Whether you bought a home with a window unit and are thinking about adding central AC, or you’ve always depended on your window unit to cool your home and want to expand its cooling effects, there are a lot of factors to consider before adding central air conditioning to your home. These conditions generally fall in the categories of costs, maintenance, dependability, and efficiency.
What are the Benefits of Adding Central AC to Your Home?
Window units provide a low-maintenance form of heat relief, with minimal parts and lower installation costs. They last about 10-15 years — similar to central AC units — but they only cool a portion of your home and are often noisy. Window units also don’t provide heat for your home in the winter. While this has less of an impact in Florida, there are certain months that are colder than others where a little heat may feel nice.
In addition to providing heat during the winter months, adding a central AC unit to your home offers:
- Energy-efficiency by cooling down every room in your house
- Seemingly quiet heat relief
- HVAC systems that are installed based on your home’s heat gain
- Smart thermostat capability to adjust temperatures while on the go
- Scheduled functionality to raise the temperature during times you’re away
- Added value to your home — sometimes — for when you’re ready to sell
How Much Does It Cost to Add Central AC?
In Florida, the average cost of adding central air conditioning to your home can range from $4,000-6,500. This cost is based on the type of system installed, how large the unit is, and whether or not the installation included ductwork. Larger units cost more, but most systems are suggested based on providing the most accurate and efficient cooling throughout your home. So, a 600 square foot home is going to be significantly cheaper to cool than a 2,000 square foot home.
Ductwork can also impact the cost of installation, as ducts require more materials and require technicians to work within attics and sometimes walls. In some cases, there may be old ductwork that technicians can connect new HVAC systems to – but if the ducts are damaged, this option is not possible. You should talk to an HVAC technician before using old ductwork to ensure that the option is applicable.
In addition to the initial costs of installing your AC unit, you should also schedule annual maintenance for your HVAC system. This requires a technician testing your system and conducting routine maintenance to ensure your unit and all its parts are working properly. You’ll also need to buy and replace filters every two months to help maintain your AC unit.
Some homeowners choose to install solar panels to help alleviate air conditioning costs and raise energy-efficiency. The costs of adding them tend to pay for themselves over the course of five to 10 years, and can also add value to your home when you’re ready to sell. If you’re considering solar panels, you should talk to your HVAC technician to determine how they will work with your central AC unit.
AC Service & Installation in Brevard County
At Colman, we can help you with central AC installations, routine maintenance checks, and troubleshoot air conditioning issues if they arise. We also have a 24/7 AC emergency line. Call us if you need assistance ASAP, have questions about installing central AC to your home, or need to schedule routine HVAC maintenance.
24-HR Emergency Service: (321) 269-4565
