AC repair versus replacement worksheet

A diagnosis comes before a financial comparison

Repair and replacement proposals often answer different questions. A repair quote may address a single identified fault; a replacement proposal may include equipment, installation and changes elsewhere in the system. Ask the HVAC professional to explain the diagnosis and the scope of each option before using a price comparison.

Enter your actual proposals and assumptions

The tool asks for a repair quote, a replacement quote and an annual operating and maintenance assumption for each scenario. Use figures you can explain. A utility bill covers more than one appliance, so do not label the entire bill as AC operating cost without a defensible basis. If you cannot establish an annual assumption, leave it blank; the corresponding scenario remains unknown.

Understand the arithmetic

Each scenario adds its upfront quote to the annual assumption multiplied by one, three or five years. These are undiscounted dollars. The model does not forecast failures, equipment life, utility rates, financing, rebates or resale value. Include permit, removal or other costs in your inputs only when their treatment in the quote is clear. The worksheet cannot establish energy savings from a product label alone.

Keep nonfinancial questions in the decision

Discuss comfort, humidity control, the identified fault, installation quality, service support, warranty terms and your ownership plans with the relevant professional. A lower modeled total cannot establish that equipment is safe, adequately sized or capable of meeting the home’s needs. Use the existing HVAC replacement estimator as a separate planning model with its own assumptions, rather than treating it as a contractor quote.