How Long Should My A/C Last?

10, 12 years is normal. The people who make the compressors actually tell us that they make a compressor for 10 years and that's pretty much it. The compressor is the heart of the system. So if the compressor goes out, you're basically talking about a heart transplant for your system. So it's a major thing to be done. So this is answering the question, but going a little deeper here, when you replace that compressor in like a 1012, 15 year old unit, the problem is now you have a compressor pumping at full capacity, but you have a coil and copper lines that are still 15 years old. So leaks and things start to show up that were not present before. Because now you have a compressor pumping at full capacity. It's kind of like changing the heart of a 90 year old man. The problem is these veins, arteries, liver, lungs, everything else is 90 years old and the heart's pretty new. So you're going to have some more problems because of that. But in this area, 1012 years is the norm.