Best bang for your buck would be to just keep what you have since it is working. Start a separate account for what the payments would be for the $10k expense. Most likely you will have most if not all of the money ready when the times comes. Here in NY furnaces typically last 30 years for gas. 15 -25 for A/C. How often are you going to use the A/C where you are? If not a lot, then the loss of efficiency doesn't cost much.
need HVAC input
- Thread starter bigndn
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- #22
Interesting thoughts. Two schools of thought: 1) wait until it goes tits up and deal with the discomfort and 2) do a preemptive strike.
From what I hear, we'll likely be using the A/C quite a bit. This area gets up to 90-100 during the dead of summer, so that's what I'm basing my WAG on. We're in high desert just NW of Boise, ID.
If you are in a development, go ask your neighbors how many have had theirs replaced. If you are not, at least ask people how much they run theirs.
I just went through a major ordeal putting in a heat pump and ductwork into my 2 story elctric baseboard home. $40k when all is aid and done but while I don't even bother putting in my window units most years, my GF needs the filtration due to allergies.
She was in a development and no one had replaced their central air in over 20 years. So you need to know how much you "need" it. Even if you need it, could you pick up a couple of window units to tide you over?
If you plan on being there for a decade, electricity price is high, and you'll use it solid 3 months or more then it could pay back.
Since I had to upgrade, I discount the A/C costs and with elec. costs and rebates, it will take me 10 years to break even. But then it is mega savings and higher property value.
BTW, a heat pump usually is a better deal than an A/C unit, don't get the elec heat option, just use the furnace for that
I just went through a major ordeal putting in a heat pump and ductwork into my 2 story elctric baseboard home. $40k when all is aid and done but while I don't even bother putting in my window units most years, my GF needs the filtration due to allergies.
She was in a development and no one had replaced their central air in over 20 years. So you need to know how much you "need" it. Even if you need it, could you pick up a couple of window units to tide you over?
If you plan on being there for a decade, electricity price is high, and you'll use it solid 3 months or more then it could pay back.
Since I had to upgrade, I discount the A/C costs and with elec. costs and rebates, it will take me 10 years to break even. But then it is mega savings and higher property value.
BTW, a heat pump usually is a better deal than an A/C unit, don't get the elec heat option, just use the furnace for that
I would have a real hard time "pre-emptively" replacing a furnace or A/C. They are like an old car, they can last forever with some maintenance and repair, and it is really hard to justify their replacement based on replacement cost vs. savings gained from better efficiency. How old is your furnace and AC? Is the furnace gas/electric/heat pump?
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- #25
Split unit, gas furnace - electric AC unit. I have no idea of their ages, but the home inspector said they were likely towards the end of their lifespans.
I agree that it would take a long time to realize any savings over the initial cost.
Wow, some good advice on here. I would say get a few more bids or estimates and just tell them you are shopping around. You may get an idea of who really knows there stuff.
I have to say I thought I had done my homework and the guy that I ended up using on my project 4 years age was recommended by an engineer but ended up being a real hack. My engineer friend was more stoked by price and that it worked. We mainly use wood heat but the AC/heat work fine and the unit is a Goodman which lost the board in the first couple months and then was fine- I wouldn't be surprised it the tech botched something up.
I think insulation and weatherproofing might be money better spent vs. a high dollar high efficiency model.
I have to say I thought I had done my homework and the guy that I ended up using on my project 4 years age was recommended by an engineer but ended up being a real hack. My engineer friend was more stoked by price and that it worked. We mainly use wood heat but the AC/heat work fine and the unit is a Goodman which lost the board in the first couple months and then was fine- I wouldn't be surprised it the tech botched something up.
I think insulation and weatherproofing might be money better spent vs. a high dollar high efficiency model.
I do not know if u got a system yet but I wheeled and dealed on a new system natural gas Westinghouse split system (13 seer and about 90% eff) for $2000 aNd paid $800 for install. It is a freon system. This was about 1 year ago.
Your quote seemed high.
Your quote seemed high.
wow . i wish i had of seen this thread at the beginning, i have been in the hvac business all my life , and my dad before me . in 30 yrs , i think i have worked on just about every brand of residential furnace and a/c that is out there .. somebuddy mentioned TRANE. very good advice, yes they are more expensive, . yes get the D.C.variable speed motor. a dc motor running 24/7 . is like 50 bucks a year for hydro, if you will be staying in the house for more than 5 yrs it will pay for itself , i have replaced more motors than i can remember , d.c motors have been around for about 15 yrs or more and i swear i have only ever replaced a dozen or so, THEY ARE WORTH THE MONEY.
a regular direct drive A/Cmotor pulls average 4-5 amps startup maybe 15 or more. and it cycles on and off how many times a day
your d.c motor pulls .8 amps.. it roughly uses about as much hydro as 1 100 watt light bulb
goodman sucks, you should go look at the collector box on your furnace right now !! it is the black plastic box that the ventor motor is attached to, 1 outta every 3 goodmans i see of that age are cracked, their heat exchangers dont last very long either. they have a seiries of rings that hold the halves of the exchanger together . they pop off and the chamber will open . not good !!
so then goodman buys Amana .they are better now cuz amana heat ecxhangers are almost bulletproof and do not fail. im sure it has happened but i have not seen it yet.
but i am still not impressed with the rest of the Amana furnace (only my opnion though ) time will tell.
carrier . was always the best, had some issues, class action lawsuits, the problems have supposed to have been addressed and corrected, when i have seen the new models trouble free for a few more yrs i will endorse them again. i always liked carrier
lennox ? used to be really good , they are not bad now, not great either, middle of the road,
keeprite ? same problem with heat exchangers as goodman. ring poppers, lifetime warranty on the ht exchanger 1 time, the replacement has 1 yr warranty ,
i replace ALOT of keeprite heat exchangers. the youngest furnace was 4 yrs old. in my opinion that just sucks. so this customers lifetime warranty on the heat exchanger just became toast . 5 yr old furnace with no warranty left . and that sucks,
rheem/ruud would not have one in my house no way.
colman/york. should have stuck to camping gear.
the list goes on from there.
so i myself have just purchesd some acerage and an older home and will be moving in next month.
it is a small bungalow 1100 sq ft the first order of business is to rip out a 16 yr old goodman mid eff . and replace it with a 2 stage trane high eff with d.c motors, and a new rinnia tankless water heater,
i might put the goodman in the barn but im not sure it will do the job. the barn/workshop is twice the size of the house
if you have not replaced or done anything yet pm me and i will try and answer any questions that you may have
a regular direct drive A/Cmotor pulls average 4-5 amps startup maybe 15 or more. and it cycles on and off how many times a day
your d.c motor pulls .8 amps.. it roughly uses about as much hydro as 1 100 watt light bulb
goodman sucks, you should go look at the collector box on your furnace right now !! it is the black plastic box that the ventor motor is attached to, 1 outta every 3 goodmans i see of that age are cracked, their heat exchangers dont last very long either. they have a seiries of rings that hold the halves of the exchanger together . they pop off and the chamber will open . not good !!
so then goodman buys Amana .they are better now cuz amana heat ecxhangers are almost bulletproof and do not fail. im sure it has happened but i have not seen it yet.
but i am still not impressed with the rest of the Amana furnace (only my opnion though ) time will tell.
carrier . was always the best, had some issues, class action lawsuits, the problems have supposed to have been addressed and corrected, when i have seen the new models trouble free for a few more yrs i will endorse them again. i always liked carrier
lennox ? used to be really good , they are not bad now, not great either, middle of the road,
keeprite ? same problem with heat exchangers as goodman. ring poppers, lifetime warranty on the ht exchanger 1 time, the replacement has 1 yr warranty ,
i replace ALOT of keeprite heat exchangers. the youngest furnace was 4 yrs old. in my opinion that just sucks. so this customers lifetime warranty on the heat exchanger just became toast . 5 yr old furnace with no warranty left . and that sucks,
rheem/ruud would not have one in my house no way.
colman/york. should have stuck to camping gear.
the list goes on from there.
so i myself have just purchesd some acerage and an older home and will be moving in next month.
it is a small bungalow 1100 sq ft the first order of business is to rip out a 16 yr old goodman mid eff . and replace it with a 2 stage trane high eff with d.c motors, and a new rinnia tankless water heater,
i might put the goodman in the barn but im not sure it will do the job. the barn/workshop is twice the size of the house
if you have not replaced or done anything yet pm me and i will try and answer any questions that you may have
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The goodman's direct vent collector box is not cracked, but the mating surface did leak, I had to use a $4 tube of gasket/sealer on it to fix it a few years ago. Other than that it has been trouble free for the past 6 years or so. It has a DC variable speed blower. It is definitely not junk, though I must admit I haven't heard of many HVAC salesmen saying otherwise. Frankly after seeing the work of the pros in my area over the last decade, I take what they have to say with a grain of salt.
firstly i am not a salseman, dont wanna be a salesman , i am a repair guy, thats all i do, if you have a goodman with d.c variable speed it is defenatley a higher end model, and one i have not seen , there may be some regional differences in their model line up. the only d.c motors i have seen on goodmans came out only after goodman bought ammana. total redesign and a huge improvement,
somebuddy was asking for advice and i gave my experiance thats all, you may be lucky and have the new heat exchanger as well. thats a good thing .
if it is the older clam shell type get it checked, or get yourself a small mirror . pull out out the main blower then crawl inside. you have to squeeze in and stick your mirror between the secondary heat exchanger and the back wall of the furnace, what your gonna look for is little rings about the size of a wedding band if you find anyof those laying on top of the secondary , it is toast, you need to replace the heat exchanger. it should be under warranty again regional differances (i dont know )
those rings hold the 2 halves of the heat exchanger together, when they fall off (and they do ) they will allow products of combustion to be circulated thru your house.
no im not a salesman , but i do know funaces, i like to believe that there is not a furnace i cannot fix, not always possible but i try..
somebuddy was asking for advice and i gave my experiance thats all, you may be lucky and have the new heat exchanger as well. thats a good thing .
if it is the older clam shell type get it checked, or get yourself a small mirror . pull out out the main blower then crawl inside. you have to squeeze in and stick your mirror between the secondary heat exchanger and the back wall of the furnace, what your gonna look for is little rings about the size of a wedding band if you find anyof those laying on top of the secondary , it is toast, you need to replace the heat exchanger. it should be under warranty again regional differances (i dont know )
those rings hold the 2 halves of the heat exchanger together, when they fall off (and they do ) they will allow products of combustion to be circulated thru your house.
no im not a salesman , but i do know funaces, i like to believe that there is not a furnace i cannot fix, not always possible but i try..
Thanks for the advice. 