Repair or Replace Your AC or Furnace? Six Questions

Question 1 of 6How old is the system?

Under 10 years 10–15 years Over 15 years Not sure

Older systems are more likely to need the next repair soon, and newer ones are usually more efficient. Age alone doesn't decide it — the data plate usually tells us the year.

Question 2 of 6Is this the second major repair in about two years?

Yes No

Repeated big repairs are the clearest sign that the money is better spent on a replacement.

Question 3 of 6Does it use R-22 refrigerant?

Yes No Not sure

New systems stopped using R-22 in 2010 and US production ended in 2020, so recharging an R-22 system is expensive. The data plate says which refrigerant it uses.

Question 4 of 6What does the repair involve?

A small part — capacitor, motor, contactor, drain A major part — compressor or coil A cracked heat exchanger (furnace) Not sure yet

Small parts are routine. Compressors and coils are the expensive end. A cracked heat exchanger is a safety issue, not a budgeting one.

Question 5 of 6Even when it works, are there comfort problems — hot rooms, humidity, noise?

Yes No

A replacement is a chance to fix things a repair can't, like a system that was the wrong size from the start.

Question 6 of 6Will you be in the house or building for five years or more?

Yes No Not sure

The longer you'll stay, the more a replacement pays back in reliability and comfort.

This is a guide, not a quote, and it doesn't know your equipment. The answers weigh the things we'd weigh on a visit; the visit is what decides it. No prices are used or implied.

How we'd actually decide

On a visit, we look at the same six things — and show you.

Age from the data plate, the repair history, the refrigerant, the part that's failed, the comfort complaints and your plans. Then we give you both numbers when it's close: what the repair costs and what a replacement costs, side by side.

If a repair is the sensible answer, we'll say so, even when a replacement would be a bigger job for us.

Close view of a technician's hands testing the compressor terminals inside an outdoor unit with a meter

Two things that override the score

Some answers aren't about money.

A cracked heat exchanger

It can let carbon monoxide into the air. The furnace should stay off until it's inspected, whatever the other answers say.

No heat in a cold snap

If someone at home or at work can't be without heat, a repair that gets it running now is the right first step — the replace decision can follow.

An older outdoor air conditioner with a weathered cabinet, its data plate lit by a flashlight but unreadable

Two technicians setting a new outdoor heat pump on a fresh pad beside a brick house

Businesses

For a building, answer per unit.

A shop or office with several units is really several decisions. Answer the questions for the one that's failing — and if more than one is getting old, ask us about planning the others before they force the issue.

Homes

For a house, answer for the system that's failing.

Many houses have one system for downstairs and one for upstairs. They rarely age out together; answer for the one in trouble.

Repair it, or replace it? Six questions.