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I was given a quote today on a new ac and the efficiency on these units they quoted are 14 and 16. Someone tonight told me that that the efficiency goes up to 22 and it would save me on my electric bill. Can someone explain this to me? It doesn't make sense how it can save me. I do know the higher the efficiency the more cost of the ac unit. What brands are good? There are lots of brands out there and all I know of is Trane since I have that. The guy quoted me on a Goodman, but I have never heard of it. He also quoted me American Standard, but I only thought they made bathroom and kitchen items. If they would do the job, he told me he can't just install the unit inside and not outside. Can't the outside unit be reused and not replaced?
I was given a quote today on a new ac and the efficiency on these units they quoted are 14 and 16. Someone tonight told me that that the efficiency goes up to 22 and it would save me on my electric bill. Can someone explain this to me? It doesn't make sense how it can save me. I do know the higher the efficiency the more cost of the ac unit. What brands are good? There are lots of brands out there and all I know of is Trane since I have that. The guy quoted me on a Goodman, but I have never heard of it. He also quoted me American Standard, but I only thought they made bathroom and kitchen items. If they would do the job, he told me he can't just install the unit inside and not outside. Can't the outside unit be reused and not replaced?
I'm not an HVAC expert but I'll post what I know to be true. The numbers are SEER or efficiency number and the higher the number the less electric the unit should use to cool, but also the more expensive and complicated and potentially less durable as you go above the lower efficiency and simpler SEER 14 or 15 systems.
Goodman is a reputable brand that has good reliability ratings at affordable prices. American Standard does make A/C systems.
Yes, you can normally replace the inside unit, the coil or evaporator, or air handler and furnace without replacing the outside unit (and vice versa) assuming the inside unit is the issue and the outside unite is in working order..but I'd think the outside unit would usually be the part not working.
There is theory of how much SEER is needed/performs better for a particular regional climate zone. It's a cost/value/annual expense thing- due to avg fuel cost to a particular area/provider.
I'm not an HVAC expert but I'll post what I know to be true. The numbers are SEER or efficiency number and the higher the number the less electric the unit should use to cool, but also the more expensive and complicated and potentially less durable as you go above the lower efficiency and simpler SEER 14 or 15 systems.
Goodman is a reputable brand that has good reliability ratings at affordable prices. American Standard does make A/C systems.
Yes, you can normally replace the inside unit, the coil or evaporator, or air handler and furnace without replacing the outside unit (and vice versa) assuming the inside unit is the issue and the outside unite is in working order..but I'd think the outside unit would usually be the part not working.
Yes, the guy mentioned the SEER or efficiency number. So can any type of dwelling accommodate any type of efficiency? They only gave me 3 choices, but they could get others but the costs would be more he said. And Goodman is the only one with an extra warranty. So not all brands offer an extra warranty?
I have a component in the inside unit that needs replaced, but it is cheaper to buy a new unit than to replace the part. And someone told me also tonight that the outside unit does not need to be replaced, etc, but the company that gave me a quote won't do that and have to replace both inside and outside unit.
And someone else told me tonight, that they offer a metal and a plastic handler. I should get a plastic because of the humidity or something he said. I forgot. So can you or someone explain what a handler is and what the difference between the metal and plastic and what is better to have or not have?
There is theory of how much SEER is needed/performs better for a particular regional climate zone. It's a cost/value/annual expense thing- due to avg fuel cost to a particular area/provider.
The A/C ton rating is the cooling capacity. The capacity chosen is matched to the cooling demands of the house and it's not good to go bigger or smaller. Yes the inside coil/evaporator and outside compressor unit should be reasonably matched within the same tonnage range. I think you might want to get another estimate and see if they can just fix your inside unit more affordably. There are some A/C websites that might help explain some of the questions you have.
We have a Trane 19 seer, 4 ton. It replaced a seer 10 older unit. The monthly electric savings has been at least 50% less. We went from $355.00 a month to $142.00. It's been a trouble free unit for over 10 years now.
American Standard is a subsidiary of Trane, it's their economical series.
I replaced two 35-year-old HVAC systems with a 4 ton and 3 ton 16 SEER Goodman units. The correct installation is the most important part as is the company that installs the units. The reason my old units lasted 35 years was an annual check-up.
A ton is 12,000 BTU. In Phoenix, the rule was 1 ton for every 400 square feet. The mismatching is problematic because the efficiency will revert to the lower of the two, and you can't mix a 410 system, with an obsolete r22 system. I have a 17000 btu, 17.6 SEER Carrier in my Bangkok studio, and it is ductless. 620 usd installed. Buying AC in the US is worse than a pirate ship. Goodman is OK. The problem with annual maintenance is the coil cleaners will destroy the electrolytic bond between the copper tubes and the aluminum fins..and it should never be low on refrigerant, unless it is leaking out the spindle, in which case it is way past it's prime. And LG makes a 30 SEER.
Last edited by Hal Roach; 09-07-2019 at 09:35 AM..
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