|
| Should I leave things alone and just chalk it up to a lesson learned?
When we budgeted for our house we established the HVAC budget based on an average of the high and low prices that the builder's HVAC sub gave. We set this as an allowance because I wanted to involved in the selection process of the equipment and features of the system. We were sill making change to floor plans, ceiling heights, and insulation so it was not unusual to have this setup as an allowance. We did not have exact specifications but we did estalish a set of desire features. We start construction and my builder kept the move going very quickly but had really poor co mmunication with us as the homeowner. I could go on and on about it but let's just say after the framing stage he disappeared on us and only came back around punch list time. During the process I tried to setup a time to meet with the HVAC sub but I never got a response from the builder. At the end while going through the punch list we asked what was the HVAC system that was installed? He finally got me in touch with his sub. Here is what happened
My HVAC sub in an effort to stay in budget put in a simple 13 SEER unit instead of the 16 SEER, variable speed, and zoned unit. At the end of the day I was $800 under the HVAC allowance but I didn't get the 16 seer system that I originally wanted. I would have paid extra for it. If I change it now I would have to pay for the new system and the wrong one. I'm a little concerned because I wanted to focus on efficiency since I plan to live here for a long time. Should I pony up the money to change it or am I making a bigger issue out of it than it really is. We are in the Dallas,tx area. If my builder had just communicated with me, this would not have happened. Or if he had just been involved in the decisions his sub was making,. He did stay in budget but it doesn't feel like he did me any favors. What do you think? |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
| You need to provide additional information in order to see if it makes sense to spend the extra money. What equipment and size do you have now, and what equipment would you get? How much out of pocket would the upgrade cost you? |
|
- Posted by weedmeister (My Page) on Tue, Sep 25, 12 at 15:20
| I assume the home is completed and the HVAC units are already installed? |
|
- Posted by hamconsulting (My Page) on Tue, Sep 25, 12 at 23:50
| At this point, I would not switch a 13 SEER for a 16 SEER. The energy savings from 13 SEER to 16 SEER is only 12% in standard energy savings. So, if you pay $500 a year in electric bills due to cooling, then you save $60/year by upgrading to a 16 SEER system. If you pay $6000 to upgrade, then it's going to take you 100 years to get your money back...minus whatever you can sell your old equipment for. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Heating & Air Conditioning Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.