Should I repair or replace my HVAC system?

The parts that change the answer

Capacitors, contactors, thermostats, flame sensors, ignitors and blower motors are ordinary repairs. None of them is a reason to replace a system that works, however old it is.

Compressors, evaporator coils and heat exchangers are the expensive parts. When one of them fails on an older system, the repair gets close to the cost of a new one, and the money is better spent replacing.

Refrigerant matters on older air conditioning

Systems built before about 2010 usually run on R-22, which is no longer produced. You can still buy it reclaimed, and it's expensive.

A leaking R-22 system is the clearest case for replacing there is, because you'd be paying a premium to refill a system that's going to leak again.

Things that look like a dying system and aren't

When the upstairs won't cool and downstairs is fine, the condenser is usually healthy and the ducts are to blame. Long, undersized runs, leaky joints in a hot attic and poor attic venting starve the upstairs however good the equipment is.

A furnace blowing cold air is often just the fan switch left on ON instead of AUTO, so the blower runs between heating cycles and pushes room temperature air. A clogged filter that trips the high limit switch does the same.

A proper diagnosis can be the difference between a small repair and a new system you didn't need.

Mechanical work opens ceilings

Replacing equipment, running new duct or moving a return usually means opening a ceiling or a wall. Plenty of homeowners end up with new equipment that works and a ceiling with a hole in it.

We patch, finish and match the texture on whatever the mechanical work opened, so you deal with one company from start to finish.