New Central Air

[Ginny Favers]

I have to replace our central air conditioning. Hooray. Our Carrier a/c that came with the house is only 8 years old, but we've had problems with it pretty much every year, and now we just need to get a new one.

One of the main problems is that our home has always been stifling hot on the top floor, so we're trying to fix that. We've called a few places and gotten estimates, but sadly, every person that has come in has said something different. One says we need new ductwork, one says we need a bigger system, one says we need a variable speed blower.... I am so confused. Also, on researching different systems online, I've seen a lot of not-so-good reviews for just about every brand of a/c out there!

Help?

And also... anyone have a whole-house humidifier? Air purifier? Do they work or are they a waste of money?

 

[ncmickeyluvr]

I would think that if you have a two story house and it's always hot on the top floor, you should have a separate unit for each floor. Everyone I know with a two story house has it that way. My parents have a split level ranch and they need two.

We have a Trane at our house and haven't had one problem with it in 10 years.

Sorry but I don't have any knowledge about humidifiers and purifiers.

 

[HM]

I agree with the PP. You may need a unit for each floor. That's what we have. Our old house did not and we had the same problems you have. We did have a whole-house fan that pulled air up through the attic which we could turn on to help though.

Also you could have them check to see if you have dampers in the duct work that could be adjusted, so that more air could be circulated upstairs than downstairs. Of course, in the winter, you might want the opposite.....

 

[Muushka]

If you have a large, 2 story house, yes, 2 units. Our house is not that big, 1800 SF and we have just 1 unit.

We had the company install dampers that can be manually adjusted. In the summer we send more up to the 2nd floor by partially closing the ones to the first floor and in winter we do the opposite.

Also, see if you need more ventilation in your attic. That will also help.

 

[ilovemk76]

I have to replace our central air conditioning. Hooray. Our Carrier a/c that came with the house is only 8 years old, but we've had problems with it pretty much every year, and now we just need to get a new one.

One of the main problems is that our home has always been stifling hot on the top floor, so we're trying to fix that. We've called a few places and gotten estimates, but sadly, every person that has come in has said something different. One says we need new ductwork, one says we need a bigger system, one says we need a variable speed blower.... I am so confused. Also, on researching different systems online, I've seen a lot of not-so-good reviews for just about every brand of a/c out there!

Help?

And also... anyone have a whole-house humidifier? Air purifier? Do they work or are they a waste of money?

We have a two story house. We use a single A/C unit but have three zones. Two downstairs and one upstairs. Our 2nd floor stays cool.

We have a variable speed blower. This is used to remove the humidity. We adjust the humidity and the blower speeds up or slows down to be able to remove the humidity. Cold, wet air is not comfortable.

We have a air purifier on the unit and our home stays cleaner. Very little dust.

 

[bettymae1121]

The home I grew up in was a large 2 story home and a single a/c unit cooled it just fine (when my cheapskate parents actually ran it, that is! ) so I think it could be a duct work problem. Sometimes just having more or better placed cold air returns can make a huge difference for both heating and cooling.

 

[ilovemk76]

Does your duct work run in the exterior walls or in the attic? All of our run up the inside of our home to the second story. If the ducts are in the wall or attic the cold air comes in contact with very warm air and the temperature of the air is raised before entering the rooms.

 

[Ginny Favers]

Thanks for the info, everyone. No one has yet suggested two units... and I don't want to pay that much! The bill already seems to be $10k to replace the whole HVAC system and get the humidifier and air purification systems we need, so I am afraid to find out what it would cost if we added another unit!

 

[Muushka]

Thanks for the info, everyone. No one has yet suggested two units... and I don't want to pay that much! The bill already seems to be $10k to replace the whole HVAC system and get the humidifier and air purification systems we need, so I am afraid to find out what it would cost if we added another unit!

Do you mean the HVAC people? Out of curiosity, what is the SF of your house?

Is the 10K for heat also?

 

[HM]

In our house, with two units, the downstairs one has the humidifier attached, but not the upstairs. We opted to not add the purifier as we'd done fine without one before and it added a lot to the price.

If they aren't suggesting two units, perhaps your square footage doesn't call for it. Doesn't mean you can't put a smaller unit in for your upstairs, to regulate temps more.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[angierae]

We have a finished-attic second floor bedroom. The previous owners of the house had a duct put directly from the furnace to the second floor, which helps. It also helps to make sure that every possible vent on the first floor is closed (In rooms that aren't used often, etc.) and the other thing we discovered the first summer we lived here was that there were vents IN THE UNFINISHED BASEMENT that were open. Yes, we were paying to cool a basement that stays below 70 degrees even in the hottest summers. Closed those up right quick!

 

[gator75]

We have a split level house with a finished basement. Our central air cools both levels just fine we do need a new a coil for ours this summer though, as well we have a whole house humidifier on ours it works very well. Just remeber to keep it at thier reccomended humidty levels or else if you have it set to high you run the risk of destroying your furniture and carpeting.

Also watch out for a thing called ghosting. It will appear on ceilings and wallas black areas we never had a problem until we got the humidifier added on. What it is is the humidity inthe air miximg with dust particals and or dirt particals in the air and settiling on ceilings and walls.

 

[Ginny Favers]

Do you mean the HVAC people? Out of curiosity, what is the SF of your house?

Is the 10K for heat also?

Yes, the HVAC people that have estimated have done whole-house walk-throughs but never recommended two units. We live in PA and though I've noticed a lot of my neighbors getting their units replaced, nobody seems to have gone up to 2 units. My house is only about 2,100 sf, which is one of the smaller ones in the development.

And yes, 10k is for the furnace, too.

Thanks everyone for the tips.

 

[dhardawa]

I just replaced my HVAC a week ago (furnace and AC) and it was $5,800. I have a 2 story house that is about 1,750 sq ft. I mentioned to the guy that the upstairs is hard to cool and his recommendations were to:

1. Close some of the vents near the thermostat, but no more than 20% of the vents in the house. This will cause the AC to run a little longer.

2. Set the unit to keep the fan running all the time. This keeps the air circulating through the house and pulls the warm air from upstairs and mixes it with the cool air from downstairs.

So far, these things have helped a ton.

 

[riley2008]

Yes, the HVAC people that have estimated have done whole-house walk-throughs but never recommended two units. We live in PA and though I've noticed a lot of my neighbors getting their units replaced, nobody seems to have gone up to 2 units. My house is only about 2,100 sf, which is one of the smaller ones in the development.

And yes, 10k is for the furnace, too.

Thanks everyone for the tips.

That's about the size of our 2-story house too and we have two units; however we are in South Texas. Every new home here has two units for home above about 1,800 square feet - single or two story.

I'm wondering if you could just add a new unit/ductwork for the upstairs only. I also wonder where your thermostat is? If it is downstairs, it will almost ALWAYS be cooler there than upstairs. (whole heat rises thing) SO, if you get the temp cool enough upstairs, it will be freezing down - closing vents off downstairs won't make any difference; it'll still be cooler down there than up for the most part, although it can help some.

Also, we just did a new addition - a changing room for the pool; and we are putting in a mini-split ductless unit. I've seen them plenty in Europe, but not much here. We are putting in a ceiling mount vent-type unit, so that it looks like a large vent, rather than the thing that hangs on the wall. If I ever build a whole new home, this is what we are going to do throughout the whole thing. Maybe look into something like this. Might be an affordable option if you only need it for a couple of room upstairs.

 

[ORDisneyfans]

HVAC wife here! (24 years in business) We sell Rheem which is highly recommended by consumer reports. I have to say installation is 75% of your job! The box is a small portion. My DH always has our fan on On not auto. This runs the fan all of the time. We also do a lot of either zone control so you can seperate your two cooling areas, or dampners.

I am going to guess that your ductwork is too small for the upstairs. 2100 Square feet is usually about a 3 ton system. A professional company will do load calculations for your specific house and climate. Too large a unit and it will short cycle (run for a few minutes and then shut off) too small it will run all of the time! $10,000 may seem like a lot but every area is different and prices have really gone up with all of the federal freon regulations.

My best advice is to get several word of mouth recommendations, check the local building board to look for complaints etc.. We do not advertise at all...all word of mouth. We are a small company that has been in business a long time. That is who I would look for! It is a big decision, take your time and hopefully you will be happy with your choice.

I think your Carrier should last a lot longer than 8 years. We offer a 10 year warranty on most products. It may still be under warranty.

 

[Judique]

HVAC wife here! (24 years in business) We sell Rheem which is highly recommended by consumer reports. I have to say installation is 75% of your job! The box is a small portion. My DH always has our fan on On not auto. This runs the fan all of the time. We also do a lot of either zone control so you can seperate your two cooling areas, or dampners.

I am going to guess that your ductwork is too small for the upstairs. 2100 Square feet is usually about a 3 ton system. A professional company will do load calculations for your specific house and climate. Too large a unit and it will short cycle (run for a few minutes and then shut off) too small it will run all of the time! $10,000 may seem like a lot but every area is different and prices have really gone up with all of the federal freon regulations.

My best advice is to get several word of mouth recommendations, check the local building board to look for complaints etc.. We do not advertise at all...all word of mouth. We are a small company that has been in business a long time. That is who I would look for! It is a big decision, take your time and hopefully you will be happy with your choice.

I think your Carrier should last a lot longer than 8 years. We offer a 10 year warranty on most products. It may still be under warranty.

My Carrier unit is on 20 years now. When the guy came to do it's annual physical he said it could easily last another few years.

When the temps hover in the high 90ties here for a week or more, it gets too warm upstairs. So we bought a small window unit to supplement and sometimes we just turn that on and we don't need to run the whole central unit.

 

[Ginny Favers]

Thank you for the recent comments! Still looking around. Luckily we filled the unit with refigerant at the beginning of the season so we can wait awhile and make an informed decision. We've gotten 4 estimates so far, and right now it is between:

Company One: Large national company, been in business a long time and has many good reviews, offering a smaller unit at a more expensive price, with a great warranty.

Company Two: Smaller company, been in business awhile but does not have any reviews, offering a larger unit at a very attractive price, with a great warranty.

We're discussing with both companies soon. I like the larger company because I know they're going to stick around and not "shaft" us. If they would just lower their price some, I think I'd go with them, because I do think WHO installs it is most important!

 

[deegack]

If you have a large, 2 story house, yes, 2 units. Our house is not that big, 1800 SF and we have just 1 unit.

We had the company install dampers that can be manually adjusted. In the summer we send more up to the 2nd floor by partially closing the ones to the first floor and in winter we do the opposite.

Also, see if you need more ventilation in your attic. That will also help.

This this this

Also check the insulation in your attic and if there are ridge vents. If your second floor is above the roof line aka cape you will need to make sure the insulation is top notch.

 

[ORDisneyfans]

In this economy I would let the company you like best know what they are up against competition wise and give them the option of meeting you half way or something.

We are never the lowest price (but have been known to negotiate or present another option when asked; bigger unit, better warranty etc.) but we are always the best and give our customers 120%. They receive new vent covers, new thermostat, quality washable filter, complete ducting analysis and replacement or repair as needed, combined with workers who remove all debris from site, take their shoes off in your house and vacuum up after themselves. We do not have a lot of "reviews" however I would gladly let you call any of our customers and ask their opinions. We stand behind our work and have happy customers to prove it. That's the company I would look for!