When you’re living in Texas, one of the last things you want is for your air conditioner to break down. Texas is home to hot summers. An air conditioner is vital when temperatures climb into the 90s.
One of the leading factors of air conditioner breakdowns is age. The older an air conditioner is, the more likely it is to have problems or need repairs. If you’ve just moved into a home, you may not know how old the A/C is. Some homeowners don’t hold onto that documentation, or simply don’t remember when the unit was installed.
If you’re concerned about the age of your air conditioner, keep reading. There are a few ways that you can identify the age of your home’s unit.
Method 1: Locate the Nameplate
Most air conditioners come with a metal nameplate installed on the outdoor condenser unit. Depending on the make and model of your A/C, this may be easy to access, while it can be elusive on others. Trane, a major A/C brand, puts the nameplate on the top of the unit, towards the back right. Goodman, however, puts the nameplate on the back of the unit, making it harder to reach in some cases.
Nameplates include a variety of information that comes in handy. They have the name of the manufacturer, the model number, as well as the manufacturing date. Manufacturing dates are pretty uniform, with the date being listed as the month and year.
Method 2: Installation Date
If you can’t find the unit’s manufacturing date on the nameplate, then you can typically use the installation date as a rough guide. However, this requires that the previous homeowner kept paperwork and provided it with the sale of the home.
When you’re looking for an installation date, you can use the AC invoice, warranty, or registration. These all show the installation date. If the home was purchased as new construction by the previous owner, the A/C installation was likely within a few months of the home’s original purchase date.
Method 3: Research
If all else fails, you can always do a bit of research using the unit’s serial number. Serial numbers can often be found on nameplates, as well as on other parts of the system. A serial number encodes the manufacturing date of your unit in most cases.
With the serial number, as well as the brand of your A/C, a quick internet search should provide the information you’re looking for. Compare your unit to pictures of similar models found online to narrow it down, too.
An Aging AC Needs Replacing
As air conditioners age, they run into several different problems that can affect their efficiency. This translates to higher energy bills for you. If your A/C is going on 10 years or more, it may be time to replace it. This can help the efficiency of your home and prevent headaches moving forward. Be sure to give us a call at Texas Pride Heating & Air when you’re ready to replace your A/C with something newer!
