However much you paid for your air conditioner there will come a time, as is the case for any home appliance, for it to be ‘put out to pasture’ and replaced with a newer, more efficient model. It’s perhaps not something you really want to think too hard about – yet another expense! – but the chances are that you really don’t want to think about trying to live in a home without air conditioning either (and when you have had it for some time it’s easy to forget how miserable life without it can be.)
So, having accepted the practically inevitable, just how will you know when it’s time to start considering a new air conditioner? Here are some tell-tale signs:
It’s Starting to Age Badly
Very few things get better with age and that applies to most home appliances, including air conditioners. Most modern air conditioners have a useful life of 10-15 years and should probably be replaced after that as a matter of course. However if a ‘younger’ unit is the cause of a middle of the summer emergency service call on a regular or increasing basis it may just mean that it is aging badly and you should consult with an air conditioning expert to see if maybe it needs to be retired early.
It’s Not Energy Efficient
Tremendous strides have been made in air conditioning technology over the past decade or so, especially in terms of their SEER ratings. A SEER rating – it stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio by the way – is a measurement of a units cooling capabilities in relation to its energy consumption. The higher the SEER number the more energy efficient the unit.
New air conditioners commonly have a SEER rating of 13 or higher, a standard the Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute considers acceptable. Many older air conditioners have a rating lower than that and so the cash they are costing you in energy consumption every month may, if you do the math, make it worthwhile considering replacing it for a newer model.
Your Home Just Isn’t Cool Enough
Does your air conditioner seem to struggle to keep your home cool enough? Are certain rooms starting to seem warmer than others when, according to the thermostat settings they should all be being cooled at the same rate? Do you have to set the thermostat lower than you used to achieve the level of cooling you need? All of this can be a clear sign that an air conditioner is no longer up to the job or it can even be a sign that the system is incorrectly sized for your home.
Either way you need an air conditioner that does its job and does it as efficiently as possible. Calling in a professional to discuss your options is the only sensible thing to do in these situations, both to make sure that your home stays as cool as you’d like but also to make sure it is being cooled in the most budget friendly way possible.
If you have any questions about our range of services, please do not hesitate to contact us on 816-436-1000 or email us: service@arcticairkc.com. One of our friendly and knowledgeable staff members will be happy to assist you in any way they can and answer all your queries.