At Home in Berks April 2017 - 20

ANGLES

Is Now the Time
for a New HVAC?
Contributed by York International Corporation

ew homeowners relish the thought of having to replace a
heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system.
And yet, according to authorized dealers for sales, service
and installation for York International, it may make more
sense to replace a system than to invest more money in repairs
and maintenance.

The question, said George Mertz, owner of Berks County-based Sunrise Plumbing, Heating and Cooling, is whether
fixing an old system is worth the cost of the repairs. And, that
is not always an easy question to answer.
When considering whether to replace or a repair a HVAC
system, factors to be considered include the age of the system,
run-time hours per day, how well the system has been maintained, conditions in which the unit has been housed and the
availability of repair parts.
Generally, Mertz said, it is more economical to replace a system every 12-15 years because energy bills and maintenance
fees should decrease. However, every system should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

AT HOME IN BERKs April 2017

One of the first factors to consider when deciding whether
to replace or repair a system is its age, said John Sarangoulis,
owner of Heat & Cool HVAC, also a Berks-County based
authorized York dealer.
If your system is between 12 and 15 years, it probably has
reached, or will soon reach, the end of its life. This means it
probably does not make sense to keep putting money into it, as
the system will soon become useless.
Another factor to look at is the cost of your energy bills.
An aging system tends to be less efficient and draw more power
than a new system, making it more expensive to operate. You
can check the efficiency of your air conditioner by knowing its
seasonal energy efficiency rating (SEER). Generally speaking, a
higher SEER means increased efficiency and reduced operating
costs. Today's new air-conditioning systems are more than 50
percent more efficient than systems manufactured 10 years ago,
Sarangoulis said.
If you are calling a technician more and more frequently to address problems with your HVAC unit, it may be time to replace
it, advised Jerry Frederick, owner of Schuykill County-based
J.E. Frederick & Sons.

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