Nobody calls us hoping to buy a new air conditioner. When the repair math stops working, we make the decision clear and the installation clean, and we do it without a salesperson in your living room.
Repair or Replace
Three numbers decide it: the age of the unit, the cost of the repair, and what the system costs to run. A compressor on a fourteen year old R-22 system is the end of the road, because you would be putting a major part into equipment at the end of its life that uses a refrigerant nobody wants to stock. A blower motor on an eight year old system is a repair.
If the technician is out for a repair and the unit is clearly near the end, both prices come out on that visit. Nobody has to come back to write a quote.
Sized to the House, Not the Old Unit
A lot of Wedgwood systems were oversized when they went in, and some were sized for a house before the attic was insulated or the windows were replaced. Too much tonnage means short run times, and short run times never wring the humidity out of the air, so the house sits at 74 and still feels sticky. We run a load calculation on the actual house: square footage, window area and orientation, attic insulation, duct layout.
What Is In the Job
- Load calculation on the house, then equipment picked to match it
- Old condenser and coil hauled off
- New outdoor unit and matched indoor coil
- Line set flushed or replaced, new pad, disconnect and whip as needed
- Drain line, float switch and pan checked or replaced
- Pressure test, deep vacuum, factory charge verified by weight and subcooling
- Thermostat set up and the system run through a full cycle with you there
Matching the Indoor Coil
A new condenser bolted to a fifteen year old indoor coil is a shortcut we do not take. Mismatched coils run at the wrong pressures, lose efficiency, and shorten the life of the new compressor. The indoor coil is part of the job.
Questions About Replacement
- How long does the installation take?
- A straight changeout of a split system is usually a single day. Duct repairs or a new air handler location add time, and you hear that in the quote.
- Do I have to replace the furnace too?
- Not always. If the furnace is in good shape and the coil fits, it stays. If the furnace is as old as the condenser, we show you the number for doing both and let you decide.
- What efficiency should I buy?
- For a house in this climate the middle of the range usually pays off. We show you the price difference between tiers and what it means on the electric bill over a Fort Worth summer.