Replies

1. 
   NormanWB | Aug 22, 2017 11:12am | #1

   Many HVAC companies guarantee their units for 10-12 years, so I suspect a well maintained system will last a good bit longer.

2. Expert Member
   Dana Dorsett | Aug 22, 2017 11:39am | #2

   Most analysts place the lifecycle of minisplits at ~15 years for policy assessment purposes. Of course with repair & maintenance they can go a lot longer than that. At the rate of incremental year-on-year technology improvements in efficiency and the slow degradation of an individual unit's efficiency over time, there is some financial crossover point at which it's more rational on a lifecycle basis to replace it rather than repair.

   But given the extremely high IRR requirements and short time horizons of most homeowners, unless there's a clear "pay off" within three years the majority will opt to repair even when it makes no sense. That's one reason why brand new replacement components for R22 heat pumps & AC are still available, long after the phase out of R22 began, and even though even service/repair requiring opening the refrigeration loop for R22 based equipment has been technically banned by EPA regulation since the beginning of 2015. There's even a black market in R22 refrigerant, and service techs using propane (illegal & dangerous) as a replacement refrigerant in R22 systems.

   http://www.epa.ie/air/airenforcement/ozone/r22andhaloncriticalusephase-out/

   http://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/62389/Propane-in-Your-Air-Conditioner-Bad-Idea

   In 15 years HFCs such as R410A are likely to be in roughly the same position as R22 is today (for greenhouse gas reasons instead of ozone depletion reasons.) Odds are better than even that a new R410A mini-split installed today will still be operating in 15 years, or even 25 years, but when it comes time for repair it's not clear that fixing it will be the "right" thing to do.