Cheapest way to purchase a new central A/C unit? (1 Viewer)

[Daniel Swartz]

So my parents' central A/C unit finally died last night after about 20 years. The repairman came out and told us that the cost of repairing the unit is high enough to justify purchasing an entirely new one given the age of the existing one. Makes sense...

But where do we purchase a good one inexpensively? Is there any place we can find reviews, energy rebates, etc.? This is all for a home in Virginia btw.

Thanks!

 

[Philip_G]

you can't really
it's not like you can go to home depot and buy one. And honestly, the cost of the equipment isn't that much, the labor will probably run more, and how carefully it's installed is pretty important (more so than the brand of equpment IMO) you can shop contractors to install it, some will be cheaper but probably will charge in the ballpark as the others for the same equipment, some will have more time estimated in for labor than others. (at least these are my observatins from getting dragged along on sales calls)
call your local power co. Ask if they have any high eff. incentives currently. Consumer reports probably has reviews, how useful are they? not very
I'm partial to the carrier brands (carrier, bryant, day night) and despise trane equipment, but that's just me
I guess that's my .02

 

[Michael*K]

Oh yeah, I love my Carrier A/C. My old central air unit crapped out three years ago and I decided to scrap the ancient furnace at the same time as the A/C (they were offering a 20% discount if I replaced both at the same time.) What a change in the gas and electric bills! The new units are much more energy efficient.
Any good HVAC contractor worth his salt can help your parents figure out what's the best unit for them. Probably the main question is, how long do they intend to live there? If they're going to be moving in four or five years, it probably doesn't pay to get the most energy efficient model because they won't recoup the energy savings by the time they move. I got one rated for a mid-range energy efficiency (plan on moving in 5-6 years, tops) and it still made a huge dent in my heating and cooling costs.

 

[Philip_G]

If they're going to be moving in four or five years, it probably doesn't pay to get the most energy efficient model because they won't recoup the energy savings by the time they move.

depends on the climate too, if it's not that hot there in the summer it takes forever to pay back

 

[Shawn C]

I'm partial to the carrier brands (carrier, bryant, day night) and despise trane equipment, but that's just me

What's wrong with Trane? They are owned by American Standard. I have a new Trane heat pump/air conditioner and it seems to be working fine. Do they have some reliability problems or something?

 

[Ryan Wright]

What's wrong with Trane?

That idiot in those commercials. That's what's wrong with Trane. "Come on kids, I'll race you to the Trane Programmable Thermostat."

 

[GordonL]

But where do we purchase a good one inexpensively? Is there any place we can find reviews, energy rebates, etc.?

Have your parents go to the library and look at the Washington Consumer Checkbook magazine. They publish surveys of area air conditioning/heating repair shops and give checkmarks on price and quality of service. You can also subscribe to get online access http://www.checkbook.org/ They have lots of good information on how to find the best places for different things like auto repair shops, plumbers, roofers, doctors, etc.

 

[Philip_G]

What's wrong with Trane? They are owned by American Standard. I have a new Trane heat pump/air conditioner and it seems to be working fine. Do they have some reliability problems or something?

Not really any more than other brands, my beef with trane is the spined aluminum coil they use, it's HUGE, much larger than would be needed for a "normal" copper tube/aluminum fin coil. Also it's very fragile, hence the louvered panels over the top of it, a garden hose on high pressure can do serious damage to it by flattening the "spines" major complaints? no. would I own one? no
most manufacturors at one time have used that type of coil, and ONLY trane still uses it. They claim it's more efficient, which I've never understood because the coils are HUGE. also they wrap around all 4 sides, so getting an 80 pound compressor in and out of a tall unit is fun.
I didn't see where you lived, but I'm not fond of heatpumps either they work GREAT in some climates, I've never lived anywhere that it didn't get too cold for them, so that's just me. AH las vegas, good climate for it, dosn't get below 35F ever does it there?

 

[Larry Carlson]

Dan;
I'm a HVAC contractor -sorry, not in your area - The best units out there are Carrier, Amana, & Lennox. The problem with the condensers with the spine coil are, as already pointed out, the ease of damage, and hard to clean - if a coil is dirty, it can't shed the heat fast enough.

If you are looking for a dealer, let me suggest checking with your local Chamber of Commerce. The reason for that is that the "bad guys" tend not to belong to local organizations like that and if they do join, they get kicked out when the other local merchants find out what kind of people they are. It's the best resource I've found.


DO NOT use the guys who work for the home improvement warehouse companies. These are guys who can't make it on their own. You want someone who knows what they are doing. There is a lot of technical knowledge required in designing the right system for your parents. It is not like buying a toaster oven. Getting someone who does not understand these systems can be a real disaster. They can give you a cheap price, but this is something that has to be done right.

If I can answer any questions for you, feel free to ask.

Larry Carlson

 

[Daniel Swartz]

Thanks for the wealth of info guys! I love the HTF.

Gordon: We used Checkbook to get a contractor to look at the broken A/C unit and were very disappointed with the results. The guy was rude and unprofessional. Normally though, Checkbook is a solid resource!

Larry: Thanks for the recommendations. I might forward you some additional questions as we move forward. =)

 

[Michael*K]

Oh yeah, the best part of getting the new furnace and A/C unit...a kickass setback thermostat. It's changed my life! :b Love to have the house toasty warm when I wake up in the winter and warm when I return from work. There isn't as much of a temperature range in the summer, since I have to keep the place comfortably cool and free of humidity for the dogs.

 

[Philip_G]

DO NOT use the guys who work for the home improvement warehouse companies. These are guys who can't make it on their own

same goes for sears. I think the kenmore branded equipment is made by tempstar (or some other fly by night) and they do just as he said, subcontract to the lowest bidder.
programmable thermostats are ALL that
wouldn't live witout one if I had a choice. I'm partial to the honeywell chronotherms but thats just me

 

[Todd Hochard]

I've had no real issues with my Trane (8+ years old). I can't say that I'm partial to that brand, though. No issues with the coil- there is no dirt here in FL.
But, I have seen the compressors on three different Carrier units seize in the past two weeks (just friends/acquaintances- I'm no professional)-all around 10 years old. So, that has left a strong impression on me.
How about Amana? I like their top mount fridges.

 

[Philip_G]

trane, carrier, goodman, they all buy the compressors from one of 2 or three companies Besides, it's all in the installation