How many more years is my AC supposed to last? This is one of my favorite questions to answer, and it usually gets all the HVAC technicians and owners out there all stirred up. The reason is because companies that are highly motivated by sales are going to tell you that your central air conditioner will not last as long as I'm going to tell you in this video. Hey, if this is your first time watching our channel, please click subscribe down here on the bottom right, and if you click that little bell next to it, you'll be notified of all of our videos as they come out. Also, during this video, if you have any thoughts about how long you think an air conditioner should last, let me know in the comments below. I'd love to hear your thoughts. How long is your central air conditioner designed to last? Have you ever heard of programmed obsolescence or designed obsolescence? If you haven't, it really plays a big factor in the way this question is answered. I will tell you, they don't make them like they used to. The original air conditioning systems were built with quality parts and were extremely durable for up to 30 years. Believe it or not, we just serviced an air conditioner from their early 1970s. That's almost 50 years old, and to prove my point about them not making them like they used to, that 50-year-old capacitor that some help support that system is still at the same charge it came from the factory almost 50 years ago. Capacitors these days typically last five to 10 years. But the industry quickly realized just like the car companies did back in the 1920s that sales were stagnating. It was like they were building them too good for the companies to sustain growth and more importantly become rich. Companies began making their products just a little bit less durable and stealing the buyer the desire to own something a little newer, a little better, a little bit more efficient, and just a little sooner than necessary. As with anything, the answer to this question depends heavily on how well the system has been maintained. Rental properties are notorious for having tenants that just plain old refuse to change their air filter. So of course that system is a crapshoot. Who knows, right? I mean it might last 10 years in my last 20 years. But if you have the system clean and maintained every now and then there is no reason that the system can't last you 20 years. I know parts will fail now and then and everyone expects that they're gonna have to make certain repairs to their aging system. But if the parts are available there's no reason to have someone convince you to buy a new air conditioning system. That's just another example of planned obsolescence, right? I mean someone putting into your head that you need a new system at 12 years old is almost kind of like being a bully. They know more than you do about that air conditioning system and it would be pretty easy for any technician in a white button up shirt with an American flag on it to deceive you about your air conditioner. The big companies around town are banking on it. Melissa and I live in a 21-year-old neighborhood built by, well let's call them a fictitious name like BK Holmes. The HVAC contractor who won that job to install all those units did so because they were the lowest bidder who could install them the fastest. Those contractors aren't putting in top of the line systems either. They call them contractor grade HVAC systems. So my system is 21 years old this year and I'm thinking I'm gonna try and make it last one more year. I mean a lot of us say that right but when that system was 11 years old my compressor failed. Well for most people that's about a two to three thousand dollar job to make that repair and refill the refrigerant. So yes major failures like this do happen. Is it planned obsolescence? Maybe but it's also a machine and machines break sometimes. I happen to know a guy right? I mean me I can get a good deal on a compressor so I fixed it and the system has run great ever since. Old systems blow cold air out of your registers the same temperature as the newer systems but here's where those words planned obsolescence comes back around when the pushy sales guys start telling you you need a new air conditioner. They're just trying to persuade you that you need something a little newer a little better a little bit more efficient and just a little sooner than necessary. Here are some reasons why I would be interested in changing my air conditioner. So I changed my compressor when it was 11 years old right? That was almost 10 years ago. That air conditioner is a lot noisier now than it has ever been. I'm kind of over it. Every time it comes on and I'm out on my patio it comes on loud and turns off loud. Another reason is if I had more major repairs like the compressor was I would have gotten to the point where I was tired of putting money into the past with the old system and preferred to invest my money in the future with a newer system. The third reason is if I was leaking refrigerate every year and we couldn't find the leak I would want to change my system not only for the cost of the refrigerant being so high but it's just very bad for the ozone layer to be seeing all that chlorine and future generations will suffer because of it. If the system was installed wrong in the first place it's tough to fix that without taking everything apart and then putting it all back together the proper way. This could be another reason to start all over with a new system. As an installer myself I know how people can suffer from a system that never worked right or was too small in the first place. The most important day of a system's life is the day it was installed. Now here's some reasons companies that are only motivated by sales will tell you you need a new system. Extremely salesy companies will tell you and you see it written a lot in the blogs all over the internet too that if your system is over 12 years old you need a new system. They'll tell you it's not worth repairing or the parts aren't available. Literally lying straight to your face. They say if you had a system over a decade it's time to replace your system. This also doesn't compute for me. Why? Some of my customers have told me another company told them R22 refrigerant wasn't available anymore. This couldn't be further from the truth. Yes it's on its way out and super salesy technicians will say big words like Montreal Protocol which states that we have to phase out of producing R22 by 2020. But there are still alternative refrigerants that we can use for a long time after that at half the price. R407c refrigerant can be used to replace the R22 in your system. The experience technician will remove the existing R22 and without getting all technical replace it with the new 407c refrigerant. There's plenty of other alternative and safe refrigerants to use out there too. Just don't let them add the refrigerant on top of your existing R22. That would not be acceptable in our industry as the refrigerant needs to be either or even after they stop making R22 free on in 2020 there will still be recycled R22 available for years. It might be more expensive than it is now but it's still an option that you get to decide on and not a misleading technician. Next week's video is on this very topic. You should get a good 20 years out of your system as long as it was installed correctly and that considers that your installer followed several detailed instructions from the manufacturer of the system. Sure anybody can put a few boxes together up in your attic for a really cheap price and call it good and you'll believe them too. It's sad because these types of companies continue to give HVAC a bad name while companies like Fox Family are trying to lift the HVAC industry by following instructions closely so that your system will last a good 20 years. Of course that's with proper maintenance. If this is your first time watching our channel please click subscribe down here on the bottom right and if you click that little bell next to it you'll be notified of all of our videos as they come out. Thanks so much for watching and we'll see you on the next video. You're watching Fox Family Heating Air and Solar. Don't forget to subscribe and check out more of our videos by clicking on the right side of the screen.