When Repairing your Air Conditioner Doesn't Make 'Cents'

Repair or Replace? What’s the best move when your air conditioner is not working? 

It’s summer here in New Jersey and as you drive through the northern part of the state and glance at the homes along the road you’ll notice many windows tightly closed and if you listen closely you’ll hear the sound of many an older vintage air conditioning units humming along, attempting to cool off homes. We depend on these steadfast appliances to keep us comfortable in the warmer months, and often don’t give them a thought, until they don’t work.

So, your air conditioning system doesn’t seem to be cooling off your home and you’re not quite sure whether your temperature or temper needs to be cooled down … so you contact your local air conditioning contractor, schedule a service call and impatiently await the arrival of a technician to get things working.  The HVAC company calls, our tech is on the way … and <phew> the doorbell rings, let’s get started.

The AC tech locates your air conditioning condensing unit, puts gauges on the refrigeration lines, and begins his routine, checking pressures, connections and such with more apparatus than you might have ever seen. After a thorough review, he begins to explain the options available to you:

• Your unit is not starting as quickly as it might. We can install a ‘hard start kit’, similar to a pacemaker, to get your unit moving when it might not feel ‘up to it’
• Your circuit breaker keeps ‘tripping’ on the hottest days. This means the unit is drawing too much current   
• The  condenser motor needs replacement - imagine the wear and tear each time the motor kicks on and off   
• Recurring incessant refrigerant leaks: Your system is “flat” or out of Freon (as refrigerant is often referred to) Your system cannot function without refrigerant and often repeated refrigerant leaks indicate there may be serious leak within the unit and/or the system

So … now what?

In an effort to be prudent, here are a few things to consider.

If your air conditioning unit is relatively new (let’s say five years or less) and the only repeated repair you have is adding some refrigerant each year, which lasts throughout the air conditioning season, then perhaps you are comfortable considering this type of repair/maintenance to be part of the ownership of a central air conditioning system.

If, however, your system can’t maintain its proper levels and you find that several times during cooling season you’re required to have more refrigerant added, it may be time for further evaluation.

Being prudent, we don’t necessarily adopt the policy of ‘throwing out the baby with the bath water’ as they say. Sometimes no repair is the right repair. We still go by honesty is the best policy ... so our first suggestion would be to have a reliable air conditioning company perform a refrigeration leak check.

A service technician will inject fluorescent dye into the system that will circulate throughout the refrigeration lines and schedule a return visit. Upon his return, a special light will be used to reveal the leak, assuming it is not within the refrigeration lines that are concealed within walls. Sometimes the leak may be at a connection; an easy fix. Often, however, we’ll find the leak on an internal coil which could lead to a suggestion to replace the unit. Can’t find the leak, but the refrigerant is gone? The next best answer is that the lineset is leaking in an area of your home that cannot be accessed. Upon further inspection your contractor may determine that the refrigeration lines be replaced. Can this be accomplished in a finished home? The answer is yes.

Last but not least, let’s step back and make an informed decision. If your air conditioning equipment is nearing the end of its useful life and is in its teenage years (or older) your best choice is to replace the equipment.  Older systems can use as much as 15 percent more in energy costs, plus, today’s high efficiency equipment will qualify for tax credits and possible rebates from utility companies and cool your home more evenly and efficiently. Many contractors offer 0 percent financing, too!

Stay cool!

Bonnie is Vice President of Bornstein Sons, Inc.