I'm not an HVAC person, but based on 25+ years of commercial construction, this is what I've figured out.
1. Units built & installed in the 80's & 90's, seem to last 20+ years, with reasonable maintenance.
2. Units built from about 2005 forward, seem to have a life span of closer to 7-10 years. They almost all come from China.
3. On the newer units, expensive maintenance doesn't seem to help much, they're still 7-10 years. Just change the filters.
4. On any unit over over 15-20 year's old, you can almost save enough on energy, for a 3-4 year payback. I never repair units over 10 years old .... just replace 'em.
5. One out of every 4-5 units will go bad within a year or 2.
6. Buy the CORRECT size unit. Buying a larger or smaller unit than the specs mandate, is a ticket to problems.
7. If a change in specs (refrigerant) is coming, hold off replacing until the change is implemented. Computers systems are upgraded on about a 1 year cycle, AC's aren't that fast, but close enough. Why buy old technology?
JMOYMMV.
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