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Wouldn’t it be lovely if your air conditioner would just work forever, never needing to be repaired or replaced? Unfortunately, that’s simply not possible. Everything breaks down eventually, and in complex systems like air conditioners, there are a lot of things that can go wrong.

With annual maintenance, you can prevent many repair needs and keep your air conditioner running for many years. But nothing lasts forever.

At some point in your air conditioner’s life, you’ll be faced with a difficult question: should I have it repaired, or is it time to replace it? Here are some tips for navigating that situation and making a decision you can feel confident in.

Factors to Consider

It may seem like a malfunctioning air conditioner is a mysterious mess. How can you possibly evaluate whether it’s worth fixing? While the professional evaluation of a qualified technician is the best way to know for sure what to expect of your air conditioner, there are a few things to keep in mind. 

• Age: With regular professional maintenance, a traditional central AC unit can easily be expected to keep running well for a decade. Often, they’ll last for 15 years. Is your air conditioner only a few years old? You should probably opt for air conditioning repair in Corinth, TX. Is it almost fifteen already? No amount of repairs will keep it running for very much longer.

• Cost of Repair: How much will the necessary repair cost? If an inexpensive repair will keep your air conditioner going for another year, it might be worth it. But if it’s going to be very costly, a replacement might be a better investment.

• Frequency of Repair: Has your air conditioner been requiring repairs every summer? Maybe more than once a summer? Chances are, as it ages, this will only get worse, so you shouldn’t expect one more repair to give you a flawlessly-functioning air conditioner.

The 5000 Rule

While it’s not actually a rule, the so-called “5000 Rule” can be a good tool for deciding whether a repair is worth investing in. Here’s how it works: multiply the age (in years) of the air conditioner by the cost (in dollars) of the repair estimate you’ve received. If the result is under 5000, repair is a reasonable choice. If it’s over 5000, it may not be such a good bet.

Here’s an example. A six-year-old air conditioner requiring a $500 repair gives a result of $3000, which is well within the limit. But if your air conditioner is twelve years old, that same $500 repair would give you a result of $6000, and you’d still have a twelve-year-old air conditioner that won’t last much longer regardless.

Another Reason to Replace

If you’re still on the fence about repair versus replacement, there is one more thing to keep in mind. The air conditioners that are available now are more efficient than ever before. A new air conditioner could mean lowering your energy bills, so you might want to factor that into your cost considerations. If you’re curious about what new models are on the market these days and what makes them different from older air conditioners, we’d love to tell you all about it. 

Contact PRK Services, Inc. today for all your cooling and comfort needs.