Air conditioner falling apart, any advice? (buy, tax credit, cost, energy)

[Alan_]

Somewhat new to the coast and recently noticed that my 5 year old air conditioning unit looks like it's 30 years old. My neighbors told me that there a/c units typically only last about 5 years because of the salt air. Having a new unit installed soon, is there anything I can do to stop this from becoming an every 5 year occurence

[MAXIALE02]

Make sure to hose it down regularly (from sand and debris) and get annual maintenance done by an authorized servicer. We have a home in the desert and we had to pay $3500 for a entry model. We should of upgraded to an energy efficient model model and we could of gotten a $1000 tax credit. Hind sight is 20/20. But the EE model cost over $5000 and might last longer.

Also think about getting that home warranty from American Home Warranty or something like that. I never did but my friends have been saving thousands. Our home is now a rental so we write a lot of maintenance off on our taxes.

[GregW]

Where are you located?

You need to try to buy a corrosion resistant AC if you live near the coast. AC units will condense salt laden coastal air and the resulting salt water is very corrosive. Weekly rinsing with fresh water may or may not help.

If you are in the Northeast a whole house fan may be adaquate because of the diurnal temperature changes. I would try one of these before I spent thousands on an AC unit.

[DCforever]

If you can't find someone who make a corrosion resistant ac unit, I would look for someone who can just replace the condensing coil. That's all that is going to be badly affected by salt air corrosion. You certainly don't need to replace an entire system.

[Jim_Rockford]

You are out of luck, Its the price of living on the beach, that and your house being washed away (No pity) its just a fact of nature,