Air Conditioning!

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

House shopping right now, AC is for sure going to need to be added to whatever we buy. What’s the average cost range for a 1960-1980 build house to add?

[ExtraSlow]

$4500

[you&me]

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$4500

Worth it.

[Mitsu3000gt]

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House shopping right now, AC is for sure going to need to be added to whatever we buy. What’s the average cost range for a 1960-1980 build house to add?

It depends more on the SQ footage you need to cool and how quiet/efficient you want the A/C unit to be. Installation is the smallest portion of the cost (install on mine was $750 on a $4500 job). Expect to pay around $4500-5500 depending on who does it and what A/C unit you get - apparently it's on the more expensive side this year with COVID shortages. Unless basement/furnace access from the outside is a giant PITA that shouldn't factor in too much.

Easily the best addition we've made to the house and worth every penny.

[ThePenIsMightier]

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For sure. I built a swamp cooler for the rental house in Bowness I had as a student, before there were water meters there. The good ole days when I could live on just beer, steak and ice cream and stay fit.

Latent heat is best heat. But, yeah, I don't want humidity-99

[bjstare]

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It depends more on the SQ footage you need to cool and how quiet/efficient you want the A/C unit to be. Installation is the smallest portion of the cost (install on mine was $750 on a $4500 job). Expect to pay around $4500-5500 depending on who does it and what A/C unit you get - apparently it's on the more expensive side this year with COVID shortages. Unless basement/furnace access from the outside is a giant PITA that shouldn't factor in too much.

Easily the best addition we've made to the house and worth every penny.

This is true. The age of the house is much less relevant than the size. Also how many furnaces you have/how many AC units you need. 2400sqft bungalow with a couple furnaces? Probably gonna need a couple AC units, and will be more than $4500.

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

Probably going to be sub 2000 square feet, closer to 1500 I’d guess with our budget. We set aside $10k for AC so sounds like we will be way under that.

[sabad66]

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Probably going to be sub 2000 square feet, closer to 1500 I’d guess with our budget. We set aside $10k for AC so sounds like we will be way under that.

Yeah that is plenty. Most likely you will only want a single unit even if you end up with a place with two furnaces (just install it on your upstairs furnace only). You will come in under 5k for sure, likely even closer to 3500 all said and done for a 1500 sq ft place.

[Pacman]

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Oh man... AC chilling the house, what a time to be alive.

Do you guys close your basement and/or main floor vents? I have those ones closed and I’m still seeing 3-4c warmer upstairs then main floor.

I have the same issue but it's more like 5-6c difference. Still, being upstairs at night is tolerable and I can sleep vs previous years where it felt like a sauna upstairs.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Another thing to consider is if your house is older with poor insulation, your A/C will be running longer and working harder, so a more powerful and efficient unit will likely make sense. If your installer is any good though they will calculate all that for you.

[colsankey]

Our place in Marda Loop was 1200 sqr feet. To keep the compressor noise down for our neighbours and backyard enjoyment, i had them run lines the entire length of the basement to go on the side exterior wall. Added about an extra thousand to the job, but was worth it. Total cost was 3700 for a 1.5 ton unit.

Then my neighbor had ac installed this week and had his El cheapo compressor run the shortest way possible. AC and power lines running across his backdoor kick plate and right at the fence between our places. Maximum compressor noise in the afternoon when we are enjoying the deck

[Darell_n]

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Our place in Marda Loop was 1200 sqr feet. To keep the compressor noise down for our neighbours and backyard enjoyment, i had them run lines the entire length of the basement to go on the side exterior wall. Added about an extra thousand to the job, but was worth it. Total cost was 5700 for a 1.5 ton unit.

Then my neighbor had ac installed this week and had his El cheapo compressor run the shortest way possible. AC and power lines running across his backdoor kick plate and right at the fence between our places. Maximum compressor noise in the afternoon when we are enjoying the deck

That’s $4k+ in profit. I’d take summer holidays to make money like that on each job.

[g-m]

compressor failed on ours late last year. Just replaced it with a newer version of the exact same model (Bryant 187bna036 2 stage). Its really great, cools the entire house 3000sq ft. Its set up through the upstairs furnace only, however through regular convection the whole house is ~20-22C. Set at 21C during the day and 17C at night. A little warm as we normally have the upstairs at 14C during the winter. Generally only runs on the first stage except for about 30-60 minutes at the changeover from 21 to 17C. Supply and install of the new outdoor unit was $5096 from Benner plumbing and heating.

The old unit was ~15 years old and we had to replace the heat exchanger when we bought the house. So I guess that's about how long the outdoor units last.

[killramos]

14C?

I think that’s below my emergency heat set point

[Tik-Tok]

People keep their homes at weird (to me) temps.

21°C 24/7

[g-m]

I could not sleep at 21C, too hot. 14C is the heat setpoint and the setpoint changes at 7pm and I'd open the windows to achieve the temp. Heat comes on whenever needed to reach a 20C setpoint in the room when we wake up so its only 14C during the sleeping period. The low stage kicks on a few times overnight to keep it at the 14C temp.

[ThePenIsMightier]

TIL that g-m is a sleeping corpse.

[colsankey]

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That’s $4k+ in profit. I’d take summer holidays to make money like that on each job.

Wife said it was more like 3700, but 3 years later I can't find a receipt.

[killramos]

I run a legitimate risk of my wife stabbing me if the temp in the house is below 19C lol

[pheoxs]

Is it cheaper getting a unit for a smaller house? Probably looking to get AC next year. 1100sq ft 3 level split (1500sq ft total). Would prefer a quieter one I guess as my neighbors is fairly quiet and would go near theirs.

Better to book in the spring or do the Costco Lennox booths have decent deals as well?