Should you repair or replace your AC?

Start with age

This Old House puts the typical life of a home cooling system at 12 to 15 years. That is a national figure, and how hard the years were depends on where the house sits. Bob Sikes Airport in Crestview now records 108 days a year at 90°F or hotter, up from 97 in the 1991 to 2020 normal. Near the beach the afternoons are milder, but the Destin airport logs 106 nights a year that stay at 75°F or above, against 10 in Crestview. Inland systems work hardest in the afternoon. Coastal systems never get a night off. Either way, a 12 year old system here has more hours on it than one in a milder state.

Find the age on the outdoor unit's data plate, or ask the technician to read the manufacture date off it. Housing age varies a lot across the metro: 51% of Crestview homes were built in 2000 or later, so many are on their first or second system, while 45% of Fort Walton Beach homes were built before 1980 and have been through several.

Days per year at 90°F or hotter, Crestview Bob Sikes Airport

Then look at the size of the repair

Small repairs are worth doing on almost any working system. Big ones on an old system usually are not.

Repair	Published range	Usually
Capacitor	$80 to $400	Repair, at any age
Contactor	$150 to $400 (Fixr)	Repair, at any age
Condenser fan motor	$300 to $800 (This Old House)	Repair unless the unit is old and corroded
Leak repair and recharge	$200 to $1,600 (Fixr)	Depends on refrigerant and age
Compressor	$600 to $3,000	Consider replacing on an older system

National published figures; capacitor from This Old House, compressor from Fixr.

A new central system is $5,800 to $14,400 installed according to Fixr, and a heat pump is $5,000 to $15,000. Put a compressor quote next to those numbers and the decision on a 13 year old system gets easier. On a compressor, ask whether the part is still under the manufacturer's parts coverage; the part might be covered even if the labor is not. The $5,000 rule is a quick way to frame it: multiply the system's age by the repair cost, and if the result is over 5,000, look at replacement.

Refrigerant: R-22 vs R-410A

Older systems often use R-22; the data plate says which refrigerant yours takes. Fixr lists R-22 at $50 to $80 a pound, against $12 to $25 a pound for R-410A. A leaking R-22 system that needs refilling every summer gets expensive, and the money goes into a system that is already old. I'd replace an R-22 system with a real leak rather than keep refilling it.

R-410A is different. Under EPA rules, new residential systems are limited to refrigerants with a global warming potential of 700 or less, with a compliance date of January 1, 2025 for manufacture and installation. That rule is about new equipment. Existing R-410A systems can still be serviced and repaired. If a technician says your R-410A system "can't be fixed anymore" because of the refrigerant change, that is not what the rule says. Get a second opinion.

Salt air on the coast

On Okaloosa Island, in Destin, along 30A and on the shores of Choctawhatchee Bay, salt air corrodes the outdoor coil's fins and tubing and the cabinet. A coil with pinhole leaks from corrosion tends to leak again after a patch. If the technician says the condenser coil is corroded through, ask for a photo. A corroded coil on an older unit is usually where replacing makes more sense than repairing. Up in Crestview or Baker this matters much less. Our salt air guide covers rinsing and coil coatings.

Heat counts here

This part of Florida averages about 1,586 heating degree days a year, per NOAA's climate division data, and the January low inland is 38°F against 47°F at the coast. A heat pump that cools fine but leans on the heat strips all winter is costing you money. When you weigh a repair, ask how the heating side is doing too. If you replace and your utility is CHELCO, its heat pump rebate needs a load calculation by CHELCO Energy Services before the work, so call them first. Check your bill to see which utility serves you; the heat pump page has more.

Humidity is part of the decision

A system can cool and still fail at its other job, which is pulling water out of the air. Crestview now averages 12 days a year with a mean dew point of 75°F or more, up from 3 in 1973 to 1990. The EPA suggests keeping indoor humidity below 60 percent, ideally 30 to 50.

A clammy house at 76°F is one of the most common complaints people raise about Florida AC. If the house feels damp even when the thermostat is satisfied, the system may be oversized. The DOE says an oversized system removes less moisture, because it reaches the setpoint and shuts off before it has run long enough to dry the air. Repairs will not fix that. If you replace, insist on a load calculation so the new system is sized to the house, not to the old unit. See humidity, mold and musty smells for the other causes.