Repair or Replace Your HVAC System? The Math That Decides
This is the question we get asked most, and it is the one where homeowners are most often pushed. Here is how we actually think about it.
Start with age
Air conditioners and heat pumps generally run 12 to 15 years in Washington. Gas furnaces run longer, often 15 to 20, sometimes 25 in a mild western Washington climate with light duty. Under ten years, repair is almost always right. Past twenty, replacement usually is. The interesting decisions live in between.
The cost comparison worth using
A common rule multiplies the repair cost by the equipment's age. If that number exceeds the cost of new equipment, replace. A $600 repair on a 12 year old unit gives $7,200, which is in replacement territory. The same $600 repair on a 5 year old unit gives $3,000, which is not.
It is a rough tool, not gospel, but it stops the two bad decisions: sinking money into a system about to fail elsewhere, and replacing a healthy system over one cheap part.
Things that push toward replacement
- The compressor has failed. It is the most expensive component and often close to half the cost of a new system.
- The system uses R-22 refrigerant. It is phased out and the price per pound makes leak repairs painful.
- A genuinely cracked heat exchanger. Verified with a camera or combustion analysis, not assumed.
- This is the third repair in two years.
- Rooms have never been comfortable, which often means the system was wrong for the house from day one.
Things that do not justify replacement
- A failed capacitor, contactor, igniter or flame sensor. These are wear parts.
- A dirty coil, a clogged drain or a bad thermostat.
- Age alone on a system that is running well.
- A vague warning that the heat exchanger "could" crack. Ask to see it.
Get a second opinion when the number is big
If someone condemns your system on a first visit and quotes a replacement the same day, that is worth a second look. We do second opinions regularly and a fair share of them end with the original system repaired for a fraction of the quote.
If replacement is the right call
Insist on a load calculation rather than a match to whatever was there. Oversized equipment short cycles, dehumidifies poorly and wears out faster. See furnace installation and air conditioning installation for how we size and quote the work. You can book in any Washington city — Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Vancouver or Yakima — from our service areas page.
Need this fixed rather than explained? Call (888) 380-4427 any hour, or find your city on our service areas page.