I get it.
You think I’m crazy for telling you that you should consider replacing your old air conditioner NOW.
You’ll laugh because you’re right in the middle of your annual holiday spending spree, buying gifts for everyone, purchasing tons of groceries and baking goods that cost more now than ever before, and planning trips and parties for holiday festivities.
“Replace our old air conditioner SOONER rather than later? Like NOW?”
You chuckle as you wonder at my naiveté, wondering how I could not know that surplus money probably isn’t just sitting around your house at the end of the year.
But hear me out.
If your air conditioning unit is older or showing signs of decline, it’s really important you replace it BEFORE the end of 2022.
I’m not giving you a sales pitch!
Here’s the truth:
The price for air conditioning units is guaranteed to increase in 2023 for these imminent, very real reasons.
5 Reasons the Price of Air Conditioners Is Increasing in 2023
Financial experts and manufacturers are predicting a 20-30% increase in heating and air equipment. Since air conditioning equipment is a big-ticket item, a 20-30% increase is significant.
If you don’t want to pay a much higher price next year, replace your old air conditioner now.
Prices are going up for these five reasons:
Reason Number One:
The Department of Energy determines the SEER rating on air conditioning and heating equipment.
A SEER means the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio. In simple terms, a SEER is given to a heating or cooling unit to determine, on average, how much cooling occurs based on how much energy is being used.
The higher the SEER rating, the more efficient your unit will be, producing more coolness or heat with less energy.
On January 1, 2023, all air conditioners must attain a higher SEER rating. In the North, the SEERs will increase from 13 to 14. Here in Florida, the new SEER ratings of all manufactured equipment must be 15, a raise of 1 SEER from this year’s requirement of 14.
More efficient equipment means manufacturing units with more expensive parts, increasing the cost.
In 2023, heating and air conditioning equipment will have not one, but TWO SEER ratings.
The second rating is called a SEER2, a new measurement that results from improved testing of units.
Eventually, the SEER2 rating will replace the original SEER system because it’s more accurate.
But of course, as concern over our energy use increases and SEER ratings rise, we’ll pay higher prices for our air conditioners. More efficient equipment means manufacturing units with more expensive parts, increasing the cost.
The good news is that the resulting equipment with higher SEER ratings will last longer and be of higher quality.
Reason Number Two:
To get to the required SEER ratings, the equipment will have to be a little bigger. You’ll need more coil, both indoors and outdoors.
Coils are made with copper, aluminum, and steel, materials that have been consistently rising in price over the years.
More materials result in a higher cost.
Reason Number Three:
Because the equipment will be bigger than in past years, the manufacture of component parts will change.
For example, the fan covers on the top of the machines will be slightly bigger than in the past.
Those kinds of adjustments may sound simple to us, but to manufacturers, they are not. As the size of parts and components change to meet the new SEER demands, some factories may have to retool to produce the required, re-sized parts.
Retooling, redesigning, and reworking are expensive, resulting in increased costs for air conditioners this year.
Reason Number Four:
Bigger equipment, even just a change of a few inches in overall size, affects the shipping costs.
If the size and weight of air conditioners increase to meet the need for greater efficiency, fewer units can be shipped in the same amount of space than in the past.
Fewer units on ships, planes, trains, and trucks mean that shipping and handling costs will go up.
Reason Number Five
If you have an air conditioner that was manufactured before 2010, it uses a refrigerant known as R-22.
R-22 was replaced by R-410, a refrigerant that is better for the environment because it doesn’t contain chlorine. In fact, it became illegal to manufacture or sell R-22 in 2020.
If you have an old air conditioner that currently uses R-22, you should replace your unit now because you simply won’t be able to find – or afford - the cost of an outlawed refrigerant.
Holiday spending won’t interfere
Hopefully, you’ve stopped laughing at my crazy suggestion that you replace your old air conditioner NOW, sooner rather than later.
The reasons for doing so are real.
Here’s the good news!
Holiday spending won’t interfere with your purchase. ServiceOne can help you find the perfect unit for your budget and then help you find the financing to get your old air conditioner replaced before the price goes up.
And guess what?
Rebates and tax credits are out there to be claimed when you purchase a new system, and we’ll help you find them.
Don’t wait until next year when you’ll have to pay 20-30% more to replace your air conditioner.
Call ServiceOne today. We’ll help put you in your comfort zone at a 2022 cost!