Summer may be behind us this year, but if you’ve lived in the Tallahassee area for even just a year, then you know summer temperatures never really leave us for too long. Therefore, our residential air conditioners go through a lot more work than those in other parts of the country with actual fall and winter weather.
If yours experienced any trouble this past summer or more recently, it’s a good idea to consider if it’s time to replace the system altogether. The last thing you need, after all, is for your air conditioner to completely break down on you in the middle of a heatwave, which you know as well as we do can happen in January, let alone now. Read on to learn some of the leading signs that it’s time to replace your air conditioner.
As your cooling system ages, it will naturally start to lose efficiency as the components within it wear down. At first, you won’t even notice this decline in efficiency. Over time, however, it will get so severe that you’ll notice your air conditioner operating for longer and longer periods of time in order to compensate.
This longer operating time drives up the monthly cost of using the system since it’s draining more power. If you find that your cooling system is costing much more than it used to each month than this same time last year, it could very well mean it’s time for a new system.
Don’t get us wrong, we’re happy to help! But the truth of the matter is, if you find yourself calling for AC repairs a few times a year instead of once every few years, even with preventive maintenance, it’s a big sign that your air conditioner is reaching the end of its lifespan.
This increase in the frequency of breakdowns is typically due to the system finally succumbing to years of wear and tear. The various components inside of it are starting to fail, which causes the frequency and cost of repairs to skyrocket. Continuing to repair your system once it reaches this point is just going to waste a lot of money, and you’ll likely need to replace it soon anyway. Better to do it now, and go into the summer with a new system you can rely on.
Assuming that you schedule professional preventive maintenance each year, and call for repairs as soon as you need them, you still cannot expect your air conditioner to last forever. Eventually, your cooling system will get old enough that it just won’t be worth keeping it around anymore.
The average lifespan for air conditioners is about 10-15 years. After this point, they’ll start accumulating a host of chronic problems that will make it increasingly expensive to keep them up and running. If your cooling system is over the age of 15 years old, you should consult with a pro about your upgrade options.
For Tallahassee, FL HVAC services, contact Parker Services Inc.