{"id":443,"date":"2018-09-10T11:00:12","date_gmt":"2018-09-10T15:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.accomfort.us\/blog\/?p=443"},"modified":"2018-09-07T12:13:02","modified_gmt":"2018-09-07T16:13:02","slug":"air-conditioners-age-choosing-replace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.accomfort.us\/blog\/air-conditioning-service\/air-conditioners-age-choosing-replace\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Air Conditioner\u2019s Age and Choosing to Replace It"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright wp-image-444 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.accomfort.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/air-conditioning-ancient-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"old-air-conditioner\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.accomfort.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/air-conditioning-ancient-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.accomfort.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/air-conditioning-ancient-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.accomfort.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/air-conditioning-ancient.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>The closing weeks of summer don\u2019t mean a sudden plunge in the heat. You can expect to need your AC running for a bit longer. But the winding-down time of the season is a good point to start considering the future of your air conditioning system and whether you want to replace it before the next summer arrives. You don\u2019t want to wait for an air conditioning system to completely break down before you have it replaced. If possible, get ahead of the problem and replace the AC <em>before<\/em> it starts to give you headaches like increased bills and unreliable performance.<!--more--><\/p>\n<h2>Let\u2019s Start with the Air Conditioner\u2019s Age<\/h2>\n<p>How old is your air conditioner? Don\u2019t worry if you can\u2019t immediately answer this. If the AC was already in the house when you moved in, you may have no idea of its age. However, it\u2019s simple to find out. Go to the outdoor cabinet of the AC (the condenser cabinet) and find the metal nameplate, which is usually attached to the back of the cabinet. This nameplate should have the manufacturer\u2019s date on it. If it doesn\u2019t, take a digital snapshot of the nameplate, and then call our office. Using the model and serial number on the plate, we can give you the manufacturer\u2019s date.<\/p>\n<h2>What Age Means for an Air Conditioner<\/h2>\n<p>You now know how old your AC is, but what counts as <em>too<\/em> old?<\/p>\n<p>In general, modern air conditioning systems can last 10 to 15 years, with warranties covering 10 to 12 years. If you have an AC past its warranty period or older than 15 years, then planning for a replacement is a good idea. Yes, even if the air conditioner is still outwardly working well. The risk of the system becoming inefficient increases past 15 years, as does the risk the system will suffer a breakdown.<\/p>\n<p>Repairs become a less cost-effective solution when the AC is this old. You can apply \u201cThe Rule of 5000\u201d to get an idea of when repairs are not the ideal choice. Multiple a repair cost by the age of the system. If the result is more than 5000, the repair is too costly. For example, if you have a 15-year-old AC, any repair more than $350 (or $333.33 if you want to be specific) isn\u2019t worth it.<\/p>\n<h2>A Word About Refrigerant<\/h2>\n<p>Current home air conditioners use R-410A refrigerant, which replaced the carbon-depleting R-22 as part of a phaseout. By 2020, R-22 will no longer be available for repairs on older units. If you have an R-22 air conditioner (you can find this information on the nameplate), we strongly recommend replacing it as soon as possible. New R-410A air conditioners have superior energy efficiency and you won\u2019t have to worry about refrigerant leaks that can\u2019t be repaired.<\/p>\n<p>We can offer whatever <a href=\"\/air-conditioning\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Katy, TX air conditioning service<\/a> you may need at the end of the summer. If you need advice about whether to replace your AC or continue with repairs, we\u2019re happy to assist you. Our NATE-certified technicians have the training to know what\u2019s best for your future home comfort.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"\/contact\/send-message\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Schedule air conditioning service with our team.<\/a> At AC Comfort, we believe comfort can cost less!<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How old is your air conditioner? Don\u2019t worry if you can\u2019t immediately answer this. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[70],"tags":[23,14,88],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.accomfort.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.accomfort.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.accomfort.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.accomfort.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.accomfort.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=443"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.accomfort.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":446,"href":"https:\/\/www.accomfort.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443\/revisions\/446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.accomfort.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.accomfort.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.accomfort.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}