Air Conditioner

Our house is a little over twenty years old. Needless to say, so are the furnace and air conditioner. At what point will they need to be replaced? Maybe soon.

Today I had a technician service the air conditioner. I wanted to do this before the weather turns very hot in case there is a problem. Where possible, I would rather deal with the ounce of prevention than the pound of cure. Mom has expressed concern many times about how ugly our outside unit is. I am more concerned with how mechanically sound it is and how well it operates, but of course there is some correlation. It looks ugly because it has been exposed to the elements for so many years. And because it is so old, it is increasingly likely to malfunction.

And this may be the year. The technician said that he didn't see how the compressor had lasted so long. He also said he did not think it would last the summer.

So, do we gamble? Or do we bite the bullet and make the change while the weather is still pleasant? The neighbors on both sides have replaced their AC units in recent years. It really doesn't stand to reason that ours will last much longer. Perhaps we could get through one more season. This would give us time to plan for the expense. On the other hand, a new air conditioner would make a nice gift for Mother's Day, Father's Day, my birthday, and our thirtieth anniversary!

Did you know? An air conditioner is basically a refrigerator without a box. A refrigerator removes heat from an insulated cupboard to keep food cool or frozen and pumps the heat into your house. An air conditioner removes heat (and humidity) from inside the house to keep it cool. The cold air you can feel flowing from the ductwork is the result of heat being transferred outside. Evaporation and compression of gasses (like Freon) are responsible for this heat transfer. As the gas compresses, it liquifies and becomes hot (drawing heat from the house). Then it is circulated outside where the heat is dissapated. As it returns to a cooler gaseous state, it is circulated back inside to pick up more heat and repeats the process. So your refrigerator creates more work for your air conditioner, and your air conditioner creates less work for your refrigerator!

The beginnings of modern air conditioning go back to the 1820s, where experiments with compressing and liquefying gasses demonstrated the ability to cool air, and to the 1840s and the process of creating ice. The first modern air conditioner was invented in 1902, so the basic technology is over 100 years old!