Should you repair or replace your AC?

Start with age

This Old House puts the typical life of a home cooling system at 12 to 15 years. That is a national figure. In Cape Coral the system works harder than average: Page Field now records 145 days a year at 90°F or hotter and 100 nights a year that stay at 75°F or above, so the AC runs long hours most of the year. A 12 year old system here has more hours on it than a 12 year old system in a milder state.

Find the age on the outdoor unit's data plate, or ask the technician to read the manufacture date off it. 33% of Cape Coral homes were built between 2000 and 2009, so plenty of houses are on a second system by now, and some on the original one.

Days per year at 90°F or hotter, Fort Myers Page Field

Then look at the size of the repair

Small repairs are worth doing on almost any working system. Big ones on an old system usually are not.

Repair	Published range	Usually
Capacitor	$80 to $400	Repair, at any age
Contactor	$150 to $400 (Fixr)	Repair, at any age
Condenser fan motor	$300 to $800 (This Old House)	Repair unless the unit is old and corroded
Leak repair and recharge	$200 to $1,600 (Fixr)	Depends on refrigerant and age
Compressor	$600 to $3,000	Consider replacing on an older system

National published figures; capacitor from This Old House, compressor from Fixr.

A new central system is $5,800 to $14,400 installed according to Fixr. Put a compressor quote next to that number and the decision on a 13 year old system gets easier. On a compressor, ask whether the part is still under the manufacturer's parts warranty; the part might be covered even if the labor is not. The $5,000 rule is a quick way to frame it: multiply the system's age by the repair cost, and if the result is over 5,000, look at replacement.

Refrigerant: R-22 vs R-410A

Older systems often use R-22; the data plate on the outdoor unit says which refrigerant yours takes. Fixr lists R-22 at $50 to $80 a pound, against $12 to $25 a pound for R-410A. A leaking R-22 system that needs refilling every summer gets expensive, and the money goes into a system that is already old. I'd replace an R-22 system with a real leak rather than keep refilling it.

R-410A is a different story. Under EPA rules, new residential systems are limited to refrigerants with a global warming potential of 700 or less, with a compliance date of January 1, 2025 for manufacture and installation. That rule is about new equipment. Existing R-410A systems can still be serviced and repaired. If a technician tells you your R-410A system "can't be fixed anymore" because of the refrigerant change, that is not what the rule says. Get a second opinion.

Salt air and corrosion

Cape Coral is built around canals, and many homes sit on the water or close to the Gulf. Salt air corrodes the outdoor coil's fins and tubing and the cabinet. A coil with pinhole leaks from corrosion leaks again after it is patched. If the technician finds the condenser coil is corroded through, ask for a photo. A corroded coil on an older unit is usually the point where replacing makes more sense than repairing. Ask whether a fresh water rinse of the outdoor coil should be part of your maintenance; our maintenance page covers it.

Humidity is part of the decision

A system can cool and still fail at its other job here, which is pulling water out of the air. Page Field now averages 49 days a year with a mean dew point of 75°F or more, up from 22 in 1976 to 1990. The EPA suggests keeping indoor humidity below 60 percent, ideally 30 to 50.

If the house feels clammy even when the thermostat is satisfied, the system may be oversized. The DOE says an oversized system removes less moisture, because it reaches the setpoint and shuts off before it has run long enough to dry the air. Repairs will not fix that. If you replace, insist on a load calculation so the new one is sized to the house, not to the old unit. See humidity, mold and musty smells for the other causes.