Air condition unit

Hi guys my AC unit is 13 years old…still works fine but last year and the year before the electricity bill was pretty high. Not really sure if it’s the AC. But today this ac salesman said that if the AC is after 5 to 7 years old…it will use up a lot of electricity and it’s worth it to get a new one…I am wondering if that’s true? this AC still works…should I replace it to save some electricity bill?

I’m technically challenged, but what about refilling/replacing the gas?

Excellent question: how long is too long?

Fridges and other appliances do start using up more power as they “age”. Newer A/Cs are touted as being more eco-friendly and less power consuming -the add charts to help you decide to the usual specifications. Plus the size of A/C ratio to size of room.

On the other hand, as Bismark says, after clenaing and refilling, it should be able to give out a bit more.

Nevertheless, considering weather conditions, technological advances, and other factors, maybe a new machine could be a good option… after maintenance.

refill/replace the freon it will make it run more efficient?

It’s certainly worth a try and should be vastly cheaper than a new unit. That’s what I would do. :2cents:

13 years does start sounding old…

I just love new shiny stuff!

I had a huge old AC in my old apartment that was in the living room, but powerful enough to cool down the whole place. I bought it second-hand and kept it for many years. Someone “technical” told me I would save money by getting a new one, so when I moved I got a new one and gave the old one away. Now I have higher electricity bills because I have to have an AC in each room. Also, the newer “more efficient” ACs are less effective and I have to leave them on for a much longer period of time.

Keep the old one, have it cleaned and serviced regularly, and keep the filters clean.

you said serviced regularly…what kind of service does it need? I never serviced it other than turn it on for 10 min or so during winter time and cooler days.

earlier someone said to change the freon and it will be more efficient, I thought you just change it when it’s out of freon? so how often should you change the freon?

one of the ac it gets really loud…does that mean it’s about to die? or maybe needs oiled somewhere

[quote=“ironfist”]you said serviced regularly…what kind of service does it need? I never serviced it other than turn it on for 10 min or so during winter time and cooler days.

earlier someone said to change the freon and it will be more efficient, I thought you just change it when it’s out of freon? so how often should you change the freon?

one of the ac it gets really loud…does that mean it’s about to die? or maybe needs oiled somewhere[/quote]
I think you need an a/c man you can trust. Not some dude who’s going to work you over for maximum profit… :2cents:

[quote=“ironfist”]you said serviced regularly…what kind of service does it need? I never serviced it other than turn it on for 10 min or so during winter time and cooler days.

earlier someone said to change the freon and it will be more efficient, I thought you just change it when it’s out of freon? so how often should you change the freon?

one of the ac it gets really loud…does that mean it’s about to die? or maybe needs oiled somewhere[/quote]

What brand is it? Maybe it could be better to call the company directly for service.

Do you remember where you bought it? If you got a Zhuen Guo Dien Tzu nearby, they can service the unit or help you call the proper company service line.

It’s all about getting the right kind of AC unit for the size of your place.
The measurements are often overestimated in terms of how many ping they can cool efficiently.
The latest generation of AC units with inverters are indeed a lot more power efficient and during the summer you could save a good deal of money on getting new units depending on how many hours a day you use them.

I’d recommend Heran, as their customer service is excellent.
We had some problems with our units as Carrefour fucked up the install, Heran came around, told us there wasn’t enough “gas” in them, changed the controller board to a newer, more efficient model for free and made sure everything was working as it should. We had to have Carrefour come and re-gas them though, as we would’ve had to pay for the gas otherwise.
Then we moved, took the AC units with us and something went wrong with one of them. Again, we called Heran, they sent out an engineer who fixed it all for free. Talk about first rate customer service.
They used to build the AC units for Daikin in Taiwan btw.

Freon is also illegal to use these days, so you’d end up with various alternatives and these work differently well. Some older units don’t work well with newer types of gas in them.