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Need advice / feedback on deciding between 2 gas furnace brands from 3 different contractors:
I have:
* ~3800 sq ft house
* built in 1999
* one stage duct work for 5 ton gas furnace.
* original Carrier 80% furnace giving problems
* No humidifier
* external Central A/c unit
Definitely looking to replace for higher efficiency model and add humidifer. All contractors really reputable and did the load calcs.
Here are the quotes:
Quote#1
American Standard Gold XM - reedom® 95 Comfort-R™ Variable-Speed Furnace with Gold Humidifier
for $4590 + $375 for humidifier for = $4965
(not including rebates of ~$450)
Quote #2
Carrier 59TN6A120 Infinity 96% efficient two stage gas furnace with April Aire 600 whole house humidifier and a Carrier SYSTXCCUID01V Infinity Control thermostat.
= $5468.36
Quote#3:
Carrier model #59TP5A120E24-22, 96 percent efficient, natural gas, 2-stage with April Aire 600 whole house humidifier and a Carrier SYSTXCCUID01V Infinity Control thermostat.
~$5500
----------------------------
So what is the difference between the 2 carrier models? And is American Standard just as good? (Warranties are all similar)
I'm not qualified to answer on which model to pick.
What I do want to mention is that I've heard from very reputable people in the HVAC business as well as a mold remediation expert that those whole-house humidifiers may cause more problems then what they're worth. Pumping the humidity through the ducts generates a couple problems. First, the air being humidified then allows more "stuff" (e.g. very fine dust particles that made it through the filter) to stick to the insides of your duct work. Second, that "stuff" being warm and now moist promotes allergen (fungal?) growth which then get blown around the house. I'm no expert on the subject but it may be worth looking at in more detail before installing. When I got a new furnace installed, the owner of the HVAC company talked me out of installing one. YMMV.
Hey Ryan - from the little research i found is that humidity control is the key: conservative settings is 50% or less (seems like a trial/error thing correlated to how well insulated my house is which im not sure - just moved in 45 days ago)
So, i also need to look into how the automatic humidifier controls work for each AS or Carrier as that is critical at maintaining proper levels in avoiding mold / excess moisture...
Essentially is this similar to what you know or heard?
thxs
Wow, you realize that a lot of labor is being spent on changing the venting from an 80% to a 95%. Some cost savings could be realized by just staying with 80%. It really depends on the climate you live in. If you live in real cold country I could see why you would consider such a change, but if you're anywhere in the South it's a waste of money IMHO.
The unit itself will cost less than $2000, so the rest is labor, profit, and overhead. Also, was the AC condensing unit considered acceptable?
I live in the cold Northeast.....the savings is ~ $1k if staying at 80%....but federal/ PA state law in effect on 5/1/13 (sometime around then) states AFUE of at least 90% for non-weatherd furnace
yeah i can get around that by installing 80% now...but why not spend extra $1k if I plan on staying in the home for the next 15+ years?
So many different furnaces and condensers are made by so few actual manufacturers- they just carry different badging.
Concentrate more on the company that will actually do the install- experience, how they did their calculation (Man.J), etc.
The contractor I have used for the part 20yrs. uses Carrier- So, I spec Carrier. And to my recollection I don't recall ever having any real issues with the product.
The two that you have quoted are both very similar- other than the first one being part of their "Infinity Series" and the other isn't.
I do question the T/stat choice. Keyword "T/stat"- With the humidifier you want a "Thermidistat"; like Carrier's TSTATCCPRH01-B Performance Series. The others "control" humidity by circulating air. The thermidistat actually controls the the whole HVAC system along with the humidifier.
Hey Ryan - from the little research i found is that humidity control is the key: conservative settings is 50% or less (seems like a trial/error thing correlated to how well insulated my house is which im not sure - just moved in 45 days ago)
So, i also need to look into how the automatic humidifier controls work for each AS or Carrier as that is critical at maintaining proper levels in avoiding mold / excess moisture...
Essentially is this similar to what you know or heard?
thxs
I defer to K'ledgeBldr since he seems much more knowledgeable about it. I believe you need the humidity control at the t-stat. The plenum installed humidifier I ripped out of my house was basically on (when the furnace comes on) or off. I'm thinking the new ones are smarter then that but I don't know if they're smart enough to stop the humidifying process a couple minutes before it shuts off the air handler fan (thus pushing the moisture out of the duct work).
Do you have a basement or low-level area you're also heating? I have a finished basement and I found that if I keep the air handler fan on low speed 24/7/365, mixing that air in with the rest of the house helps humidifying in the winter and pulls that colder/damper air into the upper levels in the summer so I don't have to run a dehumidifier down there in the summer.
AC takes humidity away in the summer simply by its process. Why would you need to add it on the East coast in the Winter? I can understand why it would be added in a naturally dry climate, but question it in a wet one? So, is it more hype than anything?
Why would you need to add it on the East coast in the Winter?
It not about geographic location- it's about "gas heat"- which is very "dry". Gas heat can literally "cook" the moisture right out of the air- causing dry skin and scalp, static electricity, exaggrerated shrinkage of hardwood flooring, and other building materials. It also helps with "real feel"- you can actually lower the t/stat a few degrees and it will "feel" like your comfort zone.
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