I was told i can't replace just the a-coil on my home central a/c unit. i need a complete new a/c. why?
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You can replace your a-coil with a new a-coil there is no reason not to if that is the only part that is bad..no matter what seer the outside unit is any a-coil can made to work as long as it is sized correctly and by installing the right orfice or expansion valve and performing a superheat calculation on the system..in other words any 3 ton a-coil can be made to work with most 3=ton condensing units as long as the service tech does all the necessary steps to insure that it is working correctly once he gets the system up and running.
might be obsolete
i suspect that parts and labor wise its more a of a pain to try and get that out and reinstall it than it is to just replace the unit.
It could be becuase of the age of the rest of the system. The A coil is not a normal failure, mostly the compressor fails.
The components of central air systems are designed to be replaced individually. You should be asking the repairman you contacted why. Sounds like you need a second (or third) opinion. Usually these guys don't want to fix the unit because it won't make the profit a complete install will.
The newer systems use refrigerant with different properties than the older ones. It's all part of the changeover to Chlorine free coolants to help protect the ozone layer! Because of these different properties the coils are denser and in some cases a bit larger to enable the system to supply you with the same cooling capacity. Sorry about the expense but you'll gain it back over a few years in reduced electrical usage! ;-)=
Most likely the reason is he wants to sell you a new system. If he can get you to finance a new $3000 system he makes a lot more money for not much more work.
If your system is older then it uses R-22 which is the old refrigerant. Even though it is being phased out it is still available and it is still fairly cheap.
Even with today's energy prices a new system will take a long time to pay for itself. Find a tech that will just replace the coil.
The reason is not only age of the equipment but the capacities. The outdoor unit needs to be equal in size and SEER rating to the indoor unit. If its a 2 ton 13 SEER indoor unit it needs to be a 2 ton 13 SEER outdoor unit.
Also, The government has stated that 13 seer is the minimum for new or replaced components due to energy conservation measures. Anything built or installed before ~2003 is probably less than a 10 SEER.
SEER means seasonal energy efficiency ratio which translates to the amount of power used by the unit in kW per tonnage.
You could expect to pay about $3000 per system installed. Even though you will spend quite a bit on new units you will save $ in the long run and help the environment.
Additionally, the answer about refrigerant is true also. The govt. has also said that certain refrigerants need to be phased out by a certain year.
The question I would like to know is the A-coil bad or the outside condensing unit...If there is something wrong with your a-coil like a leak or internal restriction, you can replace that without changing any other parts... But if you have a problem that requires you to change out the outside condensing unit,'' like a bad compressor'' then the a-coil might be needed to be replaced too... You need to match the seer ratings & tonnage between the condenser and a-coil otherwise the unit will not work... But if it's just a problem with the a-coil only, then there would be no reason to change the outside conderser because you can still purchase any tonnage & seer rated a-coils, that will fit your existing condenser...Make sure that who ever does this work for you that they install in-line drier filters, cause the chances of moisture being in the system are good, and these filters will eliminate that problem... Hope this helps
Tree-huggers are at the bottom of this.
Call another HVAC company. A-coils can be replaced as long as they match the size of the outdoor unit and use the proper sized lineset.
However if the new A-Coils are 13 SEER or lhigher they may not fit. Ten yer old systems were made much smaller and no longer available.
Some HVAC companies still have 10 SEER a-coils in stock.
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