. A couple of months ago, I had to have a new fan motor installed and a freon leak fixed. The technician tried to talk me into a whole new unit since mine is getting older. I declined, but he told me that beginning next year, the will no longer be able to supply freon. So, it if develops a leak, I will have no choice but to go with another type of unit.