[Kenneth Patchen]

Hello ACers

Can anyone recommend a whole house air conditioning system? Our house is 1900 sq. ft., 2 floors plus attic and basement, cottage style and was built in 2013. Heating is forced air and supplied by a Carrier furnace which was installed in 2009. The company that sold and services the furnace is coming tomorrow to recommend an a/c system and I'm guessing they'll recommend a Carrier.

Any high praise or horror stores to share? Companies to avoid?

My thanks in advance for your time.

Regards,
KP

[benguin]

Hi Keith- biggest factor I've seen on HVAC is the quality of the install.  If you've got someone who is thorough and properly sizes the equipment based on an actual review of load/loss, you'll be way ahead of the curve.

An iffy installation of the best equipment probably won't be as comfortable/efficient as a good install of an average unit.   There are a couple of good forums where you can read up on a lot of heat/ac topics, just like here on Audio Circle.  You'll likely see that many of the people on those boards have favorite brands, just like in the audio world.
  Ben

[Bizarroterl]

benguin is correct.  A bad install will make any manufacturer's equipment perform badly.

[avta]

I agree with the two prior posts. I would suggest you get at least three bids including the one from the company that's coming out. Talk to your neighbors, look online for evaluations of companies in your area etc. We went through this process a few years ago and I was amazed at the difference in costs from different companies all doing the same job with similar equipment.

[spudco]

You may wish to add a heat pump.  If you are using propane or oil for your furnace, it is cheaper to use a heat pump in many parts of the US until the outside temperature drops below about 45 degrees. 

You may need to update your duct work for cooling to work best.  Great duct designs make comfortable homes. 

You should also consider creating zones for heating and cooling and adding a programmable thermostat. 

Carrier has stuff for all this and is one of the better brands.

The design and installation are extremely important, but it is difficult to determine if an HVAC contractor is good or not.

Here at the habitat, we just replaced our entire HVAC.  We had a Carrier heat pump and Bryant (cheaper version made by Carrier) propane furnace.  We had zoning and smart thermostat already so we only bought a newer (quieter and better) heat pump and furnace (slightly better) from Bryant.  I am also lucky to be friends with one of the best HVAC folks in the state...

[randytsuch]

The previous owner of our house installed a dual HVAC system, one for upstairs and one for downstairs.

It's really nice because usually we only use the upstairs AC.  My parents house had one AC for the entire house, and the upstairs was always hotter than downstairs.

I'm sure it is way more expensive, but it is nice

Good luck
Randy

[Kenneth Patchen]

Randy, Spudco, avta, B-roter, Benquin,

Great suggestions all, my thanks. The zone system is very attractive and I'll discuss with the contractor. I was told by a neighbor that because this is an older house, 101 y.o., with returns only on the first floor, that the absence of returns on 2nd floor prevents makes a zone system for the 2nd floor impossible ... that doesn't make sense to me but I'll discuss with the contractor. (I corrected a mistake in the original post; the house was buit in 1913, not 2013)

Thanks again,
Kp

[rpf]

You could still zone with ductless mini splits on the second floor. Depending on how many rooms there are, it could get expensive however. On the other hand, some units have a SEER of 28 which could save a lot of electricity.

[Bizarroterl]

When you're adding zones or moving from HW in older homes the ductless mini splits are a very good option.  The only real drawback they have is they're not that great (actually no heat pump is) when you live in the northern climes and don't have good insulation.

Actually gas is the most economical for heating if your home is already connected to NG lines, at least when looking at just fuel/electricity and not installation costs/issues.

[orthobiz]

The returns are key. Retrofitting probably never as good as designing the house for AC from the groundbreaking.

Paul

[rpf]

When you're adding zones or moving from HW in older homes the ductless mini splits are a very good option.  The only real drawback they have is they're not that great (actually no heat pump is) when you live in the northern climes and don't have good insulation.

Actually gas is the most economical for heating if your home is already connected to NG lines, at least when looking at just fuel/electricity and not installation costs/issues.

Agreed. I was suggesting using them only for AC. The OP still would have the Hot air furnace for heat.