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Likely if the air handler was changed that included a inside coil matched to the outide unit. Think that is part of her "playing together" comment likely.
So they replaced your R-22 compressor with a R-410a compressor with a new air handler and changed nothing else but the refrigerant?
I recall that some other things were changed/repaired (one thing was some "flaps" in the zone system in the attic - because they had corroded and were squeaking - they stopped squeaking after the job was done). But I can't remember exactly what (this was about 5-6 years ago). If you mention what *should* have been done - perhaps it will jog my memory (in terms of whether or not it was done). Or I can ask my husband (I have primary responsibility for some things - but he was primarily responsible for this job). And - it would of course be useful for me and other readers here too to learn more (I assume we'll need at least one new compressor before we're ready for an old folk's home ).
I'll note that one factor in our decision was getting a "bumper to bumper" 11 year warranty on the whole system. So we'd never get in the middle of a dispute between the company that made the old air handler and the company that made the new compressor.
Also - the A/C contractor we used was the original A/C contractor we used when we built our house. It had done all our routine maintenance over the years - we had no complaints - and we trusted the company.
BTW - I assume R-410a is Puron. And sorry to sound stupid. I'm really good at some stuff (like setting up computers and A/V things) - but pretty dismal when it comes to mechanical things. Robyn
P.S. If it matters at all - we have a typical Florida set-up. Heat pump with compressor outside and air handler in the garage. There is almost nothing worse IMO that can go wrong with your house than losing your A/C in the summer here - and we have never lost A/C in our house except when we've had power failures. One reason I trust our A/C company!
Likely if the air handler was changed that included a inside coil matched to the outide unit. Think that is part of her "playing together" comment likely.
Where would this "inside coil" be? In the air handler? Between the air handler and the compressor? Or somewhere else? Robyn
BTW - if I were the OP - I'd probably conclude there's a 90%+ chance that the main issue with the electric bill is with the HVAC. That's about the only thing in an average house with a heat pump that could cause a 50% jump in electric use (apart from unusual extremely hot/cold temperatures for extended periods of time - which hasn't been mentioned). The second most likely culprit would be the water heater (but the odds are against that).
Also - like others - I don't understand how he does so few loads of laundry a week . Robyn
I recall that some other things were changed/repaired (one thing was some "flaps" in the zone system in the attic - because they had corroded and were squeaking - they stopped squeaking after the job was done). But I can't remember exactly what (this was about 5-6 years ago). If you mention what *should* have been done - perhaps it will jog my memory (in terms of whether or not it was done). Or I can ask my husband (I have primary responsibility for some things - but he was primarily responsible for this job). And - it would of course be useful for me and other readers here too to learn more (I assume we'll need at least one new compressor before we're ready for an old folk's home ).
R-410a is a near-azeotropic refrigerant blend that runs on higher pressures than R-22. Because of those higher pressures the outdoor unit uses different switches like high pressure, low pressure, reversing valves, etc... If you trust your HVAC guy then most likely they switched out the entire unit so that all components would match correctly. It would be very very uncommon for them to change all of the components in the outdoor unit and keep the older coil. It would be even more uncommon to change out the indoor unit along with all that mentioned above.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Robyn55
I'll note that one factor in our decision was getting a "bumper to bumper" 11 year warranty on the whole system. So we'd never get in the middle of a dispute between the company that made the old air handler and the company that made the new compressor.
Well that's certainly good and it sounds like you at least have a contractor willing to stand behind their work. If I had to guess this info would bolster my assumption that they changed the entire outdoor unit out and not just the working components.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Robyn55
Also - the A/C contractor we used was the original A/C contractor we used when we built our house. It had done all our routine maintenance over the years - we had no complaints - and we trusted the company.
Another great idea. Once you find someone that you're comfortable with like that it's a very good idea to continue to use them so they have a history of what your HVAC system has been through and the needs it'll have in the future.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Robyn55
BTW - I assume R-410a is Puron. And sorry to sound stupid. I'm really good at some stuff (like setting up computers and A/V things) - but pretty dismal when it comes to mechanical things. Robyn
Puron® is the trade name for R-410a from Carrier. Another trade name for R-410a is Genetron® which is Honeywell's and Suva® which is from DuPont.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Robyn55
P.S. If it matters at all - we have a typical Florida set-up. Heat pump with compressor outside and air handler in the garage. There is almost nothing worse IMO that can go wrong with your house than losing your A/C in the summer here - and we have never lost A/C in our house except when we've had power failures. One reason I trust our A/C company!
Count your blessings. It's misreable for people in the summer when they lose their AC. People would almost rather lose their heat in the winter than lose their AC in the summer.
Anyways, to your previous point, yes, he could be seeing a much higher energy bill than with his previous system if they just changed the outdoor unit and did not change the indoor unit. One of the more important details is when they changed the outdoor unit and what SEER rating they went with when they did that changeover.
This has been beat to death in the HVAC community because manufacturers were recommending that everything be changed out if you're going to change out the outdoor unit and contractors were fighting it tooth-and-nail because customers didn't want to pay for an entire system if only the outdoor unit went bad. Finally we had closure when manufactures started requesting model numbers of both indoor and outdoor units when warranty repairs were being submitted. Now of course it doesn't make sense to try to stick with your R-22 system. Just last week the price of a 30 lb jug went to $450+ dollars. The amount of R-410a dropped to the lowest I've seen at $100 for a 25 lb jug (depending on mfg.).
Please do not try to relate those costs though to what you would be charged if you need to have refrigerant added to your system for a repair though. The cost of running a business is factored in to all supplies including the refrigerant so you may see some companies that will charge as much as $30/lb for R-410a. It's a good idea to ask first how much they charge for refrigerant.
Where would this "inside coil" be? In the air handler? Between the air handler and the compressor? Or somewhere else? Robyn
It's usually in an air handler in an all electric heating/cooling system. If you have a furnace you may have a cased coil that sits somewhere after the heat exchanger (furnace). I've seen some other applications where the coil was installed a good bit away from the air handler but they're usually located right next to each other.
All those battery powered gadgets left plugged in when not charging anything suck up juice even when they are not charging anything. TV's run all the time even when off, same for those new 600W desktop computers.(have to keep that clock running) We installed power strips on all that stuff. Lowered my usage quite a bit.
Yes, all "frost free" firg's cool, then heat to melt the frost. Newer ones are much better, but don't last as long. You can buy a gadget at Radio Shack that will measure just how much juice each item is actually using. Defiantly worth the investment if you are serious about lowering your usage.
Then again, you are getting power from a monopoly and are at their mercy. I personally am considering some solar to run all the frivolous stuff on.
I got my electric bill yesterday. Nothing changed for me, but it's up about 75$ from last year. I'm going to go with the fact it was a lot colder this year than last, and that's what the issue is. I'm sure people all over the country are having the same issue. I think that may be the issue here too.
... Also - like others - I don't understand how he does so few loads of laundry a week . Robyn
Whew! I'm not the only one. I'm thinking the OP isn't the one doing the laundry.
We only have two adults but in a week that's 14 sets of underwear; only one wears socks, so 7 pairs; 2 pairs pjs; set of sheets; two sets of towels. Even if we only wear three outfits each in a week that's still six pairs of pants and six shirts. Apron, towels, and napkins (I'm trying to avoid paper) from the kitchen. This adds up to minimum two BIG loads. I usually do one load of sheets, towels, and underwear that I wash in hot water with Tide and another load of dark or colors I wash in cold water with Woolite for Dark (I really like that product). And we don't even work outside the home. When we did that was an additional load a week.
Since I've made a commitment this year to try switch from paper towels to microfiber cloths ... gotta wash those, too ... so I'm not even sure that's doing anything for the environment!
yeah, the HVAC was checked and rechecked.....seemingly working find. Aux doesn't come on now that the temp outside is above 32....which is about right.
Just curious, by the statement above I'm assuming you have a heat pump correct?
Did the unit you replaced also have a heatpump? Is the HVAC totally electric or do you have a gas furnace?
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).
. Robyn
