Central Air Conditioning

[disneysteve]

Thanks DS, that sounds like great news.

I want to save up for it. Since we live in a pretty cool climate and summer is ending, I hope I can buy myself a few extra months of saving and research.

Any recommendations/experiences as far as brands that are on the market?

Sorry, I can't give any recommendations. We have a Carrier High Efficiency Weather Maker that we installed a number of years ago and have been perfectly happy with but I don't know about any others.

Waiting until the off-season is a good idea. You may find that you can negotiate a better deal that way.

[elessar78]

Should I wait until this one kicks the bucket? Or do a pre-emptive strike?

[disneysteve]

Should I wait until this one kicks the bucket? Or do a pre-emptive strike?

That depends on if you are willing to live without AC for a period of time if it dies and takes a little while to replace. Personally, we live in the northeast in the land of heat and humidity and both my wife and daughter have allergies and asthma. No AC really isn't an option here. If ours goes out, we go to a hotel until it gets fixed.

[elessar78]

That depends on if you are willing to live without AC for a period of time if it dies and takes a little while to replace. Personally, we live in the northeast in the land of heat and humidity and both my wife and daughter have allergies and asthma. No AC really isn't an option here. If ours goes out, we go to a hotel until it gets fixed.

Good point. We live on the cusp of the mid-west/north-east and we have low humidity and pretty low temps for most of the year. It's really only a concern July through Sept out of the year, but it's never been a week in/week out of high heat and humidity. My wife grew up with no air conditioning in this area until she was in high school, so it's survivable.

[FrugalSensei]

Should I wait until this one kicks the bucket? Or do a pre-emptive strike?

According to market research, October is the best month to buy a new A/C

On the topic of closing off vents/rooms -
All interested parties might want to do some research. I was going to include some links but I don't want to appear to endorse any specific person or website. Suffice it to say that there are many people out there who essentially say that the practice of closing off vents/rooms can ultimately cost you more in monthly energy expenses and even in damage to your system. Just put "closing off rooms to save energy" into your search engine and you will be surprised at what comes up and how universal the opinions seem to be.

[marvholly]

Before you spend a bunch of $$ you might want to try my system.

I live in a split level house. ince heat rises I close the loweeer level vents in summer and open the upper level vents. Reverse in winter.

[elessar78]

I was talking with my neighbor yesterday about the AC. Our homes were built at the same time and are the same size.

He says that when he got his new unit, the company that installed it said that for the 10 year warranty to stay in force that he had to get it serviced annually. It doesn't seem right, seems like a ripoff. Anyone with similar experiences?

[disneysteve]

I was talking with my neighbor yesterday about the AC. Our homes were built at the same time and are the same size.

He says that when he got his new unit, the company that installed it said that for the 10 year warranty to stay in force that he had to get it serviced annually. It doesn't seem right, seems like a ripoff. Anyone with similar experiences?

Sounds like a scam to me. I'd avoid that company for sure. The installers always try to sell you a service contract but I've never had them tell me not doing it would void the warranty. I doubt that is even true.

I typically skip the service contract. However, I have had a couple of times over the years where something broke and when the service guy came out he explained that if I signed up for the contract, that repair would be covered. In those cases, it made sense to take the contract for the year and I made sure to have a routine maintenance visit done toward the end of the contract to be sure I got my money's worth from it.

[elessar78]

Sounds like a scam to me. I'd avoid that company for sure. The installers always try to sell you a service contract but I've never had them tell me not doing it would void the warranty. I doubt that is even true.

I typically skip the service contract. However, I have had a couple of times over the years where something broke and when the service guy came out he explained that if I signed up for the contract, that repair would be covered. In those cases, it made sense to take the contract for the year and I made sure to have a routine maintenance visit done toward the end of the contract to be sure I got my money's worth from it.

Yeah something did not add up. I looked up his model (Trane) and I just actually called. It seems like a half truth (at best) on what they told him.

What the Trane rep just told me is that they have a 5 year right off the bat AND when you register it, it automatically bumps it up to ten years. The warranty is only voided IF the damage is caused by a failure by the owner to maintain it properly (low coolant was an example the rep gave)—like with any warranty. If the damage is something inherent in the machine or due to improper installation, then it will still be covered.

[elessar78]

Any ballpark figures on what percentage of electric bill would be due to the air conditioner?

I received one quote so far for a new AC Unit. The company gave me a quoted tier of low, mid, and high options and I want to see if I can calculate expected savings and see if I can recoup the costs from lower electricity bills.

[falboe]

The best advice I can offer is do your living downstairs during the day and early evening as much as possible. Even if you had independent thermostats for each floor

[ANewHorizon]

I think your idea to just buy a window unit for your bedroom is the cheapest, easiest solution. My spouse used a kilowatt tester on the window unit in his office and we found that it only cost a few dollars over a week and a half of use. That has to be cheaper than running the big A/C/ unit all night keeping a large area cool.

[elessar78]

Anyone have any experience with Ductless HVAC? Cost vs traditional? Performance? Pros/cons?

[JoeP]

The best advice I can offer is do your living downstairs during the day and early evening as much as possible. Even if you had independent thermostats for each floor

If you have a basement, consider finishing part of it for living space. We did this, and with the help of a dehumidifier, it is very comfortable. If we ever lose power in the middle of summer, it will maintain 65-68F for days.

[jpham540]

Hey I am hvac technician as far as mini split goes I have install many but over in Afghanistan though, currently working over there at the moment. Depend on how big of a room you’re cooling; if it’s for a bed room I would say it should be good. With the ductless system you do not need add a duct branch or trunk, and installation is easier. Not sure how much it cost in the state since I been oversea for awhile, but I would say @ $600 - $1200, for both outdoor/indoor unit. In my experience I have seen up to 2.5 ton with the ductless split system, they have bigger unit depend on the brand.
I read your older post as far as closing some of vents, I recommend not doing it, it’s bad for your system and you will change the air flow of it. Just leave your vents open and make sure you don’t have any object blocking the supply and return duct. Check your filters, and if you haven’t maybe you should call a service company to see if your indoor/outside coil needs to be clean. Dirty coil can cause low airflow and system not performing efficiently. Hope this help you