New AC Unit Cost Windsor-Essex
What will a new AC Unit Cost?
Learn more about our air conditioner pricing by reading below. This page will discuss some factors that go into air conditioner pricing and which options might be best for your home!
Absolute Comfort is a full-service HVAC contractor with the expertise to keep your home comfortable and efficient. We are an authorized dealer of Lennox, Carrier, and Goodman air conditioners.
Buying A New Air Conditioner
Buying a new Central Air Conditioner can feel intimidating. The average person only buys new HVAC equipment once or twice in their lifetime, and many homes have never even had AC. If you compare that to how often people replace their cars, it’s easy to understand why there can be so much anxiety around buying new HVAC equipment.
One of the first questions that pops into a person’s head is “How much will a new Central Air Conditioner cost me?”. While there is no simple or straightforward answer, we can talk about some price ranges that will allow you to be better prepared for the decision ahead of you.
How Much Does A New Air Conditioner Cost?
This question gets asked all the time, and the most common answer is usually “it depends”. As honest as that may be, it makes it difficult to budget. A new Central Air Conditioner will generally be between $4000-$8000 installed.
This is where the “it depends” part comes in. What determines where in that price range your new Air Conditioner may fall is a combination of several variables. The most important variables include Brand, Size, Efficiency rating, Options, Warranty, and Installation requirements.
Cost Factors
Brand
Let’s take a moment to discuss some of these variables, starting with Brand. Just as with the auto industry, there is a wide range of air conditioner manufacturers, each offering products at different price points.
While they all technically do the same thing—cool your house—some just do it in a nicer and more comfortable way. This is one of the reasons we carry several different Brands. It’s so that we can offer a wider range of options to better match your personal needs.
Size
Size, or tonnage, refers to how much cooling a particular air conditioner can provide. This can significantly impact the price because an air conditioner required to cool a 800-1,000 sq ft home will be much smaller than one needed for a 2500-4000 sq ft home.
The larger Air Conditioner’s condenser and evaporator coil (the outdoor and indoor part), compressor, outdoor fan and even the copper pipes that connect the units will all be larger, which will increase the cost.
Efficiency Rating
All Air Conditioners have an efficiency rating, which is its miles per gallon, What this means is that it is a measurement of how effectively a unit can convert electricity to cooling and is called a SEER rating. SEER stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio. Units are evaluated and tested to determine how much electricity they require to provide a certain amount of cooling. They are then assigned a SEER rating based on the results.
Units that use less electricity to provide the same amount of cooling are given a higher SEER. As an example, 16 SEER unit will be more efficient than a 13 SEER unit of the same size. To give some frame of reference, most units manufactured before the early 2000’s were 8-10 SEER, whereas now the minimum is at least a 13 SEER unit.
Higher SEER units are larger than their lower SEER counterparts, having more efficient compressors and controls, larger condensers, and evaporators, as well as larger condenser fans to move more air outside. All these upgrades do result in a higher initial cost but deliver lower operational costs. Recently the rating process was revamped, and units are now assigned a SEER2 rating to reflect the change in testing standards.
Options
When we talk options with a Central Air Conditioner, we aren’t referring to cruise control or roof racks, we are referring to how the AC operates. New Air Conditioners generally fall into 3 categories: Single-stage, two-stage, and modulating.
Single-stage means that, when the thermostat wants the AC to come on, the unit will come on at full capacity until the thermostat tells it to stop. This is a very straightforward system that does the job but may result in larger temperature swings in your home.
A two-stage Central Air Conditioner will initially come on at a reduced tonnage and then later in the cycle jump up to full capacity if required to give you max cooling when necessary. This helps reduce the temperature swings in your home compared to a single-stage unit and will provide better dehumidification, providing more comfort.
Lastly is the modulating Central Air Conditioner. The best way to describe this type of AC is to compare it to cruise control. When you set your desired temperature on your thermostat, your Air Conditioner will increase and decrease its capacity during it’s cycle in order to maintain a very constant temperature in your home. This is much like using cruise control on the highway keeps you at a constant speed.
This can effectively eliminate or minimize temperature swings, providing ultimate dehumidification and a more even temperature throughout your entire home. Modulating Central Air Conditioners are more sophisticated and come with a higher initial investment, but they deliver the highest level of comfort for your home.
Warranty
Warranty can play a very important part in your decision-making process because of the peace of mind it provides. It is comforting knowing that your investment is covered against breakdowns and repairs. The manufacturer’s warranty on parts for almost all Central Air Conditioners is technically 5 years. However, upon registration, it is extended to 10 years (and in some cases, 12 years) at no additional charge.
We handle the registration for our customers to make things easier. Our labour warranties vary from 1 -12 years, depending on the brand and model. When looking at the different warranties, a unit the comes with a 12-year part and labour warranty will be more expensive than one with a more basic warranty. However, longer warranties offer more assurance and greater sense of relief with regards to your HVAC investment.
Installation
Finally, the last major thing that can affect the cost of your new Central Air Conditioner is any installation requirements that may be unique to your home. Generally, most AC replacements are straightforward – the unit is going in the same location, the ductwork doesn’t require major revisions, the existing unit is a similar size, etc.
This really won’t have an impact on increasing the cost. On the other hand, there are some situations that require a great deal of time and materials to complete. Factors, such as relocating the unit, having to significantly modify the existing ductwork, run new electrical and thermostat wiring because there wasn’t an existing AC, etc, can increase installation costs.
It should also be noted that if your current AC is older than 15 years, there is a very good chance that the refrigerant lines will need to be changed or flushed, as the older systems used an oil that isn’t compatible with the newer units. All of these possibilities can increase the work required to complete your install, possibly resulting in an increased cost.
In Conclusion
All these factors can play a part in determining what you can expect to pay for a new Central Air Conditioner and help you determine what unit would be the best for your home. These factors all come down to your unique home comfort needs.
A more efficient unit with an extended warranty will have greater value to someone buying their forever home, whereas someone likely moving in the foreseeable future would benefit from a more economical choice.
By discussing some of these factors, we have hopefully removed, or at least lessened, some of your anxiety and uncertainty about such a major investment. While we can’t provide an exact cost for your new air conditioner without discussing and considering all these variables, we hope we have helped set clearer expectations and provided a better understanding of why the answer to ‘How much will my new central air conditioner cost?’ is… it depends.
The Absolute Comfort Difference
Choosing Your Air Conditioner
Are you frustrated with your current air conditioner provider and their hidden cost structure? Absolute Comfort Control Services offers a variety of pricing structures that give every homeowner the opportunity to obtain the correct air conditioner for their budget and needs. Switch to Absolute Comfort Control Services offers affordable air conditioners for your home.
Right AC Unit for Your Home
Our Home Comfort Specialist will ensure the right air conditioner is selected for your home.
Your Preferred Home Comfort
The right air conditioner will keep your home in a comfortable temperature range.
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