It’s the norm rather than the exception for a central split-system air conditioner to have one component fail before the other. Most often, the outside unit, exposed to the elements, quits before the inside unit. When this happens, you’ll have to make a decision – whether to replace the component that’s failing, or replace the indoor and outdoor A/C units with a whole new system. In most cases, the second choice is the way to go. Here are some of the reasons.

Matched Sets Are Designed to Work as a Team

The interior and exterior units of your split-system air conditioning system were engineered to work as team. This provides the best prospect for the A/C’s advertised efficiency and performance. While you may be able to match a new outside unit with the inside component, it will never operate as well as a matched system.

Benefit From Design Advances

If you upgrade to a new, matched air conditioner, you can take full advantage of advances in technology, such as variable-speed and multi-level components in the air handler and compressor. This may not be possible when matching a new component with an old one.

Take Advantage of Improved Energy Efficiency

If you purchase a new split-system A/C featuring a high seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER), you’ll benefit long-term from lower energy bills. However, if you match a new outside unit with the old inside component, your system will not achieve the rated cooling efficiency.

Age Difference Can Be a Problem

If you’re not replacing the indoor and outdoor A/C units at the same time, you probably will continue mismatching the air conditioner components in the future. On the other hand, if your outside unit fails tomorrow, the inside unit probably doesn’t have that long before it goes, too. Upgrade to a whole new system.

Replacing the indoor and outdoor A/C units at the same time is the wise decision. For help finding a new split-system A/C for your Northern Virginia home, please contact us at One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning® of Northern Virginia.