The Hidden Cost of Waiting To Replace Your AC System
Is it always best to 'Repair' an aging AC system? Let's look at a typical scenario an air conditioning service technician may encounter: a service call with an 11 year old, 10 seer system. The system has a leaky/bad evaporator coil, higher than necessary energy bills and a hard starting compressor. The system's had one prior service call, and will likely have two more service calls in the next three years - one of those calls at overtime rates.
|
Repairs$ |
Replace$ |
|
|
$153 |
$153 |
Previous service call and three pounds of refrigerant added. |
|
$288 |
$288 |
Current service call, leak search and add five pounds of R-22 |
|
$1,415 |
$0 |
Current service call - replace 3 ton evaporator coil |
|
$483.00 |
$0 |
Future call #1 - over-time service charge, replace run capacitor and start kit |
|
$60.00 |
$0 |
Future call #2 - diagnosis, bad compressor |
|
$7,135 |
$6,396 |
Replace 3 Ton Gas/Electric system: today's cost verses three years from now |
|
$0 |
-$885 |
Energy savings with new 15 Seer equipment - three years at a $295.00 per year |
|
$9,534 |
$5,952 |
Totals of repairs verses replacement |
|
$3582 Difference between the two scenarios over a 3 year period | ||
Are you paying for a new air conditioner, and don't even know it?
Annual Cost Of Operation
All estimates are base on 8.5 cents per Kilowatt hour, and are approximate. For exact usage, a thorough energy audit should be performed.
The average SEER rating for an air conditioning system over 10 years of age is 8-10 SEER when it was new.
..for a better view of this chart, download the excel doc below: