A SwiftPro technician in a black polo crouched beside a Trane outdoor AC unit against gray siding

Air conditioner age decoder

How Old Is My Air Conditioner? Find the Year It Was Made

Pick the brand and type the serial number off the label: the decoder shows the year your air conditioner was made, how old it is and how much of a air conditioner’s typical 12 to 15 years is left. Can’t read the label? Take a photo of it and we read it for you.

Rather have a person look at it? Tell us the brand and about how old you think your air conditioner is.

The year it was made, from the serial
Typical life left, and the upkeep that gets it there
Can’t find the label? We read it at the visit

Call (703) 997-9757

5.0 stars across 1,138 reviews

One of our techs checking an outdoor unit. Its data plate is on the outside.

Get your price in writing

Send this and the office calls or texts you back to set a time.

We’ll call or text this number about your request. By sending it you agree to our terms and privacy policy.

Rather talk now? (703) 997-9757

Licensed and insuredVirginia Class A contractor #2705192276

24/7 emergency serviceWe answer day or night, and we will tell you honestly when we can get there.

Our own HVAC installersA dedicated heating and cooling team, separate from our plumbers

Price in writing firstYou see every option priced before anything is ordered

Decode the serial number

How old is my air conditioner?

Your answer shows up here

The year it was made, how old it is, and how much of its typical life is left.

Type the year it went in
Or snap the label
Or let us come out and read it

The system we put in first

Built to take a beating. Put in by our crew.

Heat lamps, snow and rain on one outdoor unit: that’s Trane’s own film. We’re a Trane Comfort Specialist, on Trane’s own dealer locator, and when you pick a Trane, our crew puts it in.

Call (703) 997-9757 Build your Trane, see the price

Films: Trane’s own.

Trane's film: a Trane outdoor unit under a spotlight against a bare wall.

Or send three photos

Take the three photos: wide, up close, the label

Like a car trade-in app: tap a photo, and the camera shows a frame for that shot. The guide shows the three we want. Snap the label and we try to read it right here; send all three and a person double-checks.

An outdoor air conditioning unit against a brick wall in Northern Virginia, marked with the three photos to take — The three photos on an outdoor AC unit: 1 the whole unit, 2 up close, 3 the label.

Send the photos to a person

Someone on our team reads the label, then calls or texts you with the age and what we’d do about it.

Where the label is

Where to find the label on a air conditioner

The data plate is on the side of the outdoor unit, a metal or foil plate near the corner where the power line comes in. You can read it standing next to the unit: there’s nothing to open. The indoor coil has its own label; the outdoor one is the one that dates the system.

The whole unit. Step back until the whole outdoor unit fits, with the pad and the lines going into the house.
The side with the panel. The side with the service panel and the power line, close enough to see the fins and the brand.
The data plate. Fill the frame with the plate. Hold steady, no glare: the serial number is the line we read.

A Bryant outdoor air conditioning unit on its pad beside white siding in Northern Virginia

An air conditioner in a Northern Virginia home.

Typical life

How long heating, cooling and water heaters last

The typical range for each, in Northern Virginia homes. Upkeep moves a unit toward the top of its range; skipping it moves it toward the bottom.

Typical life of home heating, cooling and water heating equipment in Northern Virginia
Equipment	Typical life	Start planning
Furnace	15 to 20 years	Around year 15
Air conditioner	12 to 15 years	Around year 12
Heat pump	10 to 15 years	Around year 10
Tank water heater	8 to 12 years	Around year 8
Tankless water heater	15 to 20 years	Around year 15
Boiler	20 to 30 years	Around year 20

Upkeep

Typical air conditioner upkeep that adds years

What keeps a air conditioner running toward the top of its range, and what we do at the visit.

Change the indoor filter every 1 to 3 months. The AC and the furnace share it, so one filter does both.
Keep 2 feet clear around the outdoor unit. Bushes, leaves and grass clippings choke the coil and make it run longer.
A tune-up every spring. Refrigerant pressures, a coil cleaning, the capacitor and contactor, and the drain line, before the first hot week.
Watch the drain line in summer. A clogged condensate line is the AC call that ends in a wet ceiling.

Keep it going

$99

AC Tune-Up or Furnace Tune-Up

Refrigerant pressures, the coil, the capacitor and the drain line, plus the age off the data plate.

Book the $99 AC or furnace tune-up

Past its years

$1,500 off

New Heating and AC

A new AC, heat pump or furnace, priced in writing at a free in-home estimate.

Limited time

See your price

Date codes

How to read the date in a air conditioner serial number

Where each brand hides the year. The examples are made up; type yours in the decoder above and it does the reading.

Where the made-on date sits in a air conditioner serial number, by brand
Brand	Where the date is	Example serial	Reads as
Carrier	Digits 1 and 2 are the week, 3 and 4 the year	`4519A12345`	week 45 of 2019
Bryant	Digits 1 and 2 are the week, 3 and 4 the year	`4519A12345`	week 45 of 2019
Payne	Digits 1 and 2 are the week, 3 and 4 the year	`4519A12345`	week 45 of 2019
Trane	Since 2010: digits 1 and 2 are the year, 3 and 4 the week	`161234567L`	week 12 of 2016
American Standard	Since 2010: digits 1 and 2 are the year, 3 and 4 the week	`161234567L`	week 12 of 2016
Goodman	Digits 1 and 2 are the year, 3 and 4 the month	`1806123456`	June 2018
Amana	Digits 1 and 2 are the year, 3 and 4 the month	`1806123456`	June 2018
Daikin	Digits 1 and 2 are the year, 3 and 4 the month	`1806123456`	June 2018
Lennox	Digits 3 and 4 are the year, the letter after them the month	`5817D12345`	April 2017
Rheem	A letter, then the week (digits 1 and 2) and the year (3 and 4)	`W181409393`	week 18 of 2014
Ruud	A letter, then the week (digits 1 and 2) and the year (3 and 4)	`W181409393`	week 18 of 2014
Heil	A letter, then the year (digits 1 and 2) and the week (3 and 4)	`E152012345`	week 20 of 2015
Tempstar	A letter, then the year (digits 1 and 2) and the week (3 and 4)	`E152012345`	week 20 of 2015
Comfortmaker	A letter, then the year (digits 1 and 2) and the week (3 and 4)	`E152012345`	week 20 of 2015
Arcoaire	A letter, then the year (digits 1 and 2) and the week (3 and 4)	`E152012345`	week 20 of 2015
York	We read it from the label photo
Coleman	We read it from the label photo
Luxaire	We read it from the label photo

Signs

Signs a air conditioner is near the end of its life

Age is one sign. These are the others we see on calls.

It’s past 12 years old
It runs all afternoon and the house is still warm
Ice on the copper line or the indoor coil
A refrigerant leak, or a recharge every summer
Loud buzzing or clanking from the outdoor unit
The breaker trips when it starts

Seeing one of these?

Get the air conditioner looked at before it picks the day.

Call (703) 997-9757 Get your price in writing

Keep reading

More equipment age decoders and next steps

Equipment age decoderEvery type on one page.How old is my furnace?Typical life 15 to 20 years.How old is my heat pump?Typical life 10 to 15 years.How old is my water heater?Typical life 8 to 12 years.How old is my boiler?Typical life 20 to 30 years.Air conditioner replacementWhat a new one costs and how it goes.

Asked on the phone

Questions about equipment age, answered

How do I tell how old my air conditioner is?

Find the label and read the serial number: most brands put the year in it. Carrier, for one: digits 1 and 2 are the week, 3 and 4 the year. Pick the brand in the decoder above, type the serial and it reads it for you.

How long does a air conditioner last in Northern Virginia?

A air conditioner typically lasts 12 to 15 years in Northern Virginia. Yearly upkeep is what gets one to the top of that range; skipped upkeep is how one fails early.

Where is the label on a air conditioner?

The data plate is on the side of the outdoor unit, a metal or foil plate near the corner where the power line comes in. You can read it standing next to the unit: there’s nothing to open.

Should I repair or replace an old air conditioner?

Inside its first 12 years, repair it and keep up the yearly upkeep. Between 12 and 15, a big repair is usually money better put toward the replacement. Past 15, get the replacement priced now so it doesn’t pick the day for you. A free in-home estimate puts both side by side.

Can you read the label for me?

Yes. Take the three photos above (the whole unit, up close, the label) and send them with the form. A person on our team reads the label and calls or texts you with the age and what we’d do.

Not sure how old it is?

Have a person read the label for you

Send the form at the top, or the three photos above, and our office calls or texts you back. If the label is inside the cabinet, the tech reads it at the visit and tells you what it means for your house.