This is another one of those difficult questions to answer. It depends on several factors, not the least of which is affordability. An entirely new air conditioning, heat pump, or boiler system can run between $5,000.00 and $10,000.00 or more to replace! That's a lot of money! Here is some information you will want to consider to assist you in making the decision.
What is your seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER)? If you have an air conditioning system or heat pump that is 10-SEER or less and its age is between 10 to 15 years or more, you may want to consider replacing it because it's approaching the end of its practical service life and could wind up costing you big dollars in the near future. It's better to do your homework — evaluating a new system and finding a good contractor — while you have the luxury of time than to have to replace the system in the middle of the heating or cooling season where you are at the mercy of the contractor.
What are the new energy ratings? The government has mandated all new AC and heat pump equipment be a minimum of 13-SEER. If you have an older 10-SEER system and your outdoor condenser unit dies, you have to replace the indoor air handler or A-coil also because the new condenser will not be compatible with the old A-coil. The compatibility issue is such that some manufacturers will not warranty their new 13-SEER units if they are used on an older non-matched system. Now you are in a position where you have spent good money to replace part of you system and you have no warranty, nor will you get the savings of operation benefits of the new 13-SEER unit. The new 13-SEER or higher systems can provide significant savings over an old 10-SEER system.
What is the annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE)? If you have an old hot water boiler, there are other concerns. Older boilers in the 20- to 30-year-old range had lower efficiencies than their new counterparts. Even if your boiler looks to be in good condition, has no leaks, and the service tech says it's testing at 82% efficiency, this refers to combustion efficiency, not annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE). The AFUE reflects the efficiency over the entire heating season, not just the combustion efficiency! Many older boilers were only getting 60% to 70% AFUE or less in some cases. Older boilers were also larger with a greater water volume, which means more BTUs are needed to heat the larger amount of water. Another thing to note is that older hot water boilers were typically oversized; that is, they were larger than was needed to do the job. This resulted in fuel wasted. Years ago, when oil and gas were cheaper, the old saying "bigger is better" was often applied to heating systems because fuel was so cheap. You may have noticed it's not cheap anymore!
Has the heating and cooling load changed because of improvements to your home? If any improvements have been made to the home over the years (such as adding insulation, replacing old windows with new energy-efficient windows, and upgrading weather stripping, new insulated siding, etc.), the heating and cooling load has most likely changed, resulting in the need for smaller equipment. Therefore, to determine the proper system size, a load study should be done.
Once you decide to get some estimates, a good contractor will have all the information you need on equipment efficiencies and will assist you by doing a load study and explaining the benefits of the available equipment.
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