So I’m in the process of getting quotes to add A/C to my house and I need some advice.
The house is currently equipped with a gas furnace and a swamp cooler on the roof. I’d like to keep the swamp cooler since it works well most of the year. The setup I’d like to have is add a evap coil above the furnace and a condenser on the roof. The A/C would be run off of the same blower motor from the furnace. My house is 1100 square feet but has a 250 square foot addition that has no ducts going to it.
I’ve had 3 quotes so far. Each guy has told me something different. I’d like to keep the furnace because my budget is tight and it seems to work well. The first guy is okay with me keeping the furnace, but after running a heat load recommended a 3.5 ton unit. The second guy ran a heat load test and recommended that I replace my furnace and do everything and advised against me keeping my current furnace (which works well) and said they wouldn’t do the work if I kept it. He also brought up a good point that my furnace return air might not be able to handle A/C so we’d have to add another. This was also the most expensive of all three quotes.
The third guy was a very straight shooter, seemed knowledgeable and recommended that I get a 2.5 ton unit because my furnace wouldn’t handle anything bigger and it was designed for the house without the addition. He also noted that the first two guys did their load tests using a room that doesn’t get any A/C since it has no ducts therefore shouldn’t have been used in a load test.
My questions are
A) do you think that adding an evap coil without replacing the furnace is a good idea?
B) any input on anything that I’ve been hearing? I really liked the first salesperson as a person, the second guy not so much but seemed thorough and the third guy was a straight shooter who seemed logical and knowledgeable.
This is a huge decision and I would like advice from someone who’s NOT trying to sell me something! Any input would be much appreciated.
Thanks so much guys!
The house is currently equipped with a gas furnace and a swamp cooler on the roof. I’d like to keep the swamp cooler since it works well most of the year. The setup I’d like to have is add a evap coil above the furnace and a condenser on the roof. The A/C would be run off of the same blower motor from the furnace. My house is 1100 square feet but has a 250 square foot addition that has no ducts going to it.
I’ve had 3 quotes so far. Each guy has told me something different. I’d like to keep the furnace because my budget is tight and it seems to work well. The first guy is okay with me keeping the furnace, but after running a heat load recommended a 3.5 ton unit. The second guy ran a heat load test and recommended that I replace my furnace and do everything and advised against me keeping my current furnace (which works well) and said they wouldn’t do the work if I kept it. He also brought up a good point that my furnace return air might not be able to handle A/C so we’d have to add another. This was also the most expensive of all three quotes.
The third guy was a very straight shooter, seemed knowledgeable and recommended that I get a 2.5 ton unit because my furnace wouldn’t handle anything bigger and it was designed for the house without the addition. He also noted that the first two guys did their load tests using a room that doesn’t get any A/C since it has no ducts therefore shouldn’t have been used in a load test.
My questions are
A) do you think that adding an evap coil without replacing the furnace is a good idea?
B) any input on anything that I’ve been hearing? I really liked the first salesperson as a person, the second guy not so much but seemed thorough and the third guy was a straight shooter who seemed logical and knowledgeable.
This is a huge decision and I would like advice from someone who’s NOT trying to sell me something! Any input would be much appreciated.
Thanks so much guys!