Have you bought a new AC unit lately?

[okeydokey]

Our AC came with the house which was build in the late 90s so it is 14 or so years old. Time to replace it. I am thinking it will be about $4,000. Have you had a new one installed this year?

The AC guy says the new unit will be much more efficient than the unit we currently have. The builders here tend to put in the bottom rung appliances when building unless you pay to upgrade and we were not the first owners of this home.

Seems like it's always something. Goodbye new bedroom carpeting we saved for and bathroom update.

 

[Tdubswife]

We had ours replaced within the last few months. We had to use the money we saved for our Disney June trip- spending cash. The unit was a 5 ton unit and we paid $2500 for it. A friend of ours does HVAC on the side and got us a really great deal. Luckily, our unit went out long before the trip so we had time to replace the money we earmarked for the trip.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[MSSANDRA]

We just had our whole system replaced. They recommended going ahead and doing the heat and air at the same time. It was about 5700.00 and that included a tax and our local energy company rebate of 500.00. It should be much more efficient. We have already found we can keep the temp, about 5 degrees warmer than we did with our old system and we are still staying comfortable.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

You will be thrilled with your new unit, believe me. This is very worth doing, regardless of the cost.

In 2010-11 we replaced the units our builder put in (+ all the ductwork, + add'l ducts in the basement - so no price comparos here). They were about 6-7 yrs old at the time, and we had been keeping the house too cool in the winter and too hot in the summer and the bills were still awful.

Now, I can set the thermostat at 68* in the winter and 74* in the summer and we are comfortable. Our bills run $100-150 lower in the winter (and that does not take into account that our RECC jacked rates by 30% in that time) and about $75 lower in the summer. The units don't run all the time, and we can actually feel the air coming out of the registers.

So, while it's going to be a budget buster right now, you should also see some real benefits quickly.

 

[okeydokey]

Very encouraging CindyLooWHo.

I am grateful that we had some money saved away for other things that we can use toward this. Hoping to get the cost estimates and choices today. I think our guy uses Carrier.

 

[Kika]

I feel your pain! I had to replace my 10 year old unit three years ago. I actually posted about it here.

Mine was $5200 for a 15 seer unit. I did get a tax credit for going to a more effecient unit (not sure if they still offer those...check the IRS website or call them.) I also got a credit from my electric company. So after all was said and done, it cost me $4000.

My electric bill is probably about $20-25 less a month than it was with the old unit, so that's good at least. (The original unit I had was the one that the builder put in.)

I have a Bryant, but am also familiar w/Carrier.

Good luck!

 

[okeydokey]

First round of quotes came in: For 3.5 Ton,

4224 for 3.5 SEER
5080 for 14 SEER
5775 for 15.5 SEER

I think we will have a couple more companies come. We were thinking of having one of the big box stores (Home Depot, Lowes, Sears) give us a quote, but I worry that they will not do as good a job on the install as an actual local AC place.

 

[tvguy]

First round of quotes came in: For 3.5 Ton,

4224 for 3.5 SEER
5080 for 14 SEER
5775 for 15.5 SEER

I think we will have a couple more companies come. We were thinking of having one of the big box stores (Home Depot, Lowes, Sears) give us a quote, but I worry that they will not do as good a job on the install as an actual local AC place.

I haven't replaced one in 22 years, but the HVAC companies that advertise all promote complete systems installed for anywhere from $3,995 to $4,995, so those quotes are in the ball park.

 

[kkacar]

First round of quotes came in: For 3.5 Ton,

4224 for 3.5 SEER
5080 for 14 SEER
5775 for 15.5 SEER

I think we will have a couple more companies come. We were thinking of having one of the big box stores (Home Depot, Lowes, Sears) give us a quote, but I worry that they will not do as good a job on the install as an actual local AC place.

We are in NW Florida on the Gulf Coast and that is about what our quotes were when we bought our new one in Feb. We went with a local AC company, my husband is familiar with.

 

[Neesy228]

We had ours replaced late last summer and it set us back $3,600 for unit and installation and two follow up checks. I forget the specifics of the unit, but it does a much better job then our builder grade a/c unit did.

 

[Nohal]

We replaced our heater and air conditioner 3 years ago. The heater was the original (house built in 1969) and I think the air was put in shortly after. We went with the high efficiency air conditioner. We couldn't believe the difference in our utility bills. We should have changed both out a long time ago because they have paid for themselves in the reduction of the utility bills.

 

[disneylove69]

Lowes quote was the highest and the unit they use had not so good ratings.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

The units we put in back in 2010-11 were 15 SEER Carriers. I don't remember the size, but one is an attic unit for the 2nd floor (1200SF) and the other is a basement unit for the basement and 1st floor (tot 2100SF). Absolutely zero problems with either of them.

 

[dbarker]

We replaced our units a couple of years ago. I don't remember the cost. But, it more than paid for itself in electricity savings that first year.

 

[Angela72181]

We had a house fire in 2012 and we opted to get c/a installed as well as a new furnace. It ran is about $7500 for new furnace with a/c and new duct work....

 

[Tanzanite]

I must have got ripped brought new for upstairs has built in humidifier we paid almost 10: 000 but they said downstairs half that not sure what seer it is but everyone we called quoted around that for a Trane was more everyone who comes in says its the cadillac systemwhen they came to service it so quiet didnt realize it was on maybe got ripped but next time we wont be in a hurry .

 

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

We had to get a new condensing unit (the outside unit) last summer and it cost us $3,200. They put in the new Freon system and it was compatible with keeping my inside unit (coil and blower) and not having to change those out. Had we had to change out the inside unit too it would have cost about $2,000 more.

Make sure you get a big enough unit ( 4 ton, 5 ton, etc) to cool your house without having to run all day and it will be cheaper to run it. The new Freon systems are more energy efficient. Our electric bill dropped by about $30 a month after the new unit was put in.

A 3.5 ton unit is not very big. Unless your house is very small I would go with a bigger tonnage. It is better to have a bigger tonnage than you need than to get a small unit and have it run 24 hours a day because it is not big enough for the house.

Our house is 2400 sf and we have a 5 ton unit.

 

[ORDisneyfans]

We had to get a new condensing unit (the outside unit) last summer and it cost us $3,200. They put in the new Freon system and it was compatible with keeping my inside unit (coil and blower) and not having to change those out. Had we had to change out the inside unit too it would have cost about $2,000 more.

Make sure you get a big enough unit ( 4 ton, 5 ton, etc) to cool your house without having to run all day and it will be cheaper to run it. The new Freon systems are more energy efficient. Our electric bill dropped by about $30 a month after the new unit was put in.

A 3.5 ton unit is not very big. Unless your house is very small I would go with a bigger tonnage. It is better to have a bigger tonnage than you need than to get a small unit and have it run 24 hours a day because it is not big enough for the house.

Our house is 2400 sf and we have a 5 ton unit.

Actually this is inaccurate information! We have owned an HVAC business since 1989. We sell Rheem and also specialize in Geothermal heating systems. Your unit should be properly sized for your square footage, insulation, windows and exposure. A unit that is too big will short cycle running only a few minutes at a time and then shutting off, very hard on the compressor. A unit that is too small will run longer and take longer to heat or cool your house. There are many variables to consider when properly sizing a system for your house.

I have answered many posts about this and I always recommend personal references, checking the builder board for your state and not always going with the low bidder. Your are purchasing more than just a box! You are purchasing a comfort package, hopefully from a reputable contractor who will stand behind their work and the products they sell.

Lowes, Sears etc are not the best deal as they have to mark up the products to pay for being able to sell in their stores. The only advantage would be using your Sears or lowes card to finance. Most companies are able to help you secure financing either in house, through your utility company or your bank.

Carrier /Trane are proprietary as only Carrier or Trane dealers may work on them and parts are not interchangeable. (This is not a good thing if your system breaks down on July 4th!)

Good luck with your new system.

 

[Minnie116]

Where are you in North Florida? We are in Tallahassee, and had a new unit put in last year. We paid about $7K for it, it was a Trane 4 ton 15seer. However we added a hypoallergenic filter? so that added to the cost. We were very happy with our HVAC guys...

 

[DawnM]

It this for an A/C only unit for a heat pump unit?

We paid just under $6.5K for our large unit and $3.5K for our smaller upstairs unit. The previous Trane units were over 20 years old so we went with Trane again.

Here are Trane Heat Pump prices:


http://www.qualitysmith.com/request/articles/articles-hvac/trane-heat-pump-prices/