Should You Have The AC Repair Company Replace The Outdoor Unit Of The AC Alone Or Together With The Indoor Unit? | Southlake, TX
Most air conditioners comprise the indoor component and the outdoor unit. These two components work together to ensure that your Southlake, TX home is heated sufficiently. However, the outdoor unit is exposed to conditions that deteriorate faster than the indoor unit. This leaves many homeowners to ask themselves, “should I just replace the outdoor unit alone or replace both the outdoor and the indoor units?” As unfortunate as it is, you should have an AC repair company simultaneously replace the indoor and outdoor units. However, it is possible to replace either and leave the other, but is this practical? It is not. Any AC repair technician will tell you that replacing both units simultaneously has more practical benefits than replacing and leaving the other. So, what should you consider when replacing the indoor and outdoor units?
Older Systems Aren’t Always Compatible with the Modern Ones
The newer air conditioners feature the latest technology. Hence, they have a mismatch of features with the old systems, making them often incompatible. It does not make sense to modify your old unit so that it can work with the new one. This is because some features will go unused. Additionally, it is sometimes impossible for the AC repair company to make the modifications, or they cost a lot of money and effort. For example, the minimum SEER has been 14 since 2016. Unfortunately, the older models manufactured before 2016 aren’t compatible with those units in the market today.
The AC repair company cannot work magic to circumvent SEER incompatibility. This also applies when it comes to incompatible refrigerants. R-22 or Freon’s production has been halted since 2010 because of its harmful impacts on the ozone layer. If your air conditioning system uses this coolant, you can still get it from reserves in case of a refrigerant leak, albeit at an exorbitantly high price. However, there are no new air conditioning units that use Freon. Today, most AC units run on Puron or R-410A.
Matched Systems Have a Higher Efficiency
Indoor and outdoor units are designed in a way that they match. This ensures that they have the best heating and cooling performance. Therefore, although having an AC repair company replace one and keep the other may work, the resulting air conditioning system will not function as it was designed to. Hence, it won’t have the same efficiency. For instance, imagine you change the old, damaged outdoor unit and keep the leaking duct system. The older systems will eventually impose undue stress on the new system, making it wear out faster.
A Matched System Will Make the Most of the Available Technology
Over the last few decades, HVAC technology has made remarkable advances. Single-speed blower motors are no longer the norm; variable-speed blower motors have taken their place. Today, you can have an AC repair company in Southlake, TX install smart thermostats, allowing you to combine them with numerous voice-activated smart home features like Apple HomeKit and Amazon Alexa. This makes controlling indoor temperatures easier and more convenient. These are just two instances of cutting-edge technology you can use when updating your HVAC system. Most innovations won’t work with an older system, or their performance won’t be as good.
Mismatching Units Will Void the Manufacturer’s Warranty
The manufacturer’s warranty is extended to you, assuming that your air conditioner’s outdoor and indoor units are both new and matching. HVAC manufacturers know that the air conditioning system will be compromised and more prone to damage if one unit is older. Hence, the manufacturer will not honor that warranty if you install a new outdoor or indoor unit while leaving the other. This leaves you at a disadvantage as without the warranty; you will pay the AC repair company for any inspections or fixes from your pocket. Essentially, all the “saving money where possible” goes away when you void your manufacturer’s warranty.
HVAC Repair Professionals Might Decline to Service the Mismatched Unit
No AC repair company will work on a system that isn’t matching because doing so would make them liable. They are aware that no amount of repair work will ever make a mismatched system operate effectively. It will eventually malfunction, and the HVAC professional wouldn’t want to be held accountable. Thus, you are left with little choice except to work with a local handyperson or, worse, a fly-by-night HVAC contractor. Unfortunately, those choices do not offer warranties or even work quality guarantees. If you require follow-up assistance, you might find it difficult to get in touch with them again.
Systems That Don’t Match Have a Shorter Lifespan
Indoor and outdoor units have been designed to work together seamlessly. One complements the other to ensure that your Southlake, TX home is cooled or heated sufficiently. When you replace only one of them, the other will have to place more effort to keep pace with the new installation. Additionally, the new unit won’t reach its peak performance and will likely break down prematurely, prompting you to call an AC repair company. This is because the old unit pulls the new system’s efficiency down. The additional pressure will strain the new unit, making it use more energy and resulting in a higher energy utility bill.
Reduces the Property Value
To protect prospective buyers, any home for sale is inspected before listing. One thing that forms the inspection’s highlight is the AC unit. The house inspector will notice a mismatched indoor-outdoor unit and flag it as a liability for the potential homebuyer, not an asset. This will deter any potential homebuyers. Hence, if a replacement is required, enlist the AC repair company to repair the indoor and outdoor HVAC components.
As you can see, replacing either unit and leaving the other is bad. Do you need to replace your air conditioner? Contact us at One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Fort Worth.
See our previous blog post here!