Should I repair or replace my air conditioner?
Repair is usually the answer when the system is cooling well between faults and the part that failed is a single component. Replacement starts to make sense when the unit still runs on R-22 refrigerant, when the same fault keeps coming back, or when the bill for one repair approaches the cost of a new system. A technician who has the unit open can tell you which case you are in.
What it actually depends on
Which refrigerant it uses. R-22, sold as Freon, could no longer be made or imported into the United States after January 1, 2020. A system that still runs on it can usually be repaired, but the refrigerant to recharge it gets harder to buy every year. Newer systems use R-410A or Puron. If a leak is the problem, the refrigerant your unit takes changes the whole conversation.
Whether the fault repeats. One capacitor or one contactor is a repair. Ice on the coils that returns after a recharge means refrigerant is escaping somewhere, and the leak is the real job.
What the system has been through. A unit that has had a tune up every season and a unit that has never been opened do not age the same way.
What our technicians look at before saying either word
When a technician comes out, the job is to find the fault, not to sell a system. Their AC service and repair work covers all makes and models, and the same visit covers the things that imitate a dying unit: weak airflow that turns out to be ductwork, water around the indoor unit, coils icing over, noises that started recently.
Two of those have cheap answers and one of them does not, which is exactly why the diagnosis comes before the recommendation.
Common questions
Can a refrigerant leak be repaired, or does the system have to be replaced?
Leaks are repairable work. We locate the leak, repair it, and recharge the system. Whether that is worth doing on an older R-22 unit is the part worth talking through, because that refrigerant is no longer produced or imported in the United States.
Does a maintenance plan change the answer?
It changes how often you face the question. The annual membership includes two system tune ups a year, filter replacements, a blower and coil cleaning, and ten percent off repairs, so small faults get caught while they are still small.
My AC is not blowing cold air. Is that always a big repair?
No. Weak or warm airflow can come from the compressor, from refrigerant, or from ductwork, and those are very different jobs. It is worth having it looked at before deciding anything.
Get the diagnosis first
Call 985-624-8831 or book a visit through the contact page, and get the fault named before you decide anything. Repair and replacement are both on the table until someone has the unit open.
