Ask any installer in the valley when to buy an air conditioner and you will get the same sales answer: “before it breaks.” That is true, but it is not useful. Here is the useful version, from the people who put the units in.
The worst time: the afternoon the old one dies
Every July there is a week when the temperature sits above 100, every air conditioner along the Wasatch Front is running flat out, and the ones that were marginal in June fail on the same three days. That is when most people buy a new air conditioner, and it is the worst possible moment to do it:
- No time to compare. The house is 88 degrees and the kids are miserable. You take the first quote that can install this week.
- No leverage. Every shop is booked solid. Nobody is sharpening a pencil for you in a heat wave.
- Equipment is whatever is on the truck. In the peak week the choice is often “what can you get” rather than “what fits my house.”
- Financing under pressure. You are choosing a payment plan in an afternoon instead of reading the terms over a weekend.
None of that is a knock on the shops. It is just what a rush looks like. The whole point of timing the purchase is to never be in that week.
The best time: two windows
Late September through October. Cooling season is winding down, the summer backlog is cleared, and the crew has open days. Equipment ordered in the spring is sitting in the warehouse. This is the window for our End-of-Season AC Sale: new central air at our lowest prices of the year. It is an owner-set sale, no number games, no countdown clock and no expiration date, honored while cooling season lasts. You get the same free estimate, the same one-day install, and the same free 5-year labor warranty as any other month. You just get it on a calm afternoon instead of an emergency.
March through April. The second-best window. Demand has not started, installers are eager to fill the calendar, and the new unit gets a shakedown on the first warm days rather than the first hot ones. Prices are usually close to fall pricing but rarely better, because the whole industry is restocking for summer.
Both windows share the thing that actually saves you money: time. Time to get two quotes, time to read the financing terms, time to ask whether the ductwork needs attention, time to decide whether a heat pump makes more sense than a straight AC for your house.
Signs this was your AC’s last summer
Not every old system needs replacing. We say so when a repair makes more sense, and we put it in writing on our repair-now, replace-later post. But some systems are telling you something, and fall is when to listen:
- It is 15 years old or more. Central air in Utah’s dry, dusty summers tends to give 15 to 20 years. Past that, every summer is a coin flip.
- It runs on R-22. Look at the data plate on the outdoor unit. R-22 was phased out years ago, and topping off an R-22 leak now costs more than the repair is worth. An R-22 system with a refrigerant problem is a replacement conversation.
- The compressor tripped on hot afternoons. A compressor that shuts itself off on thermal overload during the hottest hours, especially after the capacitor has been tested, is a compressor on its way out.
- Refrigerant was added this summer, and last summer. A system that needs a “recharge” every year has a leak. Sealed systems do not consume refrigerant.
- Repairs are adding up. Two or three real repairs in as many summers on an old unit is money that would have gone toward the new one.
If none of these apply and the system cooled the house fine, keep it. A tune-up in the spring and a clean coil in the fall will carry a healthy system a long way, and the end-of-season cleaning is something you can do yourself.
Should the furnace go at the same time?
The indoor half of a central air system is a coil that sits on top of the furnace and shares its blower. That creates a real choice on older homes:
- Furnace is also 15+ years old: replacing both in one visit saves a second day of labor and a second trip, and the new coil is matched to the new blower. Full-system pricing is lower than two separate jobs a year apart. We do these in one day.
- Furnace is younger: we put a new coil on the existing furnace, which is most of the AC-only installs we do. Nothing wrong with it, and we are happy to show you a job that went that way in Taylorsville.
We quote it both ways so you can see the difference in dollars, not in sales talk. The cost guide covers what moves the price on each path.
A note on heat pumps and rebates
If you are replacing an AC anyway, it is worth asking about a heat pump. It cools exactly like an air conditioner and can also heat the house on mild days, with the furnace taking over when it gets truly cold. Rocky Mountain Power’s Wattsmart program pays rebates on qualifying heat pump installs, which straight air conditioners do not get. The current verified amounts are on our rebates page, along with the catch: Murray, Bountiful, and most of Lehi have city-owned power, so Wattsmart does not apply there. The federal 25C tax credit expired at the end of 2025 and does not apply to 2026 installs, whatever a sales flyer says.
What the End-of-Season AC Sale actually is
Through the end of cooling season, new central air installs are at our lowest prices of the year. No number on the website because every house prices differently, and no expiration date because the owner set the price and will take it down when the season is over, not on a countdown clock. The estimate is free, in English or Spanish, and financing works the same as always, including a Snap Finance payment plan for customers with an ITIN and a bank account instead of a Social Security number. Checking your options will not affect your credit.
Want the number for your house? Request a free estimate or call or text (801) 678-5748, Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 8 PM. If we think your current system has summers left, we will tell you that instead.