Why You Should Replace Your AC At the End of the Season
Just because summer’s over doesn’t mean you can forget about the aging air conditioner. Sure, you may not need it again until next spring. But, if it looks like you’ll need to get it replaced, there are some big benefits to doing it sooner rather than later.
Is it worth it to get a new one when the weather gets cold, or wait till it’s warm again? Let’s take a look.
Benefits of replacing your central air in the fall
Here are five benefits to replacing your central air in the fall instead of waiting for spring to come around:
- Saving money
- Being prepared for unseasonable heat
- Doing more research
- Coordinating the work easily
- Being comfortable year-round
Save money by replacing your air conditioner in the off-season in Havertown, PA
What’s better about replacing your air conditioner in the fall instead of waiting till spring? Spending less money to do it! Getting it done in the falls means:
- Better prices
- Better options
- Better projects
Cost is always a big concern when it comes to investing in a central air system — next to comfort, of course. But, at the least, it’s a close second.
If you’re wrapping up summer, and you know you’ll need a new AC for next year, you could save some money by doing it right away. Let’s look at the financial advantages of getting this done sooner rather than later.
Better prices
When you’re in the HVAC business, you pay plenty of attention to industry trends, including pricing. And, when it comes to cooling, we’ve noticed that the cost of new air conditioners goes up anywhere from five to eight percent each year.
What does that mean for you? Well, the early bird gets the worm. And, in this case, the worm is a lower price for next year’s central air.
Sure, six or even eight percent doesn’t sound like a lot. And, sometimes it’s not. For your average AC, that’s maybe $50 or $75.
But, the savings add up when you go for more high-efficiency units or more effective systems like a ductless mini split. Then, you’re looking at a couple hundred.
And, the savings don’t stop there. A high-efficiency system means lower electric bills when your AC uses less electricity than other models. And, you can get rebates from PECO that knock even more money off the bill.
Last week, we talked about rebates for heaters in Havertown and other places in DelCo and Montgomery County. Well, the same applies to cooling. But, the funds for those are limited and only available first-come, first-served.
So, applying for a rebate now means getting the jump on an opportunity that might not be around in May.
Better options
It’s not that there are more models of air conditioners available in the fall. Rather, it’s that you’ll likely have more time to really do your homework and find the one that’s best for your home. And, that research can end up with you spending less.
How? Well, let’s start with a proper load calculation — because you’d be surprised how often someone has a central air system that’s either too big or too small for their home.
When the HVAC unit isn’t the right size, you end up overpaying. Either you spent too much upfront on an oversized unit that never gets the job done. Or, you overwork a small model that breaks down way earlier than it should.
A load calculation is when your trusted HVAC professional assesses your home’s cooling needs and matches it up with the right models.
If you’re under the gun, it’s tempting to skip that and just get whatever’s comparable to what you had before. But, if what you had wasn’t cutting it, you’re only throwing money away.
Are you ready for the next heatwave?
There are no two ways about it: The Delaware Valley is getting hotter and hotter. It seems summer drags on longer, and we get sudden blasts of heat well before Memorial Day.
Maybe a decade or two ago, you could be confident you wouldn’t need any air conditioning during the school year. Now? Not so much.
Sure, you could slog through some out-of-season heat. But, who wants to do that? And, what are the odds that you’ll break down and spend extra money on some portable model that drives up your bills and barely gets the job done?
Better projects: Saving money by replacing a heater and AC together
Some people end up with a failing furnace and busted central air in the same year. But, the silver lining is that you can save some money if you install both at once — under the right circumstances, of course.
First, there’s labor the installers won’t have to do twice when they do it all at the same time. And, you may get a lower price just based on the large size and scope of the job.
Next, addressing both at once means you can be strategic about your new HVAC equipment.
When you’re doing everything at once, you can choose heating and cooling options that work well together to optimize their efficiency.
Now, we’re not telling you to do this automatically. Usually, it’s only a good option of both units are more than a decade old.
If that’s the case, ask your HVAC company if it’s a good option for you. And, the end of the summer or early fall is an excellent time to do that.
Scheduling work is easier in the off-season
Here’s the thing about heaters and AC’s: They’re most likely to break down when they’re working all the time. That’s during the peak seasons: The dead of winter, and the dog days of summer.
So, that’s the time when any HAC company worth its salt is busiest. Take a company like us: Cipollone has been around for decades, and we’ve got a great reputation. That means we’re getting a lot of calls during those times.
Like any trusted company, that means there’s usually a backlog of jobs until the season lets up. Once the temperatures get a little less extreme, we’re more focused on quick tune-ups than service calls.
Those are just as important as repairs and installs — but they take much less time.
That makes what we call the shoulder seasons — spring and fall, or the off-peak — great times for a big project. We’ll have the flexibility to work around your schedule.
If you think it’s time for a new air conditioner, don’t wait till the temperatures start rising again. Instead, give us a call and set up a free consultation. We’ll make sure your home in or near Havertown or the Main Line, has the right system at the best cost.