How an Old Air Conditioner Costs You Money

If you have considered replacing an aging air conditioning system, but have held back because the AC still seems to keep the house at the same level of cooling it always has, then you might be throwing away money and not realize it. An air conditioner can still outwardly produce the same amount of cooling that it has for many years, but inwardly run inefficiently and elevate to raise your bills.

At what point is an AC overdue for a replacement? To help answer that question, let’s look at how an aging air conditioner in Mesa, AZ can cost you extra money.

For help from experienced air conditioning professionals in determining whether the time has come to replace your cooling system, depend on Goettl Good Guys Air Conditioning. We’ve helped keep one of the hottest cities in the country cool since 1939.

Why old air conditioners waste money

Air conditioners are electro-mechanical devices; like any mechanical device—from a car to a washing machine—it will start to wear down from stress over the years. Regular maintenance will slow down this aging process and expand the system’s lifespan, but eventually the decay on the components will reach a point where the air conditioner will begin to strain to perform its job, and no amount of repairs or maintenance will reverse it.

The component that is most susceptible to irreparable wear is the compressor, which is also the heart of the operation of an AC. The compressor runs similar to a piston engine, and can succumb to similar mechanical stress that will cause it to siphon off additional energy in order to run. If the compressor burns out, the system will not work, and because it is expensive to replace a compressor, this usually means the entire air conditioner must be replaced.

Air conditioners come with a manufacturer’s estimated lifespan; if your unit has exceeded it, than it is likely already costing you money because of stress on the compressor or declining electrical components. Check over the last two years of your utility bills to see if there was an increase in electrical costs during the summer. This will point to an aged air conditioner beginning to fail; arrange for an AC technician to look into the matter and see if it is time for a replacement.

Finally, if your air conditioner is old enough, it was probably always less efficient than the current models available. Recent advances in HVAC technology—such as improved refrigerant blends—have increased the ability of air conditioners to convert electricity into cooling; you can probably find a new unit with higher energy efficiency that costs around the same as you paid for your current system years ago.

Don’t let a faltering cooling system inflate your summer bills: call Goettl Air Conditioning today and talk to us about installing a new air conditioner in Mesa, AZ.