How Long Does A Typical Air Conditioner Last In Florida?

Air conditioning is a great bit of home tech that can seriously improve your quality of life, but if you don’t know what you’re up against, there’s the chance that they can cause you a few more issues than you might want to deal with. With that being said, it’s important to remember that home-based technology is better than ever before. There are huge advancements in the tech that goes into making AC systems of all shapes and sizes, but even with these technological innovations, an AC system still can’t last your whole life. That’s where knowing the facts is essential.

How Long Do AC Units Last?

Back to the matter at hand — the general answer to how long an air conditioner will last is always going to be around 10 to 20 years. But if you’re asking yourself, “How long does a typical air conditioner last specifically in Florida?”, however, then you should probably be expecting slightly closer to the 10-year mark. The typical climate puts a massive strain on the system after all, and with the sheer humidity, they get seriously put through their paces.

Having said that, it still does depend on a few different factors to get a good answer. Firstly, remember that it makes a big difference depending on the air conditioner that you buy. More heavy-duty machines will likely do better in the long run, but cost much more to set up, and if you don’t use them right, even large machines may be damage-prone through short cycling from the constant on and off nature they are not designed for. It’s a trade-off. It also depends on whether you’re looking at window AC systems or split AC as well. All in all, this is the best benchmark.

How Can You Make Them Last Longer?

If you decide to invest in an air conditioner in Florida and you want to make it last as long as you possibly can do, you need to take care of it as much as you can. It’s like any complex machine after all, and there are a lot of different parts involved in making it do its job.

Servicing

First of all, servicing is essential. You should really be having your AC system serviced at least once per year. In a climate as demanding as Florida, it’s the least that you can do to give your AC a fighting chance. That should include anything else that needs doing at the same time as well. If you do nothing else, it should really be this.

Cleaning

As well as having your machine serviced by a professional, it’s also a really good idea to learn a thing or two about cleaning your air conditioner yourself. The most important part of that is routinely switching out the filter since that is such a key part of the whole machine. It also protects other parts from getting unnecessarily unclean too quickly, which can easily be one of the easiest causes of a short lifespan. Other things like cleaning the drains are just as useful.

Replacing

Finally, there’s the factor of replacements to think about as well. If a part in your AC unit is damaged, then replacing the whole thing might not always be the best course of action, and instead, it might simply be a part replacement to keep your machine lasting longer. Different parts have different justifications for a repair since some may even cost as much as the machine did itself, but others are generally easy fixes that really do make your AC last longer. It’s always a good idea to get the repairs done by a professional, but if your machine is under 10-15 years, it could be worth a look.