November 3, 2025
Cold air, hot takes
Why AC is cheap, but AC repair is a luxury
Cheap AC, pricey fix — readers blame heat pumps, rules, and DIY
TLDR: The article says mass-made gadgets get cheaper while human labor gets pricier, making AC repairs feel premium. Comments split between theory and reality: heat pumps and policies, DIY tutorials, and opportunity-cost angst collide in a lively debate over why fixing costs more than buying.
AC units keep getting cheaper, but calling someone to fix one feels like ordering champagne service — and the community is divided on why. The article points to Jevons Paradox (we buy more when stuff gets cheaper) and the Baumol Effect (labor in less automated work gets pricier), tying it to today’s AI boom. Cue Marc Andreessen’s TV-over-the-hole quip, which set the tone: modern gadgets are mass-produced; human time is the luxury item. The big claim: as AI juiced productivity floods certain sectors, wages rise everywhere, turning simple fixes into high-end services.
Commenters came in hot. One camp says it’s simple: heat pumps are pricey and policy pushes them, so install and repair costs climb. Another blames taxes, rules, and social programs raising baseline wages. A DIY chorus insists “YouTube University” beats service calls. Personal tales added fuel: a minisplit leak where refrigerant cost nearly half a new unit had readers gasping. The thread even turned existential, with one user lamenting the opportunity cost of posting versus time with family. Jokes flew: “just mount a flatscreen over your broken AC,” and “AC repair is DLC.” It’s tech theory versus wrench reality — and everyone’s thermostat is set to spicy
Key Points
- •The article contrasts cheap manufactured goods with expensive service labor, citing a U.S. example from Marc Andreessen.
- •Jevons Paradox: productivity gains in a sector make goods cheaper and increase consumption and jobs in that sector.
- •Baumol Effect: wage increases in productive sectors spill over, raising labor costs in less productive sectors.
- •AI capex surge is expected to create uneven outcomes: cheaper where AI has strong impact, more expensive where it has less impact.
- •Within jobs, AI may automate some tasks, boosting throughput and quality, while human-only tasks become higher paid and more regulated.