Repair or Replace? Expert Advice on Making the Right Decision for Your HVAC Unit

By Aztil – December 4, 2024

Air conditioners last between 10 and 20 years depending on the model, maintenance, and climate. Some have long lifespans while others fail early. While there is no exact date, the time to replace your AC is based on when it needs repairs, and how serious those repairs become. Deciding whether to repair or replace your HVAC is crucial for your home’s comfort, budget, and energy efficiency. Consider new regulations like the AIM Act 2025. If you want to save time and money while ensuring reliable heating and cooling, we can help you determine the best course based on several important factors.

1. Age of the Unit

Most AC units have a lifespan of 10-20 years, with an average reliable performance of 15 years. If your AC is over 10 years old, consider a replacement rather than repairs. An AC unit loses efficiency as it ages, leading to higher energy bills and more frequent repairs. Eventually, it will be more cost-effective to replace instead of continuing repairs.

The AIM Act 2025

The AIM Act will phase out older eco-harmful refrigerants that pose global warming risks. Older ACs may become more costly if they use banned refrigerants like R-401A. If your old AC has a refrigerant leak, it may be a good time to upgrade.

2. Cost of Repairs vs. Replacement

The 50% rule states that if a repair costs 50% or more of the cost of a new appliance, then replacement is the wise choice. You will get better performance from a new unit, so the other half of the price will pay itself back quickly compared to the lost expense of repairing a unit that will continue to fail and need more costly repairs in the future.

With the AIM Act, you can also be certain that HVAC replacements in 2024 will all be manufactured with eco-friendly refrigerants. An upgrade will be good for the environment, more efficient, and cheaper for many years.

3. Energy Efficiency and Your Utility Bills

How energy-efficient is your old HVAC unit? HVACs have to use more electricity for heating and cooling as the years go by. A steady increase in your seasonal power bills can mean your HVAC will cost more than you realize. Repairing an older unit may come with that half-hidden higher cost of continued operation.

Upgrading to a more efficient new HVAC comes with advanced technology, a higher SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) rating, and lower power bills. With the AIM Act, newer systems also use low-GWP refrigerants, making them eco-friendlier and more efficient, leading to lower utility bills.

4. Frequency of Breakdowns

Constant repairs are a sign that your AC will continue to fall. If repairs are more than once a year, it’s probably time to schedule your HVAC replacement. The AIM Act phase-down also means it will become more costly to service older units with phased-out refrigerants.

5. Indoor Comfort and Air Quality

An older HVAC may struggle to keep up with your home’s air needs. If you notice hot and cold spots, the blower fan or motor fails to push enough air evenly through the house. If you notice poor air quality, it could mean a failure of filtration or humidity control.

A newer system that meets the AIM Act standards provides advanced efficiency and environmental controls. You can ensure perfect air balance and reduce pollutants and allergens in your home.

6. Environmental Impact and AIM Act Compliance

The AIM Act 2025 ensures that new HVAC units are more eco-friendly than older models by phasing out high-GWP refrigerants. New systems will reduce your carbon footprint with eco-friendly refrigerants and more efficient electricity use.

7. Current Rebates and Incentives

If now is the right time to replace your HVAC, several great savings opportunities are available. Many utility companies offer rebates, discounts, and other incentives for purchasing a new high-efficiency AIM Act-compliant system. You can use these savings to reduce the upfront costs of your energy-saving upgrade. This is a chance to reduce installation costs and start saving immediately with lower seasonal power bills.

Making the Best Choice for Your Home

Should you repair your HVAC or plan to replace it? Consider your system’s age, repair frequency, seasonal power bills, and your current home comfort. If now is the right time to replace, take advantage of the savings and quality upgrades inspired by the AIM Act 2025, which drives eco-friendly and energy-efficient changes in the HVAC industry.

What Our Clients Think Of Us

Excellent

Aztil Air Conditioning

Based on 1712 reviews

Niko was extremely helpful solving our emergency…The capacitor stoped working!!

Tanya Hanks

Great service in timely manner, polite and efficient! Dana was great!

Judy Denmark

He did everything perfectly!

Elizabeth Ness

Very good. Lazaro was courteous and professional.

Richard Grossman

Dana is a great Technician. He is very knowledgeable and personable in addition to being extremely thorough. He did my A/C check up and kept me informed as he proceeded through the process. Very pleased with Aztil and have always been very happy with their technicians and sercvice.

Response from the owner:Dear Richard Grossman, Thank you for your glowing review! We're so glad to hear that you had such an excellent experience with Lazarro and Antonio. We pride ourselves on providing top-notch service and are thrilled that you have chosen to sign a 5 year contract with us. We look forward to continuing to provide you with the best service possible. Thank you again for your kind words. Sincerely, AZTIL

Yves Carpentier

The gentlemen that came to replace my air conditioner were very friendly and pleasant. I was pleasantly surprised at the speed and efficiency at which they worked. Jorge Rivera did a great job and I will commend Aztil Air to everyone. Thank you.

Phillip Kuppersmith

Dana was great on time very professional

Cheryl Cannizzaro

Paul is friendly and kmowledgable

Response from the owner:Hello Cheryl. Thank you for your feedback. We appreciate your business.

Steve

Our AC just crapped out on a Sunday morning. We called and Dana was in contact with us immediately. He called, we gave him a brief run down of the issue. He arrived promptly, was professional, found the issue, fixed it, tested the system and had us back up and running in about an hour. He also
let us know our service contract was expiring in a couple of months so we renewed it on the spot. We HIGHLY recommend them for your AC needs.

Chris

The service tech Cody did an excellent job doing the maintenance!! Very friendly and courteous, Highly recommend!

Response from the owner:Hi Chris, thank you for your kind words! We're so glad to hear that Ramon did an excellent job and that you were pleased with the outcome. Thank you for being a valued customer.

Robert Kalan

Michael King was exceptional.
During our maintenance call, he was very thorough and made sure all parts of our AC system were working properly.

D Evans

A/C Tech Elder did a great job completing my annual maintenance work. He recommended additional service to keep clean air circulating throughout the house. I am a happy customer.

Saguee Saraf

Technician Michael King was very thorough and friendly. He spent hours painstakingly explaining and figuring out why my air conditioning and heating unit wasn’t working until he solved the mystery.

Shae Hatch

Michaels amazing!!

Joel Sternin

Niko was pleasant, capable and informative. I’m greatful to have in service my AC unit.

Dan Keane

Antonio was great, here on time and provided 6 month service- we renewed our contract for another year. A dollar a day is a great deal!!

Myrna Goldman

Jordan or Jaylen very professional and clean wonderful to talk to thank you guys !

Theresa Markey

From the moment Paul arrived, his professionalism and knowledge were on a completely different level. He carries himself with a level of expertise and integrity that you rarely see anymore. Paul doesn’t just do his job—he exceeds every standard of customer care, clarity, and skill.

Honestly, he’s so top-notch that he could be running his own company. The way he explains everything, answers every question with patience, and makes sure you fully understand your options is beyond impressive. You can tell he takes pride in his work, and it shows in every part of the experience.

Thank you, Paul, for setting such a high standard. Companies are lucky to have you—Darcy appreciates you more than you know!!! My husband and I We love Paul!

K S

Best part of Aztil- our service tech Antonio!! Such a professional and kind young man. Thanks!!

Lorraine Menard

Elder was great 5 stars

Response from the owner:Thank you for your review, Lorraine. We appreciate your feedback and are glad that Kenneth and Nick were able to help you with your issue.

Walter Grimsley

Antonio was early which was fine with me. He was very professional and personable, explained everything along the way.
And even finished up with the tune up to save me from having to make an appointment for the following day.

Response from the owner:Hi Walter, thank you for your kind words! We're so glad to hear that Michael and Skyler did an excellent job and that you were pleased with the outcome. Thank you for being a valued customer.

Inge Hoffmann

Jan Moreno

Antonio is awesome. Super helpful and friendly. Aztil is very responsive. Highly recommend. A+++.

CIHRHH H.

Rafael and Asiel installed my new A/C today. They were super. Everything went as planned. I am a happy camper.

12/5/35 Alex came for tuneup and fix thermostat problem. Wonderful experience. 5 stars.

Response from the owner:Hi Cihrhh, thank you for your kind words! We're so glad to hear that Rafael and Asiel did an excellent job and that you were pleased with the outcome. Thank you for being a valued customer.

Pat Young

Technician Elder did an excellent job

Zachary McMillan

Elder was great!

arlyne marks

Elder
Great job

Herbie Kalloff

Juan knows air conditioning 😊
He did diagnosed inside unit and outside unit and fix the problem 😊👍🏼👏🏼

Christine Byrne

Mark Dua

Jacob Lepoff

Thanks to Aztil AC! Michael came out to service both of our units as part of their maintenance program. Outstanding service from start to finish.

Response from the owner:Hi Jake, thank you for your kind words! We're so glad to hear that Anthony and Lazaro did an excellent job and that you were pleased with the outcome. Thank you for being a valued customer.

Christopher Noto

Paul is hands-down the best AC technician I’ve ever dealt with! He’s incredibly honest, super knowledgeable, and genuinely looks out for his customers. When my unit started acting up, he took the time to explain everything clearly, showed me exactly what needed to be done (and what could wait), and didn’t try to upsell me on anything unnecessary. His prices are fair, he shows up on time, and the work is top-notch. It’s obvious he takes pride in what he does and truly cares about keeping his customers comfortable without breaking the bank. If you need AC maintenance or repair, call Paul—you won’t regret it! Highly, highly recommend.

VR Veterans Goody

Elder Great job recommending for anything

Arturo Parham

nico did a great job

john a rush iii

Niko was on time, polite, and efficient. I plan to request him for my next service.

Emly Smith

Dana was professional and thorough. He did not stop working until he completed the job. I would highly recommend Dana!

Bruce Oswald

Michael was prompt getting here after I had called with my issue. He was very friendly as well as thorough in his analysis of the problem and delivering a good solution!

Virginia Flores

We loved Air Boca so we were thrilled when they joined forces with another company and became Aztil Air! Our technician was Paul and he was great! Good with the dog, made solid recommendations around what needed to be done, tip-toed around the house when we got on our conference calls. We are very happy with our service!

John Janssen

I’ve been a customer on their maintenance plan for probably 7 years. Always been a positive experience.

My old HVAC system finally died so I called Aztil to give me a quote on a new system. The salesman recommended a system I’d never heard of called Daikin. He promised it would cut my electrical bill in half. He was right. However, there was an unforeseen side effect with the Daikin. Simply put, the system is not suitable for the humidity we have in South Florida. It became a mold manufacturing machine, both in the unit itself, and throughout all my ductwork.

Working with a manager, Sabrina Cordetti. We attempted all sorts of solutions, but nothing stopped the continuous mold production.

Ultimately, Aztil did something that knocked my socks off. Jack, the service manager and Sabrina called me to tell me they were going to replace my system at no charge with whatever system I wanted!

I sent them the specs from the original system which had done an amazing job keeping my unit as cool as I wanted it to be during the heat of summer and they agreed to install the same unit but the new version.

The total bill came to over $15,000 and no charge to me!

Can you beat that kind of integrity and customer service? It really is unheard of in this day and age.

The culture at Aztil is clearly to take care of their customers, to well train their technicians, and to maintain the highest level of integrity and customer service.

A++++++

Response from the owner:Hi John, Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We're glad to hear that you had an excellent experience with our service. We pride ourselves on our knowledgeable staff, and it's great to know that Dana and Rick was able to provide you with such great service. We appreciate your feedback and hope to see you again soon!

HOWARD VOGEL

Nico was terrific! Nico was here bright and early and did an awesome job. His professionalism and expertise was a credit to Aztil air conditioning service. If possible I would like to request Nico as my regular technician for service. Thank you Nico and Aztil.

Response from the owner:Thank you so much for your kind words, Howard Vogel! We are delighted to hear that you had a great experience with Paul, Malik, and Dave. We appreciate your recommendation and will continue to strive to provide top-notch service to our customers. Thanks again!

Brian Smyth

Paul G., our service technician, was amazing.
Serviced our system and provided great guidance on how to improve the efficiency and lifespan of our A/C.
Excellent service, knowledgeable team, and reasonable pricing. Highly recommended.
Had a second team, Jordan and Jalen, come to clean vents and seal ducts. Great job. Very professional and cleaned up when they were finished.
Top notch service.

Lisa DAbek

Ramon
was so helpful and he showed up early and energetic. I felt listened to and he was helpful. He represented the company very well. He valued my time

Mark Trzasko

Dana Dussualt came out today and was very professional and respectful.

Rose Ross

Alex did a great job arrived on time was very pleasant and helpful and answered all my questions

Jimmy Agostinelli

Don Walling

As usual Aztil and Dana were great. Prompt and professional.

Response from the owner:Hi Don, thank you for your kind words! We're so glad to hear that Angel did an excellent job and that you were pleased with the outcome. Thank you for being a valued customer.

Debra Hamalainen

Nicholas Garza. He is an excellent tech that took his time explaining everything.. he did his job and everything he was supposed to do. Very happy with today’s maintenance!! He’s a total asset to your company

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