Derek Cole, an HVAC technician since 2001, explains when to repair versus replace your air conditioning system. Multiply the system's age by the repair cost: if it's close to a new unit's price, replace it. Units over 12 years old lose 30-40% efficiency, costing you thousands in wasted energy.
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Home and Life Comfort with Derrick Cole. Hey, welcome back everyone to the Home and Life Comfort podcast. I am Derrick Cole. I've been in this industry since 2001. I'll tell you right now, it's one of the more interesting times that I've been a part of. It's really interesting for homeowners that are trying to figure out what to do with their HVAC system. Today I want to talk about something generally a lot of people think about. It's on their minds a lot, especially coming into the spring. Should I repair or replace my HVAC system? And I want to give you a straight answer, not sales, but what I'm actually seeing in the field and what the industry data is telling us. So here's the backdrop for the industry. 2025 was a rough year for the industry. Equipment sales are down, shipments are down, and some months they're down 40 to 50% compared to the year before. And one of the main reasons— homeowners are hesitating. Um, costs are up, economy feels uncertain, and when something goes wrong with the system, the instinct for homeowners is let's just fix it and kick the can down the road, right? Let's go and fix it. So I get it, I totally do. That's a natural homeowner response to have, is to go ahead and fix the system. But I want to walk you through the repair or replace question the way I walk it through you if I was in front of you, if I was talking to you face to face, because, because there is more to it than just the repair bill in front of you. The question isn't, the question isn't how much does the repair cost? The real question is What is it going to cost me to keep this system for another 2, 3, 4 years? And am I ever going to get that money back? What is it going to cost me in the next couple years, and will I get that money back? So here's the framework I want to tell you about. A few videos ago, as you know, I talked about a $1,300 rule. Here's another good one for you to think about. So take the age of the equipment, multiply it by the repair cost, and if that's about the price of a new system, it makes financial sense to do it. For example, you got a 15-year-old system, you have a $1,000 repair. All right, so $1,000 times 15 equals $15,000. If a new system is ringing that kind of price tag for you, it's probably financially smart for you to go ahead and do it. Now, this is not a hard and fast rule, but it's a gut check, because what the repair bill doesn't show you is what the aging system is doing to your energy bills.. And that happens every single month. You get that power bill and you're like, what's going on? A system that's 12, 15, 18 years old running fine, it's most certainly running inefficiently. We're talking about systems, you know, it could be operating 30 to 40% less efficient than a new system that's available today. Now that gap doesn't show up in the repair bill. That gap shows up in the power bill every single month, all summer long, all winter long. That gap shows up. So when you're doing that math on repair versus replace, you've got to factor that in to what you're already losing, not just the hard repair costs today, but what you're losing by being inefficient. So here's where I land on this: if your system is under 10 years old, it's generally worth repairing, okay, assuming it's been maintained and the repair isn't a major component like a compressor. If it's 12 years or older, that repair or replace conversation is worth a conversation to take seriously. Not because anyone's trying to sell you a new system, but because the math often tells a different story than the repair bill alone. And if the system's 15 or 18 years old, typically you're pretty good money chasing a bad situation. You're also one bad somewhere away from an emergency situation with no good options. The best time to make a decision is before the emergency sets in, when you can take time to think clearly, compare options, get financing in place, all that, and schedule it on your terms versus the terms of the weather. That's what I've got for you today. No pitch, no pressure, just a great framework I'd use if it were my home. If you've got a system on your mind, do yourself a favor, at least have a conversation before the season gets here. Whether it's us, whether it's somebody else, just don't wait until it's 95 degrees outside and you're stuck with no great options. For the Home and Life Covered Podcast, I'm Derek Cole. We'll see you next time. Home and Life Comfort with Derek Cole.
