They say to never ask a woman what her age is as it’s not polite. But luckily, this rule doesn’t apply to your air conditioner! In fact, it’s important for homeowners to know the age of their air conditioning units. Although it may seem like an unnecessary detail, as a homeowner, it is beneficial to know the age and condition of your AC. Why is that? If you suspect that your AC has slowly been losing efficiency lately or maybe you’ve been encountering other issues with it, now is the best time to find out for sure how old the unit is. We recommend this because air conditioners typically last anywhere from 15-20 years (based on their maintenance). Therefore, knowing your own AC’s age will give you a step up so that you are mentally prepared to make informed decisions, such as whether to take either the “repair’ or “replacement” route. 

Follow these steps from your Five Star Heating & Cooling Group experts to figure out the exact age of your air conditioner:  

Step 1: How to Find the Manufacture Date on the Condenser  

First, let’s head outside. The first step in this process is to look at the outdoor unit – more specifically, the condenser. If you’re unsure what that is, the condenser is the big metal box usually located in the backyard or sometimes even on the side of the house. On the side of the condenser, there should be a nameplate containing information about the unit. Once you have found the nameplate, look at the upper right corner. The manufacture date can often be found in the upper right-hand corner. If it’s not in the upper corner, try scanning the top area of the nameplate for the info. Sometimes, it will be worded as MFR DATE or something along those lines. If you still can’t find it, no worries. We aren’t throwing in the towel just yet. Let’s try step number two below.  

Step 2: How to Find the Manufacturer’s Date Online  

If you still have not been able to locate the manufacture date just yet, go ahead and write down the model, the brand, and the serial number of the unit. This should all be on the nameplate. To make it easier, you can also just take a quick picture of the nameplate too. When you have obtained these three pieces of information, type them into any search engine on the web. Then before you hit the search button, add the words “manufacture date” to the end of it. Doing this will general several websites that should provide detailed instructions on how to decode your AC model’s manufacture date (AKA its age). There are so many models and brands of HVAC air conditioners that it’s important to find the right direction for your particular model. Otherwise, it could turn out to be a rather confusing process. Bravo! With a teeny bit of detective work and a tad bit of determination, you should have been able to successfully determine the exact age of your air conditioner! Congrats! That’s pretty impressive, in our opinion!  

ARE YOU STILL HAVING TROUBLE DETERMINING THE MANUFACTURE DATE? 

Don’t get discouraged. On some occasions, pinpointing the exact manufacture date can be troublesome. But we’ve got you! As long as you’re not in a rush, any one of our highly-trained technicians can gladly help you find out just how old our AC is during your next seasonal HVAC check.  

WHAT NOW?  

If you have been dealing with some AC problems, now that you have found out your air conditioner’s age, comes the trickiest part, which is figuring out whether AC needs to be repaired or replaced. Of course, this is an entirely different topic that we will gladly discuss with you. 

Call Five Star Heating & Cooling Group today at (614) 490-7550, or schedule an appointment online now by clicking here!