Replacing HVAC -- wwyd?
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Anonymous
| Our townhouse is 13 years old and still has the original HVAC system installed at the time it was built. We have had minor (inexpensive) maintenance done on it twice in the 5 years we've lived in it, once for heat and once for the A/C, and other than those two blips, it still seems to be chugging along just fine. My thought was that we would just get as much use out of it as we could, knowing that it will likely need to be replaced in the next few years, and that if a repair is needed that is more than say $500, then that would be the time to replace it (we have the money in savings to do so). Just wanted to check if I am thinking about this correctly or if there are other issues I am not thinking of that I should consider. We will probably be in the house for another four years or so. |
Anonymous
| Replace. It will be more energy efficient and it will be much newer when you go to sell vs. a 17 year old HVAC. |
Anonymous
| Don't replace a well-functioning system. Even if a new one is more efficient, you won't make back the price of the system or anything close to it. And it's almost always greener to keep an old (whatever) than buy a new one. |
Anonymous
| If it's working fine then you should not replace it. If it breaks you'll have to weigh whether it would be better to repair or replace, but until that happens I wouldn't be in a hurry to replace. |
Anonymous
| Definitely do not replace until it goes. That's just ridiculous--you won't make up enough on the efficiency savings. |
Anonymous
| 13 years is not old. Our boiler is probably more than 50 years old and working fine. Not terribly efficient compared to newer models, but it is effective. |
Anonymous
|
13 yrs is not old!
You have about 7 more years before you need to think about it. wait. |
Anonymous
+1. I just replaced mine and it was 19 years old |
Anonymous
| Let it die on its own no euthanasia |
Anonymous
| Mine's 26 yrs old and it's still chugging along. Gads, it was installed in 1987... (seems like it was just yesterday). |
Anonymous
We just replaced our HVAC and it was the original system in house that was built in 1985. Keep it until it dies naturally. 
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Anonymous
| OP here -- thanks for the responses. I was thinking that 15 years was the most we could expect to get out of it, so it's great to know it could last even longer than that. Our utility bills are not very high even with a unit this old. We will definitely wait until there is a need for replacement. |
Anonymous
|
OP we are in the same boat. Bought a house this summer with ancient AC unit and furnace--the AC unit was (I think) 1987 and the furnace is 1983. Our initial plan was to get quotes and have them replaced right away--but they work! The AC has been great this summer, knock on wood.
Our current plan is to find a contractor we trust who will help us figure out when it is time to replace them, and to save up money along the way so that we're prepared. In the meantime we have talked to MANY people who got very long lives out of their systems and/or had someone come to repair and tell them there was still some life left. Good luck to you! |
Anonymous
| The other thing is a lot of the manufacturer rebates are offered in the March/April timeframe in the spring. It can be $500- $1,000 depending on the model(s) and efficiency. This late in the cooling season (on the A/C side) might as well wait until spring. |