I Need A New Air Conditioner!

Well, it happened. You waited too long to replace your air conditioner and now it is dead. First off, you have my sympathies. Not having air conditioning is no picnic here in South Florida, not only do you have to make a big decision, you’re going to be hot and sweaty while you’re doing it. Let’s face it, outside of major remodels and the roof on your home the AC system is probably the most expensive thing in your home and the most important in my opinion. So what should you consider when making the choice of new air conditioning for your home? Let’s take a look.

First and biggest choice is what company is going to do the installation? You need to check the company’s reviews, license status with the state, how long have they been in business, and look them up with the Better Business Bureau. The most important day in an air conditioning system’s life is the day that unit is installed. If the installing company takes any short cuts when performing the work, you my friend will pay for that down the road. Air conditioners are machines like any other and must be installed and started following a strict set of guidelines. Short cuts can actually make your utility bills go up, cause premature system failures, noise problems, and in general make you not a happy camper with your new system. Okay, so you’ve got the companies picked out that are going to give you estimates, next?

When the company shows up to give you pricing watch what they are doing. The company that comes in, spends five minutes looking around, and throws a price at you is also probably not the right company to do business with. Air conditioning in a home is not just the two shiny boxes inside and out. There is a duct system, electrical system, and a drainage system and all those things need to be inspected. If you put a new air conditioner on a bad duct system it is probably not going to perform any better than the old one. Trust me, if that happens you are going to be sad. Electrically speaking we want everything up to par. I mean the last thing you want is to turn the heat on for the ten minutes in January when we need it and the unit catches fire. It is kind of hard to air condition a home that has burned down. So again, make sure the estimating company is doing a full inspection of your space. I hear the collective cry of, what about the brand?

This is going to hurt some feelings, however in this blogger’s opinion the brand of the unit is not that important. We all have brands that we like better than others based on our experiences, but that doesn’t make one better than the other. Ford and Chevy and both cars and have different levels of quality within their brands. Trane and Rheem are both air conditioners and guess what? They have different levels of quality as well. Features in the new unit are a different story, features are important.

One of the biggest features that all South Florida purchasers should consider getting is the variable speed option. This is an upgrade to the typical AC system where either the motor in the indoor unit or the motors in both units operate at different speeds. The benefit of this feature is better dehumidification if it is just the indoor unit with variable speed. If both inside and outside units are variable speed not only will you be less humid in the space but you will also enjoy very high efficiencies. Another nice feature is to upgrade to a WIFI thermostat so you can monitor and control your new air conditioner from any smart device.

Listen, this post doesn’t cover every possible scenario when it comes to a new system. I could be here for weeks to cover everything that could possibly happen but my advice to you is to get two or three prices, making sure you compare apples and apples, and make sure you feel good about the company before you sign. Until I see you again my friends, somebody tried to tell me a joke about air conditioning and I’m not a fan.

House Whisperer out!!