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8 Reasons to Upgrade Your AC System Instead of Repairing It

Upgrading your AC system is a big decision, because the cost is rarely cheap. Making such a big financial decision should involve research, and that’s why we put together this list of reasons you might want to consider upgrading your AC system i your Flower Mound home.

Make no mistake, there are times it absolutely does not make sense to upgrade, and we’ll talk about that later.

For now, let’s look at why you might want to upgrade.

1. Save Money by Upgrading Your AC System

How will a new, more efficient air conditioner save money? Not to be redundant, but efficiency is the answer. By using electricity more efficiently, and usually by integrating with smart tech, your cost goes down. How much money you save depends on different factors: the age & size of your home’s current AC system, insulation, amount of shading in your landscape, and thermostat settings.

The air conditioner is usually the highest energy use appliance in a home, especially in Flower Mound, TX, so it pays to make certain it’s the most energy-efficient appliance, too.

Let’s look the numbers.

A new, more efficient air conditioner system could reduce cooling costs by as much as 20%-50%!

Today’s central air conditioners build on decades of research and improvement, could save you plenty of cash even if your current AC system isn’t that old.  Thanks to even more recent advancements, today’s air conditioners are 20%-40% more efficient than those that are just 10 years old.

That’s serious improvement, and you can take advantage of that improvement for your home.

2. Reduce the Cooling Load in your Home

When HVAC system pros design systems for residential homes in Texas cities like Flower Mound and Lewisville, one of the main factors they take into account is the home’s cooling load.

The Cooling Load is amount of thermal energy that your AC system must remove from a cooled interior living space so that it can maintain a comfortable temperature range for you and your family.

While it is entirely possible to determine a precise cooling load for every individual Flower Mound or Lewisville home, not all AC companies do. Instead, many rely on a general relationship between interior space and cooling needs, known as “the rule of thumb”.

This “rule of thumb” calculation produces reasonably accurate cooling load calculations for most homes in this area, but always feel free to ask for more information if you like.

If you have made efforts to increase your home’s energy efficiency, also known as “tightening the building envelope”, your home’s cooling load might be markedly lower than the rule of thumb suggests. If this is true, it’s important to get more precise cooling load calculation, since this number largely determines the right size for your home’s air conditioner system.

An AC system that is too large for your home will suffer from inefficiency, excessive wear and tear, all of which will shorten the lifespan. That’s why reducing your home’s thermal load is a good reason to think about upgrading to a new, more appropriately sized air conditioning system.

3. Your AC Cooling System Is More Than 10 Years Old

Most air conditioners are designed to last for at least 10 years. After 10 years, many AC systems may not work as efficiently as when they were first installed in your home. The 2 ways old AC units cost you money: they will lose efficiency or they’ll need repairs often.

Air Conditioner repairs become much more expensive after the 10-year mark, simply because you’re replacing larger and larger components of the system.

It’s natural to think that replacing a 10 or 12-year-old air conditioner system sounds like spending too much money. But when you consider the upside of upgrading to a new cooling system, it starts to make more sense. When you invest in a new HVAC system, you’ll see the upfront cost, but the latest technology updates on current systems  mean that you will almost certainly save money over time, and possibly even pay for the upgrade difference outright.

Almost all new air conditioner systems work with “smart” thermostats, meaning that you save on utility costs by holding your energy usage to lower amounts for long periods of time each day.

4. Repairs, Repairs, Repairs (did we mention repairs)

Let’s face it: AC repairs ain’t cheap.

If you wait and hope until something actually breaks, those costs are going to be inconvenient, so it’s best to plan ahead.

Now, when you compare repair vs. replacement, you’ll easily see that continuous repairs to your AC system are going to be expensive! Even with the help of a highly skilled Flower Mound AC repair company, an HVAC unit may start to show its age.

To keep these costs under control, you want to determine a repair cost cutoff – meaning that once you reach a certain point of  repair costs, you go ahead and replace the entire AC system.

How do you determine your repair cost cutoff point? Consider this: if a major piece of your AC system fails, like the fan motor or the condenser unit, or the repair cost is approaching to 1/2 the cost of  a new air conditioner system, it’s probably better to upgrade your AC system. You should still discuss all your options vis a vis repair vs. replacement with one of our friendly HVAC professionals, so that you can get a better idea of all costs involved and the lifespan of your current unit vs a new one.

You’ll feel much better about making that choice with all your bases covered.

5. Repairs Often Cost More Than a Brand-New Unit

Sticker shock is real with HVAC repairs. Maintaining an older air conditioner system under the demands of heat in Flower Mound and Lewisville summers is no joke. According to a 2017 report from HomeAdvisor, most homeowners shell out between $164 and $506 on each air conditioner repair call to maintenance companies.

Those really start to add up on an older AC system that’s beyond its service life, and can easily tack on hundreds or thousands of dollars to your cumulative repair bill.

What repairs are these, you ask?

For starters, your AC system could need parts that can be relatively hard to find, or aren’t even in production anymore, which would require custom-built solutions or components that are as close to the original as possible.

Older HVAC systems could also need more labor to diagnose & repair than newer systems. More than one component can also fail at once, which almost always points to replacement over repair, because at that point, the bill is going to be really high.

If the cost of keeping your HVAC system on life support exceeds the cost of a newer, more efficient model, that’s when you know it’s time to invest in an upgrade to your AC system.

6. Boost Your Property Value with a New AC System

Investing in an upgraded central air conditioning system to your Flower Mound home or office could increase your property value by up to 12%, according to information collected by the National Association of Realtors.

Always choose a newer, more energy-efficient AC system when shopping for one. Whether planning to sell your home or not, investing in an upgrade will give your property value a nice boost. Your home will also stand out from other homes in the neighborhood.

7. Better Air Quality for your Family

A very important, but often overlooked function for your HVAC system is maintaining high air quality in your home. Your air conditioner is simultaneously providing ventilation, holding the humidity at an acceptable point, while also filtering particulants out of your air.  You and your kids would be breathing these particles without  this filtering.

Because modern homes are built for energy efficiency, meaning that they will be as air tight as possible, air inside your home could be up to 5 times more polluted than air outside.

Modern AC systems offer add-ons like whole home dehumidifiers, air filters and air purifiers.  These units not only capture minute particles, they are capable of cleaning the air and destroying harmful molds, vapors and germs. The result is that you get a cleaner and healthier living environment for you and your family.

Your HVAC system in your home is there to heat and cool your home, but it also plays a role in cleaning the air. If your current outdated system doesn’t do a good job of filtration and ventilation, it’s another reason to upgrade.

Some HVAC systems have options that will filter allergens like pet dander and dust. If someone in your home suffers with asthma or allergies, this could be a very beneficial option to consider. Good air quality means that everyone breathes better, and that enhances your home’s comfort. Other units have a pre-installed air-purifying and air-cleaning system, which makes your air quality even better.

Are you thinking about upgrading to a new HVAC system? Service Hub of Texas installs new Heating & Air Conditioning systems, and we’re here to help.

Call (972) 449-4463 today, and let’s get started!

8. New, Efficient AC Systems are Better for the Environment

Older, outdated air conditioning systems weren’t made with environmental protection in mind. They tend to use a lot of electricity, and they also use Freon to cool the air. Freon is an effective a refrigerant, it contributes to ozone depletion when it leaks (and old AC systems leak a lot). Modern AC systems use the chemical R-410A instead of Freon. R-410A is just as effective as Freon, but doesn’t contribute to ozone depletion.

The post 8 Reasons to Upgrade Your AC System Instead of Repairing It appeared first on Service Hub of Texas.

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