| My residential air condtioner failed this year. What the heck. It was only 6 years old. It was a base model Carrier that the builder put in. Nevertheless, only six years is lame. LAME, I tell you. We had to suffer through some 80 & 90 degree days before I got the thing replaced. The contractor (JMP Heating in Pontiac, MI) said it would cost $1400 to replace the compressor and $1800 to replace the system. Ouch. And double-ouch, it ended up costing me $2750 because I upgraded to a better model that takes the new refrigerant R-410A aka Puron which required replacing the condenser as well. Just like automobiles, home systems will be phasing out the old environmentally unfriendly refrigerant. So I figured I may as well upgrade now. This unit is also Energy Star compliant which presumably will better for the environment and my wallet. Though I kind of doubt I'll make up the extra $1000 any time soon. So I'm glad my new air conditioner is cooling fine on this 90+ degree day but still annoyed that I had to have this big expense in the first place. I went with a Carrier again even though the previous model wasn't the best. It's longevity left a lot to be desired. |