Replace Your Wall Unit Air Conditioner in Time
No matter how humid and sticky it might be outside, as long as you've got an air conditioner inside your house, you're likely to be in pretty good shape. Although most people believe that central air systems are always the ideal option, wall unit air conditioners do come with certain benefits.
Certain Benefits
From a cost perspective, wall unit air conditioners can actually be a lot cheaper to run than central air. If you tend to spend most of your time in only one or two rooms of your house, it makes more sense to pay to cool those rooms individually than to run the air throughout your entire home (especially if it is larger in size). And from a maintenance perspective, a single wall unit air conditioner is more easily replaceable than an entire central air conditioning system. After all, if one wall unit happens to go wrong, you can simply move over to an area of the house that has a working unit to stay comfortable until a solution is reached. But if a central air system suddenly breaks down during the heart of the summer, you will probably find yourself annoyed, sweaty, and out of luck.
On the other hand, like all household appliances, wall unit air conditioners can also eventually break down, so you need to recognize when it makes sense to replace your wall unit air conditioners. Blair Harris is the director of Sales and Marketing at A&R Mechanical Services, a locally owned, full service Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning company that has been serving the Amarillo, Texas area since 1992. According to her, a wall unit air conditioner should be replaced as soon as it starts malfunctioning to the point where the cost of repairing it will exceed the $100 mark.
The Life Expectancy
The average life expectancy of a wall unit air conditioner can top out at about 15 years, though some models, unfortunately, don't manage to make it past the 10-year mark. Since wall unit air conditioners have gone down in price over the past number of years, it makes little sense to spend money on repairs when you can instead purchase a brand new unit with a warranty. Of course, if the cost to repair your air conditioner is fairly minimal, and your unit is considerably less than 10 years old, it might be worth it to spend a tiny bit of money to extend the lifespan of your air conditioner. Otherwise, you'll be better off by cutting your losses and moving on to a brand new unit.
According to Harris, when it comes to maintaining your wall unit air conditioner and preventing it from breaking, the only thing you can do is wash out the filter on a regular basis. Contrary to what some might think, there is no such thing as overusing an air conditioner and causing it to malfunction that way. After all, air conditioners are designed to run for hours and hours on end, and if the weather warrants a good household cooling, there's no sense in depriving yourself of multiple hours of air-conditioned relief.
So if you happen to notice that your wall unit air conditioner might be on its way out, don't despair, because a new model might not cost you as much as you'd think. Even if you spend a bit more on a new one, once that ultra hot summer weather starts to kick in, you'll be happy that you replaced your old unit in time.
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