Air Conditioning for my house

[Seks]

http://www.carrier.com/residential/e...ioners/24acb3/

[sabad66]

bump! starting to see ads of early bird pricing for ACs so i had one company come in for a quote so far.

I have two original single stage furnaces but thinking to just cool the upstairs for now so so that we can sleep easier.

If we were going with two ACs, he recommended a 1.5ton for upstairs and a 2 ton for down, but with just upstairs he suggested to go with a 2 ton as the heat from main floor would rise upstairs requiring it to work a bit harder. apparently upstairs AC only would also cool the main floor SLIGHTLY since cool air drops.

This company carries only Lennox, so was quoted $2,900 for a 2 ton Merit 13ACX (13 SEER) which is the lowest model, or $3,950 for the Elite EL16XC1 (16 SEER) which is one of the best Lennox offers for a single stage furnace.

From reading past replies in this thread, pricing seems higher than others but is it because Lennox is more expensive than the other brands mentioned?

Planning on calling W&J, but does anyone know if Gavin is still around? anyone have his number they can share?

[ExtraSlow]

My only advice is to look closely at the noise rating and buy the quietest you can afford. I assume that if you put it only on 1/2 of the furnaces, it has to run a lot more hours/day too. For me, on sunny days, mine runs from 3pm to at least midnight

[bjstare]

I also plan on calling W&J for this.

Curious, @sabad66 who have you called thus far?

[sabad66]

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My only advice is to look closely at the noise rating and buy the quietest you can afford. I assume that if you put it only on 1/2 of the furnaces, it has to run a lot more hours/day too. For me, on sunny days, mine runs from 3pm to at least midnight

The cheaper model is 76 dB while the 16 SEER was 71dB. Do you think 76dB is OK or will my neighbour hate me? I think i'll spending quite a bit of time outside too (this will be first summer in my new house) so that's a good thing to consider.

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I also plan on calling W&J for this.

Curious, @sabad66 who have you called thus far?

Newer company called Lendrix HVAC which i saw on a FB ad. He has about 10 years experience but this will be his third summer running his own company. Showed me pics and his work seems really clean from what i can tell. He spent quite a bit of time reviewing all options and answering my detailed questions so at this point i'd highly recommend them for at least a quote. He even gave me both his earlybird and summer price list with all the different models, so that tells me he is honest about pricing and doesn't just make them up as he goes along depending on how much he thinks he can gouge you.

Unless W&J comes in much cheaper i'm pretty sure i'll be going with him for the work as i was pretty impressed so far.

www.lendrixhvac.com

[ExtraSlow]

76 to 71 is a noticeable difference. If it's anywhere near where you send summer evenings, or your neighbor does, like a deck/patio etc, serious dude, get the quieter one.

[macman64]

Another option is having them put a sound blanket on the cheaper unit. I have a 75db unit with a sound blanket and it is okay - still a good bit a noise though. Most sound blankets claim to reduce by 5db. If I was to do it again I would have gone a bit higher end to the 72db unit then added a sound blanket so I would be into the 60s.

[sabad66]

Ended up deciding to go with Lendrix to do the A/C. Went with the quieter higher-end 2 ton single stage model (EL16XC1) since it has 10 year parts warranty and fairly quieter (71dB vs 76dB). Will be going on my upstairs furnace only.... may add one for main floor later on but main goal is sleeping comfort for this summer especially with a baby and a pregnant wife.

I did get quotes from W&J and Gavin too, but both would not install an a/c without changing out my furnace too. Interestingly enough, for different reasons. W&J would not do it because they didn't think my existing furnace (original from 1989) had a blower motor powerful enough to handle an a/c coil, and Gavin because my ducting was too small (19"x12") and apparently the smallest Tempstar coil is 14". (I did ask Lendrix if duct size is a problem, and he said Lennox makes a 13" coil which he could fit in by expanding the ducting slightly). W&J gave me a really smokin quote for both furnace and a/c (Trane) and i did almost go with it. Gavin's was about $1000 more for Tempstar. I did also get a quote from another Lennox-selling company (Harmony), but they were more expensive and for a shittier model.

I almost went with W&J since it was an amazing deal, but after sleeping on it and reading horror stories about newer furnaces didn't want to go down that route. Hope to keep my original furnaces as long as i can.

Downside with Lendrix is only 2 year labour warranty vs 10 that W&J and Gavin offered, but i hope since i'm going with a higher-end unit it should be more reliable. Getting installed on the 26th, will report back how it went.

[hurrdurr]

What monthly cost increases have you guys seen after installing an Air Conditioning unit?

[FraserB]

Has anyone had AC installed yet this year? Just wondering what the ballpark prices have been.

Any thoughts on Trane vs. Coleman vs. Ameristar? The quotes I've got for a 14 or 14.5 SEER 2.5 ton unit installed have about $700 in price difference between the brands

[chongkee_]

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Has anyone had AC installed yet this year? Just wondering what the ballpark prices have been.

Any thoughts on Trane vs. Coleman vs. Ameristar? The quotes I've got for a 14 or 14.5 SEER 2.5 ton unit installed have about $700 in price difference between the brands

Got an installed lined up for May 7th through Horizon Heating.
Unit is the Carrier Performance 14, this is the slim unit.
Cost is just over $5300 w/ tax. This includes the cost for them to fix my furnace as I had a cracked exhanger. They didn't provide me a price without the furnace fix excluded. To give you a ball park cost, W&J quoted me an additional $350 + GST to fix my furnace.
Had quotes from W&J, Action Furnace, and Gavin.
W&J came in the lowest at $4410 for the slim unit plus $350 + GST to fix my furnace.
Ended up going with Horizon even though they're more expensive as they were the most thorough when they went through everything with me and they were the ones who found the issue I had on my furnace. Others didn't
This is for a 3 ton unit and includes the electrical permit.

[FraserB]

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Got an installed lined up for May 7th through Horizon Heating.
Unit is the Carrier Performance 14, this is the slim unit.
Cost is just over $5300 w/ tax. This includes the cost for them to fix my furnace as I had a cracked exhanger. They didn't provide me a price without the furnace fix excluded. To give you a ball park cost, W&J quoted me an additional $350 + GST to fix my furnace.
Had quotes from W&J, Action Furnace, and Gavin.
W&J came in the lowest at $4410 for the slim unit plus $350 + GST to fix my furnace.
Ended up going with Horizon even though they're more expensive as they were the most thorough when they went through everything with me and they were the ones who found the issue I had on my furnace. Others didn't
This is for a 3 ton unit and includes the electrical permit.

In terms of permits, did you just require an electrical permit or did the city ask for a development permit as well?

[sabad66]

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Has anyone had AC installed yet this year? Just wondering what the ballpark prices have been.

Any thoughts on Trane vs. Coleman vs. Ameristar? The quotes I've got for a 14 or 14.5 SEER 2.5 ton unit installed have about $700 in price difference between the brands

Just had mine done on Friday the 24th. Ballpark pricing for a 2.5 ton with the company i went with would be 3200 for the entry model Lennox 13ACX up to 4300 for the higher end model EL16XC1 (i have the full price list in front of me).

Regarding brands, when i was researching my overall impression on brand quality was:

Lennox>Trane>Carrier

I could be wrong on this but just my thoughts based on reviews i read and speaking with the 4 different HVAC guys i talked to. Out of your list, i'd go with Trane but that's just my 2 cents.

are you in one of the newer builds that require at least a 14 SEER unit?

regarding permits, electrical was included in the price. all i need to do is call the city to come in at a convenient time to do the inspection. Don't think they need a development permit for an a/c install.

[R!zz0]

Someone once said to me that if you have A/C in your home, you have to turn it on once a month for 20 mins to keep it running smoothly even in winter months. Also, your A/C will last a lot longer. Is that true? or bullshit?

[ExtraSlow]

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Someone once said to me that if you have A/C in your home, you have to turn it on once a month for 20 mins to keep it running smoothly even in winter months. Also, your A/C will last a lot longer. Is that true? or bullshit?

Bullshit. Don't turn it on in the winter.

[R!zz0]

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Bullshit. Don't turn it on in the winter.

[Darell_n]

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Someone once said to me that if you have A/C in your home, you have to turn it on once a month for 20 mins to keep it running smoothly even in winter months. Also, your A/C will last a lot longer. Is that true? or bullshit?

The better quality outdoor units will have an ambient lockout switch to keep it off below freezing temperatures. If the compressor does start in the winter, the compressor will be full of liquid refrigerant and it will likely hydraulic itself and have a good chance of being damaged. Since this is a car forum, imagine starting your engine while it’s under water.

Commercial units normally have a crankcase heater to prevent this, just like a car in the winter.

[Masked Bandit]

Experience has taught me to spend the extra money up front to go with the quieter units. The difference between 76db and 71db is definitely noticeable and a loud AC unit gets annoying real fast. Spend the money up front friends, you'll be happier for it in the long run.

[R!zz0]

I'm getting mine installed tomorrow. I don't know much about A/C, but this is what i'm getting.

It's a 3 ton Lennox 13ACX for $2700 cash deal.

[sabad66]

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I'm getting mine installed tomorrow. I don't know much about A/C, but this is what i'm getting.

It's a 3 ton Lennox 13ACX for $2700 cash deal.

that's the entry level Lennox model, but still a great unit from what i have heard. that's a good deal to get a 3 ton for 2700 installed. what's the labour warranty like? should be 10 year parts if the contractor is legit and registers it for you.