Central Air Conditioners: Deciding Whether They’re Worth It

If you move into a new house, you might find that it has central air. If you live somewhere hot, you’ll probably like that. Maybe you call Arizona, New Mexico, or Texas home. You’ll often encounter triple-digit temperatures during the summer, and that’s pretty brutal. You can feel comfortable with your central air regulating indoor temperatures. However, maybe you have an older central air conditioner, and you’re thinking about replacing it. Navigating air conditioner replacement costs can get tricky, so you must do some research before deciding which new one you should get.

You may have a situation where you move into a new house, and it doesn’t have central air. In those instances, you must think about whether you should spend the money and get yourself one. We’ll discuss some considerations that should go into this decision.

Where You Live Comes into Play

If you live somewhere that gets very warm in the summer or even year-round, you will probably want central air. The American South, Southwest, and West Coast probably warrant central air units. You may not like the expenditure, but you’ll also know that living without it in these climates isn’t much fun.

However, maybe you live somewhere else, like the Midwest or the East Coast. You can certainly get some hotter temperatures during the summer months, but most other times, you won’t need central air.

You can install some fans in your home instead. You may visit Home Depot or Lowes and look over the various ceiling fans. You can pay a handyperson who can install them for you. You might get ones for downstairs and others for your bedrooms.

You might also buy tower-style fans you can set up around a room. This way, you can position them just how you like them, and you might not need central air. However, you will not have cool air throughout the house. You must decide whether you think that’s sufficient.

You Might Get Window Units Instead

You might also consider window units. These smaller air conditioning units fit into windows, and you can screw them in so they’re secure. You can usually install them without too much difficulty, and you can also uninstall them if you decide you want one in a different room.

You will likely compare costs when considering central air or a window unit. You might feel like you only need super-cooled air when spending time in your upstairs bedrooms. Maybe you’ll buy two window units, one you can install in the main bedroom, another in a guest room.

That’s probably cheaper if you’re looking at those costs versus a central air conditioner. You can sometimes install central air for as little as $4,000, though you can also spend up to $20,000 in some instances.

If you have a larger house, then air costs more since you need a more powerful unit and a lot more ductwork as well. That ductwork installation costs additional money, especially if you don’t have an extensive HVAC setup yet.

Think About How Long You’ll Live in that House

If you’re stuck deciding between a central air unit and a couple of window units or some fans, consider how long you might stay in that house. The average homeowner keeps the same house for about seven years. However, maybe you think you’ll stay a shorter or longer time than that.

You can never predict how your life might go, but if you think you might remain in a house for twenty years, you can probably put more money into that dwelling. Something like a central air unit constitutes a good investment on your part. You know you will stay in that house and enjoy that unit for quite some time.

Even if you don’t think you’ll stay in that house for very long, though, you might feel you should still install central air because it makes the home desirable. When you move, if you say you installed a new central air unit a few years ago, you might get more interested buyers. Think about the other houses around you. Do they have central units? If they do, you’ll know people home-shopping in that area will want one. You can demand a higher asking price after installing that unit.

Think about all of these factors carefully and make your decision. Central air can sometimes help you enjoy a house more, and you may get more when you sell it.

Photo by Jose Antonio Gallego Vázquez on Unsplash