AC Repair: When to Repair vs Replace Your AC
Well, buying an AC is quite an investment. To be honest, not everyone has the luxury of a machine that cools your room while you’re having a deep, goodnight sleep.
But, after a certain time, when the signs of wear and tear begin to surface, you grow worried.
“Is it worth repairing my air conditioner this time, or should I replace it?” you ask yourself.
This is exactly what this article is about. We’ll be discussing the key factors that determine if the AC is repairable or not, or if it’s worth repairing it in the first place.
1.How Old is Your AC?
Worth repairing or better be replaced with a new unit, it greatly depends on the age of your unit. The average lifespan of an air conditioner is about 15 to 20 years.
But not always an air conditioner is going to last this long – not certainly when you don’t pay attention to small faults and spend little on its maintenance service. So keep in mind that the lifespan can be reduced too.
The general rule of thumb is to replace your air conditioner if it’s older than a decade. An air conditioner this old is likely to be less efficient than the modern, advanced machines available in the market.
2.Gauge the Efficiency of Your Machine
We all want to save up a few bucks on our monthly energy expenses, don’t we? And for that, you must have an energy-efficiency air conditioner that takes little energy yet blows super cool air all around the room.
And talking about efficiency, older machines lack this. Say you are running a 2006 model in 2022, it won’t have the same power and energy efficiency that modern units and companies offer.
High-efficiency features like smart thermostat compatibility, dehumidifiers, variable-speed motors, and scroll technology are some of the common features in today’s air conditioner; go back a decade and they were considered a luxury.
So if your current machine isn’t efficient, it’s better to get it replaced rather than spend your hard-earned cash on its repair and continue to pay high electricity bills.
3.Check Out the Condition of the Ductwork
Next, inspect the ductwork. An average house’s ductwork leaks up to 30% of its air before it reaches the living space, says a study by Pacific Gas & Electric.
If you can’t inspect the ductwork yourself, ask a technician from a reliable AC repair Dubai service to come over and inspect it. The technician will seal the vents and measure how much air is escaping the system.
In case he deems the ducts inefficient, he’ll locate and seal the gaps. (Don’t worry, it’s not one of those costly repairs that you dread. It won’t cost you more than a few hundred dirhams.)
But, if the entire ductwork needs to be replaced, get an opinion from the technician regarding replacement or repair.
4.Cost of the Repair
Now this is pretty obvious. What if the repairer informs you that the repair would cost you somewhere around the price of a new air conditioner. Would you still go for it?
Of course not, even if there’s a marginal difference between the cost of repair and the price of a brand new air conditioner, you should always go for the latter option.
Even if the repair cost is half the price of the new air conditioner, get a new one and keep yourself stress-free for the next five years, at least!
5.Age of the AC & Its Use
That’s another important aspect when it comes to deciding between repair and replacement. If you are running your air conditioner for 10-12 hours a day in a commercial setting, and you expect top-notch performance, get a new one.
An air conditioner that has been running for 5-10 for 10-12 hours daily can’t sustain multiple repairs. There comes a time when the repair doesn’t improve its performance and the level of comfort you aim for never occurs.
6.Efficiency
Have you recently experienced a significant increase in your energy bills? Your air conditioner could be the culprit here. While the price of energy is going up everywhere, energy-friendly appliances come to the rescue of people.
But if your AC, refrigerator, TV, or other appliances are not energy efficient, you are going to bear the brunt in the form of hefty energy bills. Sooner or later you will be forced to get new, energy-efficient appliances.
If the increase in bills is only in summer, your AC is sucking up a lot of energy. And you have to take action now because the longer you will keep it running, the higher the energy bills will be.
Call-out an AC specialist and ask if any repair or introducing a new part can improve its efficiency. If the improvement seems unlikely, get a new one.
Conclusion
To change or repair an AC, the confusion often keeps us stuck in an idle state. If you are experiencing the same, get a consultation. But don’t delay it and take action now to improve the quality of air inside without bearing costly electricity bills.