Repair
When the Air Conditioner Runs and the House Still Will Not Cool
The outdoor fan is turning and the house is still sitting at 80. You already pulled the filter and looked at the drain. If those were clear, the person who comes next should be pricing a part. The filter, the outdoor coil, and the condensate drain are the checks that come before this visit, not instead of it.
On the visit
Have them read a supply register and the return. On a typical central system the supply runs about 16 to 22 degrees colder than the air going back in. If they will not say the two numbers, they have not looked yet. Then the part: a capacitor, a contactor, a fan motor, or a leak they can point at. The invoice should name it and price the repair.
A price for a new system can sit on the same page. It should not be the only number. If you leave with a brochure and no part name, ask them to come back to the repair.
How old it is
A capacitor on a six-year-old system is an ordinary repair. A compressor on a sixteen-year-old system, or a leak that was fixed last August and is back, is when a replacement belongs in the same conversation. They still have to show you the failed part first.
Old, and still cooling, is not a failed system. R-22 does not change that. If the house is keeping up, the name of the refrigerant is not the reason to pull the unit on the first call.
Leave it for another day
A maintenance club, a UV lamp, and a new thermostat because the old one is beige will not get the house down tonight. A tune-up is the visit you book in the spring, when the system is already keeping up.