Commercial A/C & Refrigeration

It's HOT--Now What?

If your commercial A/C breaks on a hot summer day in Florida, you are surely miserable, and might not be in the best frame of mind to make costly decisions.  But there are some tried and true guidelines, which can help you make what can be a difficult decision.

Most people would rather repair than replace, if at all possible.  And we can handle that approach, no problem.  We are commercial HVAC repair experts.  But, for those of you thinking of long-term costs, you might want to consider all of your options.  

What Factors Should You Consider?

We recommend that you evaluate the following:

System Age.  In general, most air conditioners will last 12-18 years.  (Your maintenance and typical usage of the HVAC unit will play a role in the number of years the system lasts.) If your A/C is 7 years or older, simple repairs can become more frequent, and less simple, which may mean more expensive.  Those costs can add up over time, so you might want to opt for a replacement at this age. On the other hand, if your air conditioner is less than 5 years old, a repair is almost certainly the best option (exclusing system destruction caused by lightening strikes, for example).  These newer systems most likely have many good years of functioning left in them.

Your Overall Satisfaction With The System.  If you haven't had many problems with your AC before, then you have every reason to expect that it will continue to run well with a few repairs.  At the same time, if your system has been trouble from the beginning, for whatever reason, a brand new indoor and outdoor unit might be the best solution.

Operating Costs.  This is important, particularly with new energy saving units.  Many HVAC units can be easily repaired to last 15 - 20 years or even longer.  But they very possibly have a SEER rating that is 1/2 of current high efficiency units. That is a whopping 50% savings in your utility bills, especially in Florida, where cooling costs are not insubstantial.

Repair Costs.  Repair costs higher than $500 to $750 may justify replacement.

Freon Costs.  For older systems using older refrigerant (R-22), the customer has the added cost of expensive refrigerant replacement if necessary.  This is true because the government stopped the sale of equipment using R-22 in 2011.  So the new refrigerant in all air conditioners is R-410A, which is 1/4 the cost of R-22.  R-22 eventually will not even be available.  So if you need new freon for a system using R-22, the cost for 13 pounds in a 4 ton system, as an example, would be about $850 to replace the freon.  In comparison, to replace the freon in a comparably sized 410A system, you would only spend $200 or $250.  These are examples based on rough estimates; all systems are different in terms of sizing and freon needs.  Each year the EPA is reducing the amount of R-22 allowed to be produced.  By 2020 or sooner, the amount produced will be zero.

Replacement Costs.  When deciding whether to repair or replace, Marathon Air will always give you a free estimate for a new system.  Obviously you can compare the costs yourself.  This is very similar to the decision to buy a new car or keep repairing an older one.  At some point, you will be calling regularly for repairs, with an older system.  Various components will break.  When those repairs are happening more frequently, then the time may have come to compare with replacement costs.  The beauty of calling Marathon Air, unlike many of our competitors, we do not employ technicians who cannot handle all range of repairs, so you will have true options with us.

"Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship." 

--Benjamin Franklin