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Yay, just bought a house..now which A/C unit to get?

Yay, just bought a house..now which A/C unit to get?

Old May 17th 2013, 4:04 pm
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Default Re: Yay, just bought a house..now which A/C unit to get?

I agree, and one doesn't need to be a subscriber to access this page:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2...cool/index.htm

Beyond comparing brands, compare the efficiencies of the different lines of each brand. And compare the efficiencies of the units specified in the different price quotes. A lower price for a less efficient unit may not be a good deal.

Regards, JEff

Originally Posted by MMcD
I'd never make such a pricy decision without first - at least consulting Consumer Reports. Their recommendations are unbiased and extremely informative. They also point out specific features and pitfalls about which you should be aware.
Unfortunately you must actually be a subscriber to get access to specific recommendations. But since it's very cheap - and you'll, no doubt, be looking to purchase a host of other items for the new home - a subscription might well be a prudent investment. Your local library will also have the magazines. They're published monthly.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/c...ying-guide.htm
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Old May 17th 2013, 11:15 pm
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Default Re: Yay, just bought a house..now which A/C unit to get?

Originally Posted by Michael
So much of the cost is labor and parts through a third party installer if purchased through a bug box store that I doubt there would any significant price reduction.
By "the seller" I meant whoever they bought the house from.

I assume that both the condition of the A/C unit and the presence of asbestos were either disclosed by the seller or came up in the inspection reports and that the buyer was aware of those things before the sale of the house closed.

Hence my remark that I hoped that they (the buyers) had factored that information into whatever price they offered for the property.
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Old May 18th 2013, 12:48 am
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Default Re: Yay, just bought a house..now which A/C unit to get?

We went through replacing two A/C units no so long ago. The downstairs was 40 years old and the upstairs one was 25 years old. Considering that they have an expected life-span of 12-15 years, we had not done so badly, I guess.

You need to determine what your needs are. For our house, we needed a 5 ton for downstairs and a 4 ton for upstairs.

You need to look at the "SEER" efficiency numbers. The higher the number, the more efficient and also more expensive. We had determined that for our micro-climate, the increased cost of high SEER outweighed the potential energy savings.

We had obtained many quotes from HVAC contractors before we asked the general who does our maintenance and improvement stuff if he could recommend anybody -- and he said, "I do it and I'll give you a quote" -- and it was literally $5,000 below anyone else.

I have a feeling that the actual brand is not all that important. We installed Day & Night -- which is owned by United Technologies -- which also owns Carrier.

BTW, our contractor did not know about a new and separate L.A. City requirement to test the efficiency of the duct work. He said he would not charges us extra, but since we have a long relationship, we forked over 1/2 the cost [about $125 to us].
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Old May 18th 2013, 1:37 am
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Default Re: Yay, just bought a house..now which A/C unit to get?

Originally Posted by md95065
By "the seller" I meant whoever they bought the house from.

I assume that both the condition of the A/C unit and the presence of asbestos were either disclosed by the seller or came up in the inspection reports and that the buyer was aware of those things before the sale of the house closed.

Hence my remark that I hoped that they (the buyers) had factored that information into whatever price they offered for the property.
From her original post, I assumed that there was never an air conditioner installed and why I consider it important to get a reliable installer. If there was an air conditioner already installed, then replacement is not that difficult.
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Old May 18th 2013, 1:57 am
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Default Re: Yay, just bought a house..now which A/C unit to get?

Originally Posted by md95065
By "the seller" I meant whoever they bought the house from.

I assume that both the condition of the A/C unit and the presence of asbestos were either disclosed by the seller or came up in the inspection reports and that the buyer was aware of those things before the sale of the house closed.

Hence my remark that I hoped that they (the buyers) had factored that information into whatever price they offered for the property.
We got credit for the heater, but A/C has to be installed from scratch and was not anything to do with the sale of the house. The asbestos issue came up in our home inspection.
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Old May 18th 2013, 1:57 am
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Default Re: Yay, just bought a house..now which A/C unit to get?

Originally Posted by Michael
From her original post, I assumed that there was never an air conditioner installed and why I consider it important to get a reliable installer. If there was an air conditioner already installed, then replacement is not that difficult.
Correct
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Old May 18th 2013, 1:58 am
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Default Re: Yay, just bought a house..now which A/C unit to get?

Originally Posted by Pulaski
I have purchased several York units, and there is nothing wrong with them, but given a straight choice between the two, for my own home, I would take the Lennox.

Unless there is a state or local code, these days they will mount the unit on a precast cement fiber panel which is light weight and easy to position on the ground.
I learned something new. Does that secure sufficiently into the ground to keep the unit balanced so that it doesn't vibrate and make noise?
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Old May 18th 2013, 1:59 am
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Default Re: Yay, just bought a house..now which A/C unit to get?

Thanks everyone for your detailed responses, many good points to think about. We're taking it all into consideration. We are now going to get a quote from Home Depot, they sell Trane A/C units.
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Old May 18th 2013, 2:20 am
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Default Re: Yay, just bought a house..now which A/C unit to get?

Since it is a new install, the design of the whole system is an issue. I'm no expert but, you can't just buy an air con unit and have it fitted, whatever brand.

The people measuring rooms etc sound like they have a clue, but otherwise, it could end in disappointment.

Congrats on getting the house, but don't rush into the a/c project without more research.
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Old May 18th 2013, 3:13 am
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Default Re: Yay, just bought a house..now which A/C unit to get?

Originally Posted by RICH
Since it is a new install, the design of the whole system is an issue. I'm no expert but, you can't just buy an air con unit and have it fitted, whatever brand.

The people measuring rooms etc sound like they have a clue, but otherwise, it could end in disappointment.

Congrats on getting the house, but don't rush into the a/c project without more research.
Yes, I realise that. The four quotes we had were companies installing the A/C brand they supply, not one I had bought and need installing. But after getting quotes and seeing that Lennox is the most expensive I wanted to know whether it was worth forking out that much for it or whether a different brand, properly installed, would be just as good and what fellow BE experiences were with A/C brands.
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Old May 18th 2013, 4:13 am
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Default Re: Yay, just bought a house..now which A/C unit to get?

Originally Posted by Michael
I learned something new. Does that secure sufficiently into the ground to keep the unit balanced so that it doesn't vibrate and make noise?
Well the ones I have had installed on the precast fiber-cement "tile" (my description) have included four "package units" (the whole piece of machinery in one unit attached to the side of the house) and three split units, with only the cooling coils outside the house, and the fiber cement tile seems to be providing adequate support in all cases. The installer makes sure to dig out the ground so the tile is level, and stable, and typically appears to be set into the ground slightly, as it would be if it had been cast.

I'll admit, I was a sceptic, but 4-5 years after I first saw a precast tile used, the units sitting on them appear totally stable and you wouldn't immediately think "crappy installation" if you saw them.
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Old May 18th 2013, 4:23 am
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Default Re: Yay, just bought a house..now which A/C unit to get?

Originally Posted by Holliver
Yes, I realise that. The four quotes we had were companies installing the A/C brand they supply, not one I had bought and need installing. But after getting quotes and seeing that Lennox is the most expensive I wanted to know whether it was worth forking out that much for it or whether a different brand, properly installed, would be just as good and what fellow BE experiences were with A/C brands.
An installer I have used has an opinion that companies go through alternating phases of building high quality premium units and building their reputation, followed by a period of cheaper units sold at the inflated price to cash-in on the reputation. His opinion was that York machines were basic but reliable and good value, whereas Trane was in the "cash-in" phase of their cycle, and not worth the money. I have one Trane unit and it has been reliable and problem-free. The difference between the two for the same location is that I can get a York unit installed for about 80% of the cost of a Trane unit.
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Old May 18th 2013, 4:50 am
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Default Re: Yay, just bought a house..now which A/C unit to get?

Originally Posted by Holliver
Thanks everyone for your detailed responses, many good points to think about. We're taking it all into consideration. We are now going to get a quote from Home Depot, they sell Trane A/C units.
Apparently Home Depot contracts with installers to install Trane A/C but sells Winchester A/C units (Johnson Controls) for self install. Maybe you can get a quote for both the Trane and the Winchester A/C.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...tioner&redAB=B

Last edited by Michael; May 18th 2013 at 4:52 am.
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Old May 18th 2013, 5:53 am
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Default Re: Yay, just bought a house..now which A/C unit to get?

The following link has a pretty good short review of central A/C units sold in the US. Each A/C is rated from 1-5 for their basic, premium, and ultimate models. Lennox does rate very well but Trane, York, and Winchester rates 4 for their basic models and only Maytag has a higher rating (5) for it's basic model. Maytag, Whirlpool, and Goodman have the best rating and good to outstanding warranties for different models. Read the information at the beginning before you look at the different brands. If you are not too far inland, it probably is not worth getting anything other than a basic unit since the difference is primarily the efficiency rating between the basic and more expensive models (although Goodman seems very inexpensive for it's basic and premium models and has a lifetime compressor warranty).

http://www.hvac-for-beginners.com/ai...r-ratings.html

The first category is basic air conditioners. These are the least expensive models. To qualify the unit must have an efficiency rating (seer) of at least 13. This is the minimum standard set by federal law for sale in the U.S.A.

The next category is premium air conditioners. These units have an efficiency rating of at least 15. These are usually two speed units. They are the next step up as far as price is concerned.

The last rating is for ultimate air conditioners. These units have an efficiency rating of greater than 20.


The following is a link to Goodman A/C. A 4 ton basic unit is $1,029, a 5 ton basic unit is $1,197, a 3.5 ton premium unit is $1,201, and a 5 ton 2 stage premium unit is $1,694. The price is higher for two stage and higher seer rating units ($2,156 for a premium 5 ton 18 seer 2 stage unit). Prices do not include the evaporator and line which is likely another $300-$500 depending on the size of the A/C. Naturally you'd need to search for Goodman A/C dealers to get a price including installation. 1 Ton = 12,000 BTU.

https://www.acwholesalers.com/Goodma...inCat=&subCat=

Last edited by Michael; May 18th 2013 at 7:53 am.
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Old May 18th 2013, 8:41 am
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Default Re: Yay, just bought a house..now which A/C unit to get?

After looking at the list, I realized that Goodman A/C are made by Amana but sold at a much cheaper price than Amana A/C. Both have the same ratings for their A/C so I suspect they are the same units but just a different price.

Both of these units model numbers end in 160601 with the Amana priced at $2,942 and the Goodman at $1,694.

http://ecomfort.com/products/amana-a...FWQ6QgodWDAAbg

https://www.acwholesalers.com/Goodma...inCat=&subCat=

Last edited by Michael; May 18th 2013 at 9:16 am.
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