Ross and Witmer When it comes to choosing a new cooling system for your Charlotte area home, the lifetime costs of an air conditioner should play a major role in your decision. An A/C’s purchase price is not the only money you’re going to be spending on it; you’ll be paying to power it, maintain it and repair it over the course of its life. Consider lifetime costs so you select the equipment that will provide you with the most value for as long as you own the air conditioner.
Energy Savings
A newer air conditioner featuring state-of-the-art, energy-saving technology will cost quite a bit less to run over its lifetime compared to a non-energy-efficient A/C. Keep in mind that as air conditioners get older, they will start to lose efficiency at a slow and gradual pace, which is typical for any home appliance. The key is to buy an efficient air conditioner to begin with, making the decrease in efficiency much more tolerable as the years go by.
Small energy savings when compared to different models may not seem like much when you purchase the A/C, but if you keep it for 20 years, it can be a huge difference.
Durability
All parts of your HVAC system are going to experience some kind of wear and tear over time. Ventilation ducts may leak, coolant may escape — all sorts of things can happen. Knowing that your air conditioner can stand up to regular use, as well as a wide variety of seasonal weather, is an important part of figuring out the lifetime costs of an air conditioner. Being able to stand up to extremely hot temperatures for 3 to 4 months a year, followed by long periods of little use, is one of the hallmarks of a good air conditioner.
Cost of Parts and Repair
At some point, your cooling system will need to be repaired. When figuring out the lifetime costs of an air conditioner, these repairs need to be taken into consideration. If you don’t need to repair it for the first 10 years you own it and only need to repair it sporadically after that, the lifetime cost will probably be less than an A/C that needs repaired every other year after 8 years of service.
The price of replacement parts and the types of repairs needed are also important factors in this equation, since some things can be repaired relatively quickly compared to others. Replacement parts for certain units may be hard to find now, making them even harder to find in the future, driving up their price, and possibly leading to you needing to purchase a new air conditioner earlier than you expected.
Length of Service
The length of time your air conditioner will last before needing to be replaced completely is a combination of the concepts above. The more years you can get out of your air conditioner while still being a wise financial choice to running it as opposed to replacing it, the longer your initial purchase price will be spread out.
Learn more about A/C solutions available from the Ross & Witmer, as well as the lifetime costs of an air conditioner, or contact us today at 704-392-6188 to schedule an appointment for your Charlotte home.