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| I had another contractor come out today and perform a load calc (which I very much appreciate) and give a few quotes. I have an ac unit on the second floor that needs replacement. In the process of looking for its replacement, I found that cooling load for the house to be designed improperly. I must replace the second floor AC (coil and condenser). Anything beyond that is to improve the comfort (which is poor due to high humidity).
His analysis said that the current design of the two systems in the house are wrong. Today we have a 5-ton ac unit for the first floor/basement and a 2-ton unit for the second floor. His calculations say it should be 4 ton for the first/basement and 3 ton for the 2nd floor. I do think he did an accurate load calculation and it quantifies the "suspicions" and "guesses" of the other contractors who came and did not do a load calculation. All and all, I like this contractor. He seems to know what he is doing. However, I suspect based upon other posts that I have seen, that he is really inflated on his pricing. Here are the three quotes he gave to fix/replace the second floor unit. The current furnace is a 7.5 year old Carrier 58MCA single speed furnace. Option # 1
Option # 2
Option # 3
Option # 4
He also offered similar packages for my 4 ton system for the 1st floor/basement. For the sake of space, I did not include these. I live in Cincinnati in a newer built home that is fairly well insulated. So, what does everyone think of these quotes? Would you consider modifying and existing single speed furnace to make it a VS? I have never heard of this before. It is an intriguing option, but I would like to know what some of the experts here think about it. Michael |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by neohioheatpump (My Page) on Fri, Jul 22, 11 at 15:16
| I have heard of the evergreen blower motor. Its meant to replace a direct drive furnace blower motor with the energy efficient variable speed style. It should work. He's giving you 10 year parts and labor warranty. Ask him how its worked in other installs. |
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- Posted by tigerdunes (My Page) on Fri, Jul 22, 11 at 18:04
| Taysdad I will make the following comments and opinions and then plan to leave this thread. 1. Proper sizing is important. 2. A thorough review of ductwork system and insulation qualities of upstairs is indicated. 3. I do not like the idea of a third party retrofit of a var speed blower. Big mistake. 4. For your area/climate and considering this is upstairs system, I think a 95% eff furnace paired with a heat pump is overkill. I would prefer the Infinity 80 70K size with correctly sized AC or HP. You would want the Infinity controller. IMO |
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| These prices are much higher than the prices I was quoted two years ago. If you like the Carrier equipment then get additional quotes from other Carrier dealers. I am also leary of doing a retrofit of the blower. I would check with Carrier whether this is an approved modification. The 24ACB7 condenser is a Comfort series model. You have it listed as a Performance unit. Ask the contractor about this. It seems wasteful to replace a 7.5 year old furnace. Are you planning to live in this house a long time? |
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