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Air Conditioning Update
Jul. 29th, 2006 01:57 pmWhat was wrong
It wasn't the thermostat, but Robin loves the new thermostat which is round and which has a large dial you turn to change the temperature.
It was the heater control board. This is the part of the system that interprets the data it's getting from the thermostat and then sends out the commands. It had lost its tiny little mind and was saying "AC! No, heat! No, AC! No, wait. Heat!" over and over.
The repair man replaced it with a simple relay. What this means is that the air conditioning will now work perfectly, and the furnace will not work at all. This cost $65 for the visit plus $150 for the fix.
The options
We can just live without a central heater for a few years until the system breaks again. (We do have a wall heater in the bathroom.)
For $500 - 600 we can get a new heater control board.
We can replace the whole system. Our AC is 12 years old and so is probably a 6- or 8-SEER unit. SEER is a measure efficiency such that if you get a unit with twice the SEER, it uses half the energy. To get a 16-SEER unit will cost $5000. Since our electricity bill ranges from a low of $90 per month to a high of $160, I can estimate that the AC costs $70 in the hottest months. Assuming we have an 8-SEER unit and replace it with a 16-SEER unit, we would save half the AC money or $35/month in the hottest months. So that whole paying-for-itself thing won't be happening. There would be lot less pollution happening, though.
For just a little extra after accounting for rebates and tax credits, we can also get the insulation fluffed up, ahem, added to, and get solar screens for the windows that used to be shaded by a tree, and other minor weatherization stuff. If we do just the weatherization stuff now and replace the AC system later, the weatherization stuff will cost about $1000.
Deciding
The US department of energy recommends replacing your HVAC system every ten years, not because that's how fast they are expected to wear out, but because the technology has been improving so quickly.
I'm only saving $128/month for repairs and renovations. (I started with $100/month and have been increasing it to account for inflation.) If I have to pay $5000 every ten years just for the AC, that's almost $50/month right there. Maybe I haven't been saving enough all this time. Depressing.
The sales lady who came to our house today said that once an air conditioner is ten years old, they will often recommend replacing it rather than repairing it; if it's fifteen years old they always recommend replacing it.
Here's an excerpt from Bankrate's Time to replace home appliances? about deciding when to replace an air conditioner:
The air conditioner is 12 years old. But it has not been prone to breakdowns of any kind. (It just had this one breakdown of the heater control board.) The summers here are both long and hot. But my cost of electricity is not rising. (When I signed up for renewable energy, which cost more than natural gas energy at the time, I got a fixed price guarantee for ten years.) It is definitely cheaper to replace air conditioners at times other than the summer, both because companies have sales and because the city gives bigger rebates. Not only that, it's just rude to ask someone to work in an attic during the summer around here if you don't have to.
And as for waiting a few years, there's a tax credit (which our sales lady said would be $300) that disappears in 2008. That's probably not enough to make me replace it this year if I wouldn't otherwise. She also said that with the price of copper and gas rising, the price of the parts is also rising, and who knows if they will be offset by the winter sales.
I've been trying to research my current unit. All I can tell is that it's a two-ton unit. I know that in the olden days, people often installed larger units than they should have, either so they could have a higher profit or because they really thought it would be better. The estimate I got was also for a two-ton unit, but we will get a truer estimate after all of our numbers are entered (size and location of rooms, size and location of widows, ceiling height, etc.). At first I thought that if we really only need a smaller unit, then I'll go ahead and get it this fall. Otherwise, I'll still have to think about it. But online they recommend one ton per five hundred square feet, so two tons is exactly right all else being equal. Also, when we got back from the movies, it took hours to get the house back down from 87 to 77. So, I don't think we'll be getting a smaller unit after all.
I think we're either going to replace the whole thing later this year or risk it for three or four more years. Still thinking.
It wasn't the thermostat, but Robin loves the new thermostat which is round and which has a large dial you turn to change the temperature.
It was the heater control board. This is the part of the system that interprets the data it's getting from the thermostat and then sends out the commands. It had lost its tiny little mind and was saying "AC! No, heat! No, AC! No, wait. Heat!" over and over.
The repair man replaced it with a simple relay. What this means is that the air conditioning will now work perfectly, and the furnace will not work at all. This cost $65 for the visit plus $150 for the fix.
The options
We can just live without a central heater for a few years until the system breaks again. (We do have a wall heater in the bathroom.)
For $500 - 600 we can get a new heater control board.
We can replace the whole system. Our AC is 12 years old and so is probably a 6- or 8-SEER unit. SEER is a measure efficiency such that if you get a unit with twice the SEER, it uses half the energy. To get a 16-SEER unit will cost $5000. Since our electricity bill ranges from a low of $90 per month to a high of $160, I can estimate that the AC costs $70 in the hottest months. Assuming we have an 8-SEER unit and replace it with a 16-SEER unit, we would save half the AC money or $35/month in the hottest months. So that whole paying-for-itself thing won't be happening. There would be lot less pollution happening, though.
For just a little extra after accounting for rebates and tax credits, we can also get the insulation fluffed up, ahem, added to, and get solar screens for the windows that used to be shaded by a tree, and other minor weatherization stuff. If we do just the weatherization stuff now and replace the AC system later, the weatherization stuff will cost about $1000.
Deciding
The US department of energy recommends replacing your HVAC system every ten years, not because that's how fast they are expected to wear out, but because the technology has been improving so quickly.
I'm only saving $128/month for repairs and renovations. (I started with $100/month and have been increasing it to account for inflation.) If I have to pay $5000 every ten years just for the AC, that's almost $50/month right there. Maybe I haven't been saving enough all this time. Depressing.
The sales lady who came to our house today said that once an air conditioner is ten years old, they will often recommend replacing it rather than repairing it; if it's fifteen years old they always recommend replacing it.
Here's an excerpt from Bankrate's Time to replace home appliances? about deciding when to replace an air conditioner:
About one-sixth of all the electricity generated in the United States is used to air condition buildings. A conventional 10-year-old air conditioner, unfortunately, is only half as efficient as its present-day counterpart. With the cost of electricity continually rising, it makes sense to consider updating AC equipment that's that age 10 or older, especially if it has lately been prone to expensive breakdowns -- and especially if you live in parts of the country where the summers are hot and long.
Buying a replacement appliance on your own time and terms allows you to shop around for the best deals and take advantage of any seasonal incentive programs and utility-sponsored rebates. But if you wait until a critical appliance like a refrigerator or central air conditioner breaks down -- which usually happens at the worst possible time -- you may miss out on those offers and spend more money on a replacement than you would otherwise.
The air conditioner is 12 years old. But it has not been prone to breakdowns of any kind. (It just had this one breakdown of the heater control board.) The summers here are both long and hot. But my cost of electricity is not rising. (When I signed up for renewable energy, which cost more than natural gas energy at the time, I got a fixed price guarantee for ten years.) It is definitely cheaper to replace air conditioners at times other than the summer, both because companies have sales and because the city gives bigger rebates. Not only that, it's just rude to ask someone to work in an attic during the summer around here if you don't have to.
And as for waiting a few years, there's a tax credit (which our sales lady said would be $300) that disappears in 2008. That's probably not enough to make me replace it this year if I wouldn't otherwise. She also said that with the price of copper and gas rising, the price of the parts is also rising, and who knows if they will be offset by the winter sales.
I've been trying to research my current unit. All I can tell is that it's a two-ton unit. I know that in the olden days, people often installed larger units than they should have, either so they could have a higher profit or because they really thought it would be better. The estimate I got was also for a two-ton unit, but we will get a truer estimate after all of our numbers are entered (size and location of rooms, size and location of widows, ceiling height, etc.). At first I thought that if we really only need a smaller unit, then I'll go ahead and get it this fall. Otherwise, I'll still have to think about it. But online they recommend one ton per five hundred square feet, so two tons is exactly right all else being equal. Also, when we got back from the movies, it took hours to get the house back down from 87 to 77. So, I don't think we'll be getting a smaller unit after all.
I think we're either going to replace the whole thing later this year or risk it for three or four more years. Still thinking.