Start with the right size
Bigger isn’t better. An oversized air conditioner cools the house quickly, shuts off, and starts again: it short-cycles, wears out sooner, and leaves the air clammy because it doesn’t run long enough to remove humidity. An undersized one runs constantly on the hottest days. Proper sizing uses a load calculation (the industry standard is ACCA Manual J) that accounts for your home’s square footage, insulation, windows and orientation, not just the size of the old unit.
Replace the indoor coil too
A central air conditioner is two matched parts: the outdoor unit and the coil indoors on your furnace or air handler. New systems use R-454B refrigerant, which can’t be paired with an older R-410A coil, so a replacement is almost always a matched set. Our refrigerant guide explains the change.
Pick an efficiency level
Efficiency is rated in SEER2 (see What SEER2 means). Higher-tier systems cost more up front and less to run, and the best ones use variable-speed compressors that run longer at low speed. That means more even temperatures, better humidity control and a quieter outdoor unit. The Trane systems in our instant quote come in four tiers, so you can compare.
Consider a heat pump instead
A heat pump is an air conditioner that also heats. If your furnace is aging, or you want to burn less gas, replacing the air conditioner with a heat pump gives you efficient heat for most of the winter, with the furnace as backup. Read Do heat pumps work in an eastern Washington winter?
Ask about the install, not just the box
The best equipment won’t perform if it’s installed poorly. Ask how the system will be sized, whether the ductwork will be checked, how the refrigerant lines will be handled and who registers the warranty. We install every system the Dayco Way, so that anyone at Dayco can recognize it was installed properly.
See prices before anyone visits
The instant quote shows fully installed prices for Trane air conditioners at four efficiency levels in about two minutes, with monthly payments if you’d rather finance.