Should you repair or replace your furnace, your air conditioner or your heat pump? The question usually arrives with a large repair quote, on a hot or cold day, with someone waiting for an answer. It helps to know the handful of things that actually decide it: how old the equipment is compared with how long it typically lasts, how big the repair is, which refrigerant the system uses, how efficient a new one would be, whether the house is comfortable, and whether anything is unsafe.
A quick note on who is talking. Houston Air & Heating is a free phone line that connects callers with an independent HVAC company in the area. It does not sell equipment or repairs, and it earns nothing from which option you choose, though companies may pay it a referral fee for the call. The company you reach inspects the system and gives you its prices. You decide.
How long heating and cooling equipment usually lasts
Service life varies with installation quality, maintenance and how many hours a system runs, and published estimates do not agree. Treat the figures below as approximate. They come from InterNACHI's standard life expectancy chart for home components, with ENERGY STAR's replacement guideline alongside:
- Central air conditionerRoughly 7 to 15 years on InterNACHI's chart, though well-kept systems often run longer. ENERGY STAR suggests considering replacement after about 10 years.
- Heat pumpRoughly 10 to 15 years on InterNACHI's chart. A heat pump runs in winter as well as summer, so it collects more hours than an AC alone. ENERGY STAR uses the same 10 year guideline.
- Gas furnaceRoughly 15 to 25 years on InterNACHI's chart. ENERGY STAR suggests considering replacement after about 15 years.
Houston changes the arithmetic a little. The cooling season here runs for much of the year, so an air conditioner piles up more running hours than the same unit in a milder place. A gas furnace, on the other hand, works only on the cooler days of a Gulf Coast winter. That is why a Houston home can have a 20-year-old furnace that still runs fine next to an air conditioner that is clearly worn out.
Age alone is never a reason to replace a system that works. It is a reason to start planning, so that a failure in July is not also a rushed shopping trip.
A rule of thumb: age times repair cost
A quick screen many in the trade use is to multiply the age of the equipment by the cost of the repair. If the result is over about $5,000, replacement deserves a serious look. If it is well under, repair usually wins. A $400 repair on an eight-year-old system scores 3,200. A $1,800 compressor on a 14-year-old system scores 25,200.
It is a rule of thumb, not a rule. It ignores refrigerant type, efficiency, comfort and how many repairs came before. Use it to decide whether to ask for a replacement price, not to make the decision for you.
Refrigerant: what the rules mean for your decision
R-22 systems
Production and import of R-22, the refrigerant in many systems installed before about 2010, ended in the United States on January 1, 2020. Existing systems can still be serviced, but only with recovered, recycled or stockpiled refrigerant, which is why recharging one is expensive. Once an R-22 system develops a leak or loses its compressor, putting the money into a new system tends to be the smarter move.
R-410A systems
Under current federal rules, a newly manufactured home split system needs a refrigerant whose global warming potential is below 700. R-410A sits around 2,088, which is why the systems coming off the line today run on R-454B (466) or R-32 (675). That limit applies to newly built systems, not to yours: repairing an R-410A system is allowed, and a May 2026 final rule scrapped the planned January 1, 2026 cutoff for installing R-410A equipment that was built or imported before 2025.
If anyone tells you that a working R-410A system must be replaced because of a deadline, ask them to show you the rule. One practical point does carry weight: a new R-454B outdoor unit is designed to run with an indoor coil matched to that refrigerant, not an old coil built for R-410A, so a split system replacement normally includes both halves.
Repair or replace: a decision table
| Situation | Usually lean toward | Why |
|---|---|---|
| System under about 10 years old, one failed part | Repair | Plenty of life left, and parts such as capacitors, contactors, motors and igniters are replaceable |
| Mid-life system, moderate repair, first major one | Usually repair | Run the age times cost screen and ask for a replacement price to compare |
| AC near or past 15 years, compressor or coil failure | Replace | The repair approaches a large share of a new system on equipment near the end of its typical life |
| Any R-22 system with a leak | Replace | Limited, costly refrigerant on an old platform |
| Repeated breakdowns in two seasons | Replace | A pattern of failures usually continues |
| House never feels dry or evenly cool | Investigate first | Ducts, airflow or sizing may be the cause, and a new unit of the wrong size will not fix it |
| Furnace with a confirmed cracked heat exchanger | Replace or repair the exchanger | A safety problem; do not run it in the meantime |
Efficiency: what a new system has to meet
Federal minimums tell you the floor for anything installed today. Since January 1, 2023, Texas has been in the Department of Energy's Southeast region, where a new split central air conditioner must rate at least 14.3 SEER2 below 45,000 BTU per hour (about 3.75 tons) and 13.8 SEER2 for anything 45,000 BTU per hour or larger. A new split heat pump must reach at least 14.3 SEER2 and 7.5 HSPF2. SEER2 measures cooling efficiency and HSPF2 measures heat pump heating efficiency, both under a newer test method than the old SEER numbers.
So compare SEER2 with SEER2. A system that says 14 SEER on its old label is not directly comparable with a 14.3 SEER2 rating. A higher rating lowers running costs, and with Houston's long cooling season the difference adds up over the years. A higher rating also costs more up front, so ask the company to show you both a standard and a higher efficiency option.
If your home heats with electric resistance strips in the air handler, a heat pump is worth asking about. By the Department of Energy's figures, a modern heat pump can use roughly half the electricity, or less, that electric resistance heat needs for the same warmth.
Comfort and humidity count too
An older system that still runs can leave a Houston home warm upstairs, damp in summer or noisy. Replacement can fix those problems, but only if the new system is chosen with care. The Air Conditioning Contractors of America's Manual J is the recognized method for calculating a house's heating and cooling load room by room. A unit sized by copying the old tonnage can repeat the old mistakes, and an oversized one shuts off before it dries the air.
Ask whether the company will do a load calculation and check the ducts. Leaky or undersized ducts can make a brand new system feel like the old one.
Safety: the one time cost does not decide
A gas furnace burns fuel inside a metal heat exchanger, which keeps combustion gases separate from the air blown into your rooms. A cracked or failed heat exchanger can let carbon monoxide escape into the home. If a technician reports a crack, ask to see it, or ask for the combustion test reading that points to it, and consider a second opinion before you buy a furnace. Until it is resolved, do not run the furnace. The EPA advises having fuel-burning appliances such as gas furnaces inspected by a trained professional every year.
Keep working carbon monoxide alarms near the bedrooms. An alarm means everyone out of the house, then a 911 call. A rotten egg gas smell means the same exit first, then a call to the gas utility or 911 once you are outside.
What to ask for, in writing
- The repair price, with the failed part named and how it was confirmed.
- The replacement price, with indoor and outdoor model numbers, SEER2 or HSPF2 ratings, and the refrigerant type.
- The load calculation behind the size being quoted.
- Whether a permit is needed, who pulls it, and whether it is in the price.
- Warranty terms for the repair, the new equipment and the labor.
- The Texas license number of the company, which should appear on its proposal.
Verify the license before work begins. Texas requires anyone contracting to do air conditioning, refrigeration or heating work to hold an Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (ACR) Contractor license from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). Ask the company for its ACR license number, then confirm it on the TDLR license search (opens in a new tab). The line does not check this for you.
With both prices in hand, the decision is yours. The AC repair cost guide shows published ranges for common repairs, the AC installation page explains what a replacement involves, and the furnace repair page covers heating problems. For the full story on refrigerants, the free AC refrigerant guide is a one-click download.
Facing a big repair on an older system? Call the line and you will be put through to a local HVAC company that can look at it and give you its repair and replacement prices in writing.
- Dial the numberAn automated assistant picks up (832) 662-4107 at any hour and asks what you need help with.
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About this line: Houston Air & Heating is a free phone line, not an HVAC contractor. It answers your call and connects you with an independent local heating and air conditioning company, which inspects, quotes and does the work, and which you pay directly. Companies may pay a referral fee. You never pay the line. Read how the line works.