Covered, until the question becomes what is inside it
Central air conditioning is a covered item in essentially every home service contract, usually up to five tons. The disputes almost never concern whether the machine is covered. They concern refrigerant, the copper lines carrying it, and whether replacing half a split system obligates anyone to replace the other half.
Four parts matter here. The compressor is the pump inside the outdoor unit, the most expensive component and the one whose failure forces a replace decision. The condenser coil outdoors rejects heat. The evaporator coil indoors, normally in the plenum above the furnace, absorbs heat and strips humidity. Refrigerant circulates between them through a line set of two copper lines - and it is not consumed by operation, so a system low on refrigerant is leaking, and the leak is the defect.
Refrigerant is the least-known cap in the contract
Almost every reviewed contract treats refrigerant differently from the metal around it:
- A per-pound allowance inside the item limit rather than on top of it: one national agreement provides that for its two lower tiers, "included in the Covered Item Limit is a $10 per pound refrigerant limit."
- Recovery labor excluded while the substance is covered: a buyer-seller form lists refrigerant as a covered component but excludes "recapture/reclaim of refrigerant" and "interconnecting Freon lines (external of the equipment)."
- A 2019 Texas form excludes "REFRIGERANT RECAPTURE, RECLAIM AND DISPOSAL" from covered repair costs, while agreeing to pay them when it replaces the unit.
- Line sets excluded as covered items altogether, alongside an exclusion of costs "related to failure of components that are covered under manufacturer's warranty."
The pattern is consistent: the refrigerant may be covered to a per-pound ceiling, while the recovery labor, the lines carrying it and the disposal are excluded. Where refrigerant trades well above a fixed allowance, that cap is an exclusion with better manners.
Recovery is not informal or optional. Under the federal Section 608 sales restriction, only EPA-certified technicians may purchase refrigerants, with a narrow exception for small self-sealing cans of motor vehicle refrigerant. There is no lawful do-it-yourself recharge of a home system, so every refrigerant event carries a trade service call fee - the flat amount paid to the assigned contractor per visit, whatever the repair costs.
R-22: when a leak stops being a recharge decision
R-22, sold under the trade name Freon, is a Class II ozone-depleting substance. Production and import were prohibited in 2010 except for equipment manufactured before January 1, 2010, and a complete ban took effect in 2020, so servicing an R-22 system now depends entirely on reclaimed, recovered or stockpiled material (EPA, phaseout of Class II ozone-depleting substances).
For a buyer this changes the decision structure, not just the price. On an R-410A system a leak is a repair with a known parts path. On an R-22 system it is a question about whether to keep buying a discontinued commodity. The rule most buyers are never told: if the system uses R-22, the age at which repair stops being rational drops by several years, because supply risk stacks on top of mechanical risk.
The refrigerant type is printed on the outdoor unit data plate. Checking it takes thirty seconds during the walkthrough and is one of the highest-value observations available in the option period. No service contract will change the answer, and none will pay a scarce refrigerant's premium beyond its stated allowance.
R-410A, A2L, and a transition that moved twice
The successor refrigerant is now being phased down in turn under EPA's Technology Transitions rule implementing the AIM Act. Manufacture of components for use in a new residential or light commercial air conditioning or heat pump system using refrigerant with a global warming potential above 700 was prohibited on or after January 1, 2025. The replacements, R-454B and R-32, are classified A2L - mildly flammable - which changes service procedures, leak detection and code treatment.
Then the installation deadline moved. The original rule barred installation of pre-2025 R-410A split systems after January 1, 2026. EPA amended it: under a final rule effective July 27, 2026, existing R-410A equipment may still be installed until supply is exhausted. New York codified the original deadline in state law, so that exception does not apply there, and R-410A production keeps stepping down toward 15 percent of current output by 2036 (NAHB summary of the EPA final rule). Anything written about this area, including this page, should be read with its date attached.
Efficiency rules interact with all of it. Federal minimums effective January 1, 2023 moved the metric from SEER to SEER2 and set regional thresholds, and the enforcement basis differs by region: the North enforces on manufacture date, so pre-2023 units may still be installed, while the Southeast and Southwest enforce on installation date. In those regions old-stock low-efficiency equipment cannot lawfully be installed at all.
The modifications clause: an approved condenser and an uncovered bill
This is the clause that turns the regulatory picture into a denial. One national homeowner agreement provides that the company will not pay for "any modifications necessitated by the repair of existing equipment or the installation of new equipment including, but not limited to, the required Replacement of air handlers when Replacing condensers, and condensers when Replacing air handlers." Refrigerant and efficiency rules frequently make indoor coil or air handler replacement mandatory when the outdoor unit is replaced. The result is an approved claim on the condenser and an uncovered, often larger, indoor bill.
| Contract approach | Clause as written |
|---|---|
| Upgrades covered | Where repair or replacement "requires component or part upgrades to maintain compatibility and/or compliance with SEER..., HSPF..., or refrigerant standards, we will cover such upgrades" |
| One item, at the company's discretion | "we agree to pay the covered costs for one (1) of the following (determination is at our sole discretion) only: expansion metering device, or coil, or air handler" |
| Replacement meets current standards | "Company will replace the unit with a unit that meets current federal, state or local government efficiency standards" |
| Modifications excluded | No payment for modifications necessitated by repair or installation, expressly including replacing an air handler when replacing a condenser |
Related exclusions recur across forms: window and portable units, water towers and chillers, absorption systems, humidifiers, UV and purification equipment, and "legally mandated diagnostic testing when replacing heating or cooling equipment." Note that last one: at least one contract declines to pay for testing the law requires when equipment is replaced.
What an inspector may and may not do with an air conditioner
The rule most often mistaken for an inspector avoiding work is written into the standards. InterNACHI section 3.5 provides that the inspector need not operate equipment "if the exterior temperature is below 65 degrees Fahrenheit, or when other circumstances are not conducive to safe operation or may damage the equipment." Texas rule 22 TAC 535.230(d) sets its threshold at less than 60 degrees for cooling equipment, and separately excuses operating heat pumps in heat pump mode above 70. ASHI states no number at all, reaching the same result through its general limitation against procedures likely to be dangerous or to damage the property.
So the widely repeated claim that "the rule is 65 degrees" is accurate only for InterNACHI. The physical reason behind all three is identical: running a compressor at low outdoor ambient can return liquid refrigerant to it and damage it. An inspector who declines is protecting the equipment - but the buyer then closes on an air conditioner nobody ran, and no standard requires anyone to come back.
When the system is run, what gets measured is limited. Texas requires reporting the temperature difference between supply and return air, and reporting as deficient a system that "fails to achieve a 15 degrees Fahrenheit to 22 degrees Fahrenheit temperature differential" - along with missing line insulation, dirty coils and water in the auxiliary drain pan. Out of scope everywhere: InterNACHI does not require examination of coolant, Texas expressly does not require inspection for refrigerant pressure or leaks, and ASHI excludes cooling supply adequacy. No general home inspection measures refrigerant charge and none certifies capacity.
How air conditioners actually fail
Compressor failure is the classic replace trigger. Evaporator coil leaks are the classic argument-starter, because the coil is covered under most contracts but replacing it can force the condenser question, and with it the modifications clause. Formicary corrosion - ant-nest corrosion in aluminum and copper coils - produces pinhole leaks a technician may be unable to locate without dye and repeat visits, each carrying its own trade service call fee.
Defects worth treating as material in a transaction: a compressor that will not start; no temperature split; water standing in the secondary drain pan, which is evidence the primary drain has already failed; a corroded or leaking evaporator coil; rust streaking at the coil; a missing disconnect; a double-breakered or improperly sized circuit. Usually not material: dirty condenser fins, a missing filter, bent fins, cosmetic cabinet rust.
On service life, the InterNACHI chart gives 7-15 years for a central air conditioner and 8-20 for a condenser, while ASHRAE's survey medians are 19.0 years for a split DX system and 15.0 for an air-cooled packaged DX unit. Coastal salt exposure shortens condenser life sharply. Age alone is a weak predictor; age with refrigerant type, coil condition and maintenance history is much better.
The warranty you may already have, and the one you may lose
The manufacturer's limited warranty is frequently worth more than the service contract and frequently forfeited without anyone noticing. One major manufacturer's residential warranty requires registration within 90 days of original installation: registered original owners receive 10 years of parts coverage, unregistered owners 5. The remainder of the first five years transfers freely, but the extended periods require a subsequent owner to register the transfer within 90 days and pay a fee. So a three-year-old system may carry seven more years of parts coverage at no cost - or two. The manufacturer also excludes refrigerant on the same terms the service contract does.
The buyer-side sequence during the option period is short. Photograph the outdoor unit data plate and record refrigerant type, tonnage and manufacture date. Ask the seller for the installation invoice and registration confirmation, and find out whether a transfer window applies. If closing falls in a season when the system cannot safely be run, negotiate a post-closing inspection or a holdback rather than relying on goodwill later - the standards permitted the inspector to skip it, and once the contingency period expires nobody is obligated to revisit it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a home warranty cover refrigerant?
Partially, and rarely on the terms owners expect. One national agreement includes a $10 per pound refrigerant limit inside the covered item limit for its lower tiers. Another covers refrigerant but excludes recapture and reclaim; a third excludes recapture, reclaim and disposal from repairs while paying those costs on a full replacement. The split to watch is between substance and labor: the molecule may be covered to a ceiling, while the technician's time, the line set and the disposal are excluded.
My air conditioner uses R-22. Can it still be repaired?
It can be serviced, but only with reclaimed, recovered or stockpiled refrigerant. US production and import were prohibited in 2010 except for equipment manufactured before January 1, 2010, and a complete ban took effect in 2020. The consequence is economic rather than legal: a fixed per-pound allowance will not track what scarce reclaimed refrigerant costs, so on an R-22 system the point at which repair stops making sense arrives several years earlier than mechanical condition alone would suggest.
Can I buy refrigerant and recharge the system myself?
No. Under EPA's Section 608 sales restriction, only EPA-certified technicians may purchase ozone-depleting substances or their substitutes used as refrigerants, with a limited exception for small self-sealing cans of motor vehicle refrigerant. There is also a diagnostic reason not to: refrigerant circulates in a closed loop and is not consumed, so a low charge means a leak. Adding refrigerant without finding it treats the symptom, and each return visit carries its own service call fee.
The inspector would not run the AC because it was too cold outside. Is that allowed?
Yes, and it is written into the standards rather than left to discretion. InterNACHI relieves the inspector of operating equipment when the exterior temperature is below 65 degrees Fahrenheit, Texas sets its threshold at less than 60 degrees, and ASHI sets no number but excuses procedures likely to damage the equipment. The reason is that operating a compressor at low outdoor ambient can slug liquid refrigerant back into it. No standard requires anyone to return when the weather warms, so a winter closing needs a negotiated remedy in the purchase contract.
If the contract replaces my condenser, does it replace the indoor coil too?
That depends entirely on the modifications clause, and providers genuinely differ. One agreement excludes modifications necessitated by repair or installation, expressly including the required replacement of air handlers when replacing condensers. Another covers upgrades required to maintain compatibility or compliance with efficiency and refrigerant standards. A third pays for exactly one of a metering device, a coil, or an air handler, at its sole discretion.
Because current rules increasingly make matched replacement mandatory, this clause decides whether an approved claim resolves the problem or creates a larger uncovered one.
What is a normal temperature split on a home air conditioner?
Texas gives the only concrete regulatory benchmark among the standards reviewed here: an inspector must report the temperature difference between supply and return air, and must report as deficient a system failing to achieve a 15 to 22 degree Fahrenheit differential. Neither InterNACHI nor ASHI requires a numeric split, and no standard requires measuring refrigerant charge, so outside Texas a buyer may not receive this figure at all. A split outside that band is a reason to order an evaluation rather than a diagnosis in itself.