Environment
2008-04-01 12:10:00
Replace or repair air conditioners?
QUESTION: Should I Replace or Repair My Air Conditioner...it’s older?
ANSWER: When your cooling system breaks down, you may be faced with the choice of repairing your existing unit or purchasing a new air conditioner. It is a good question…and you can make an informed decision regarding the replacement or the repair of an existing air conditioner if you have some good information. We’ll try to give you some good answers here. Repairs on an existing unit may be the least expensive immediate option, but may cost you a lot more in the long run. An older system that breaks down once is likely to break down again due to its age, and the ongoing wear and tear on the system’s working parts. It will also definitely consume quite a bit more high priced energy than a newer, much higher efficiently designed system. In fact, installing a new, energy efficient system can completely pay for itself over time.
There are times when simple repairs can prolong the life of an air conditioner so that the replacement of the unit may sometimes be delayed. The key word here is delayed…if you’re having problems with your heating or air conditioning unit, the chances are generally good that replacing them now will save you money, and the HVAC technician that comes out to check out your systems for you will be able to give you good answers to whether or not you need to consider replacing them now, or repairing them. Buying new heating and air conditioning equipment is not something most folks do very often, so it’s hard to develop much proficiency regarding what size or kind of unit you are going to need to keep you warm in the winter and cool in the hot summers that we get here in Kansas. The Comfort Consultant that visits you can perform things like the room to room load calculation, and airflow readings that you need to ensure that your unit will cool every part of your home. You can rely on him to provide you with good guidance in this regard. All heating and air-conditioning manufacturers state that a room by room load calculation must be performed to properly size a home’s heating and cooling system.
Comfort and efficiency are important to anyone making this kind of purchase, and with all the different brand names you see advertised out there, how do you know which brand and model to choose? Understanding the standard ratings applied to air-conditioners can help. You may also want to consult Consumer Reports Magazine about their ratings of different heating and cooling brands.
If you have not replaced your air-conditioning system recently, your air-conditioner probably contains R22 refrigerant to cool your home or place of business. The problem with R22 is that when it escapes into the atmosphere and breaks down, it emits chlorine atoms which have been shown to damage the ozone. As a result, the United States has prohibited the production and importing of R22 based air conditioning equipment effective January 1, 2010. If you replace your equipment after that date, you will have to purchase R410A based equipment. R410A does not damage the ozone. If you need to replace component parts of your air conditioning equipment before the ban takes effect, you have the choice of purchasing R22 based or R410A based equipment. Note that both your outside unit ( condensing unit or heat pump ) and your indoor evaporator coil will contain the same refrigerant, so if your R22 condenser or evaporator coil fails and you choose to replace it with R410A equipment, you will have to replace your other unit at the same time. Bear in mind that if you replace only the failed unit with new R22 equipment and the other unit fails after January 1, 2010, you will have to replace both units with R410A equipment. Consequently, it may be cheaper, in the long run, to replace both your outside unit and your indoor evaporator coil at the same time with R410A based equipment.
As a general rule, the more efficient the unit, the more it will cost initially. However, more efficient equipment will actually save you money over time as it requires less energy to cool your home. Cooling efficiency for air-conditioners is indicated as SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating): the higher the number, the greater the efficiency. In 1992, 10 SEER was the minimum rating for units installed in new homes. The DOE (Department of Energy) has since set a new minimum standard of 13 SEER for air conditioners manufactured on or after January 23, 2006. 13 SEER equipment is approximately thirty-percent more efficient to operate than 10 SEER equipment. For even greater energy savings, consider 14 SEER, 15 SEER, or higher equipment. The most efficient air cooled air-conditioning equipment now available has an exceptional efficiency rating of up to 23.0 SEER. Some of the new equipment is designed to run at low speed 80% of the time, giving you much more efficiency at a much reduced cost of operation. Replacing your old heating and cooling system with a high efficiency system will, in most cases, increase the value of your home dollar for dollar due to the concern for rising energy costs.
In summary, it’s that time of year to make that annual call to a service tech to make certain that you’re not going to be suffering in the heat with a broken down or dirty air-conditioner this spring or summer. He can advise you as to whether you need to make a repair to your air conditioning system, or if it would be better to change it out in favor of one of the new high efficiency units that will begin saving you money from day one. The new technology is truly amazing, and sometimes maintaining an older unit can get to be just a lot of unnecessary brain damage. More next month…
