Because waiting for your home comfort system to breakdown will not only cause you discomfort and frustration, but likely a bad decision made in a hasty emergency situation. Just like with any other mechanical equipment, your HVAC system works great when it’s newly installed (if done properly), but as time passes, the efficiency of the system decreases. While regular maintenance does extend the life and performance of your system, that old A/C just isn’t cutting it anymore.  In fact, it may be costing you more to run and maintain through higher energy bills and costly repairs than it would to invest in a new system.

**Cue in Savings** Technology is great! Especially when it makes our lives easier and helps us save money! There have been many recent advancements in the HVAC industry to help you, save on energy costs, by creating higher efficiency systems that actually use up to 20% less energy than your existing system. Our industry has developed cutting edge technology for today’s comfort systems, such as…variable speed compressors that sense what’s needed to cool your home, variable speed blowers to automatically reduce the air requirements, super highly efficient heat pumps, and Wi-Fi thermostats; to name a few, all which dramatically reduce the amount of energy required to run your system while providing greater comfort and ease of operation.

New advances in technology have also introduced a new, eco-friendly refrigerant called R410A. R410A is a result of the Montreal Protocol Amendment which established a requirement for the worldwide phase out of ozone depleting HCFCs…our old R22 refrigerant. Although the amendment occurred in 1992, it allowed for a timely phase out of the R22 which was used in all A/C units. That “phase-out” is soon ending, as of 2020 (little more than 2 years from now), no more R22 freon will be sold, thus repairs on those old units will not be possible.

So, what does this mean for you? Most likely, your old A/C system is using R22 refrigerant and although it may be working now, the cost to service your system will certainly increase and may not even be possible (in the near future) due to halted production of R22 refrigerant.

Now is the time to start planning for that replacement unit.  When your old system does go out, you will have no option after 2020 to “choose”, only the new R410A units will be available and it will be necessary to change out the complete system as the old air handler units are not compatible with the new R410A ones.

So… “Why replace my unit if it still works?” By reviewing my options now in an unhurried situation, you’ll be better prepared to make an informed, planned, and wise decision for your family’s comfort for years to come.