Upgrading your air conditioning unit can not only help usher your home into the 21st century and keep it nice and chilly during those sweltering hot summer months, but it can also be a source of great savings.
That’s because upgraded AC units are often far more energy efficient than their older counterparts and break down far less (or not at all) so you’re spending less on repairs and the cost of replacement parts.
But you may be unconvinced to spend the money needed for a substantial upgrade of your air conditioning unit and who can blame you? After the price of parts and installation, you may just be looking at a total bill of a few thousand dollars. That’s enough to break any carefully considered household budget and so perhaps now is not the time to be contemplating such a project.
However, think about all of the money you are currently paying out on the air conditioner you have in your home right now. First off, how old is your current unit? Five, ten, fifteen years old? Does it still run smoothly or is it making strange sounds and noises when it starts up or while it runs?
Now consider how long it takes for your AC unit to cool down the home. Depending on the number of rooms and the size of the residence, this could be a short period of time or it may take a bit longer. Taking all of these factors into account, how long is it taking for your home to get chilly enough to be comfortable during the hot summer months? Does it feel as if you are running the AC unit all day and night just to maintain a temperature level that isn’t quite warm but it’s not all that cool either?
If any of this sounds familiar to what’s going on in your home, you may have an air conditioner that isn’t operating at peak performance and your wallet is paying the price. Literally.
That’s because when air conditioners have to work harder and longer to cool down a residence, it requires more energy to do so. That means your electric bill could start to rise as quickly as the temperatures throughout those dog days of summer.
Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER)
Air conditioners come with ratings that delineate how efficient they are in the seasons for which they are most in demand. These are the SEER ratings, which are numbers that are assigned to each unit to designate their level of energy efficiency in the home.
The newest top of the line models have SEER ratings in the mid-20’s which is much higher than the ratings given to the most up to date models manufactured a decade ago or more. Chances are you have one of these less efficient models in your home right now and unless you perform some upgrades to your air conditioning system, your unit will continue to be limited in its efficiency.
Bradley Mechanical can diagnose your air conditioning and discuss ways in which upgrades can be a beneficial option for bringing your AC unit up to date so it meets the criteria for today’s energy efficiency standards and not those from the mid 2000’s.
Avoid High-Priced Repairs
Among the most difficult things about keeping an old AC unit in your home is the need to fix it every so often. Unfortunately, the older the unit gets, every so often becomes more often when it comes to digging into your purse to pay a repair technician to come out and check out the newest issue causing air conditioning mistakes and malfunctions at the worst possible times.
But when you upgrade your air conditioner you’re implementing the best measures for reducing the risk of having to pay exorbitant repair costs on your system,. That means keeping more money in your purse and giving less of it to the repair technician, not to mention eliminating the chances of being inconvenienced by an air conditioner that isn’t running when you need it most.
Cost Comparison
So maybe that investment into an upgrade of your AC unit isn’t such a pricey proposition after all. Not when you compare what you are spending now on your energy costs each year as well as the expenses you may have incurred (or might incur down the line). Air conditioner repairs can be as little as $40 to $50 to as much as a few hundred or even thousand dollars.
Add these all up together and you just might discover that paying for an upgrade is actually less costly than keeping the unit you have in your home now.