Tennesse gets hot; that’s a fact of life. Air conditioning is the single best way to beat the heat, efficiently turning hot air into comfortable, cool air. ACs have a service life of around ten to 15 years in Tennessee, a little longer with routine maintenance or a higher quality brand.
A new air conditioning unit is a big decision–an investment that will be a part of your home for the next ten to 15 years, so you want to make the right choice. There are a lot of things to consider when looking at a new air conditioner, like your budget, efficiency needs, size you require, and more.
Charles Stone wants to help you find the best AC for your home and budget to keep you cool during the summer heat. Our cooling experts are ready to give a free AC replacement estimate for Cookeville, Tennessee, and the surrounding areas.
When Is It Time To Replace an Air Conditioner?
A good air conditioner should maintain comfortable temperatures throughout your house, reduce humidity, and remain energy efficient. Even though your AC may still be working, it’s a good idea to plan for replacement.
By planning to replace it before it breaks down naturally, you can choose when the swap is made and have the new AC in stock and ready to be installed to minimize downtime. ACs tend to break down during the worst heatwaves, and you often have to wait for the new unit to be shipped in–leaving your family trapped in a hot house.
Here are a few signs that may indicate it’s time for an AC replacement:
- Poor Cooling: If your AC is not adequately cooling your whole house, struggles with heat waves, or cannot keep up in general.
- Near the End of Service Life: Air conditioners have a general life expectancy of around ten to 15 years. If your AC is pushing the end of its service life, it’s best to replace it on your terms rather than as a surprise.
- Frequent Repairs: If your AC needs to be repaired consistently, multiple summers in a row, or even multiple times in a summer, it’s probably near the end of its useful life.
If your AC meets any of these criteria, it’s time to consider when you want to replace it. The older ACs get, the more efficiency they lose. New models are exceptionally energy efficient with improved standards and technology. A new AC will undoubtedly drop your electric bill, perhaps enough to start paying back its initial cost.
Picking A New Replacement Air Conditioner
There are many different types of air conditioners, as well as different sizes and efficiencies.
First, let’s look at some of the various types of AC units you can get:
- Central Air Conditioning: This is the most common type of air conditioning system. New models are very efficient and share the ductwork and air handler ventilation system with the furnace. The unit sits outside and pumps cool air to the air handler, which then distributes the cool air throughout the house.
- Ductless Air Conditioning: Also known as a mini-split system, ductless air conditioning is popular because it doesn’t require a central air ductwork system. Instead, small lines connect indoor units to a single outdoor unit. These individual units create zones within the house, allowing for a convenient zone control feature.
- Geothermal Cooling: By cooling refrigerant in pipes below the earth and then using that refrigerant to lower air temperatures, geothermal pumps are incredibly efficient. In fact, they are even more efficient than the previous types of cooling systems. The initial investment is high, but the service life is impressively long and the efficiency of these units will lower monthly energy bills.
Our expert cooling technicians will inspect your home and discuss your goals, budget, and interests to recommend the best type of cooling system for you. Businesses and other commercial buildings may want to consider a rooftop unit.
To accurately size a new unit for your home, our experienced HVAC technicians can perform a load calculation to determine how much conditioned air your home needs. We’ll look at your insulation, square footage, and ceiling height to measure how many cubic feet of space need conditioning. Your new AC needs to be large enough that it won’t struggle with the volume or heat waves but not so big that it short cycles due to rapid cooling and heating.
After the type and required size have been determined, the next step is to compare your budget to the different levels of AC efficiency. Air conditioners are measured in an efficiency rating system called SEER. Older units typically fall in the six to ten SEER range. By law, new units must be at least a 14 SEER. Those on a budget shouldn’t overlook a 14 SEER model. They are still great units that will get the job done.
Once you reach 18 SEER, units start getting noticeably more expensive. These high-efficiency units offer impressive energy savings at a higher investment. Some homes benefit more from higher efficiency units than others–for example, larger homes particularly benefit from cooling spaces for less money per cubic foot. Higher-quality air conditioning units will cost more but often have extended warranties and service lifespans.
Professional Air Conditioning Replacement & Installation
Charles Stone is proud to offer high-quality professional air conditioning replacement and installation services in Cookeville, Tennessee, and the surrounding areas. We choose our HVAC technicians specifically for their extensive experience in the HVAC industry, and then we give them more training on top of that.
Our expert technicians are prepared to quickly install any type, style, and size of cooling system in Cookeville. Call us today to schedule an appointment!
