Determine If You Need a New System

Because A/C energy costs can account for more than 50 percent of your electric bill during peak heating and cooling months, it's important to make sure your system is running as efficiently as possible. So before you spend money to repair your A/C system or invest in a new one, here are some questions to help you and your contractor assess the condition of your existing system:

Does your system undergo frequent repairs?

If your system is 10 years old or older and you answered yes to any of these questions, you may benefit from replacing your system and taking advantage of lower long-term costs.

Has your system experienced a major component failure?

Are you continually receiving high electric bills?

Is your A/C unit not cooling like it used to?

Do you need a new outdoor unit, but your indoor unit still works?

It's actually more cost-effective in the long run to replace the entire system rather than just one part. That's because A/C components are designed to work together as matched systems, so by replacing only one part of the system, you can't ensure that it will work as efficiently as possible.