Tech / Special Interest → Home Improvement > [HVAC] Are these quotes reasonable?

Re: [HVAC] Are these quotes reasonable?

I spent more on my system than I could have, but I wanted some of the more expensive bells & whistles. One of the important considerations to me was quiet operation. The old system sounded like an open window on a car doing 60 MPH. I also wanted very good humidity control. Those two items drove up the cost considerably.

I could have put in a high efficiency 5 ton Trane system for about $3,500 less than I spent, but they would not guarantee the noise levels I wanted or the humidity control I specified. Now I 'm glad I spent the money because I can stand next the air return and carry on a normal conversation and my nose does not dry up and bleed in the winter like it used to do.

If you have currently have an 80, it's probably best to just fix it unless the heat exhanger is cracked, and even then, it's probably best to replace the heat exchanger. Furnaces are pretty simple devices, the basics are, heat exchanger, burner, fan, motor, controls, case. Everything can be replaced relatively cheaply. Spending 7K on a new 80 is your second best option, then higher models will not pay for themselves. take your current monthly bill. maybe $300, going to a 90% will save you $35/month for maybe 4 months a year. So $135/year double it if you go to the 97%. But on all the new ones, the parts are crazy expensive, a control board is $400 + labour. Replace it once and it wipes out years of savings.

The second issue with the new ones is that todays homes are so well sealed that the furnace was reponsible for a lot of winter ventilation. With the combustion air coming from outside on the 90 +'s. you now need to force ventilate the space to prevent moisture build up. We've seen it many times up here in the great white north.

I also didn't see a mention of a hot water tank in the picture. It's standard practice up here, when upgrading to a high efficiency furnace, to also change the hot water tank over to electric in order to decommission the chimney.

I've pretty much settled on a Lennox system that I priced through Costco. It was a pretty good deal through them.

I got their best automatic whole home humidifier, their top of the line air cleaner (Pure Air) and top of the line 98% furnace. On the AC I got a 16 SEER unit, but not their very quietest one.

The quietest compressor at the 16/17 SEER level was only single stage unit. So I dropped down one level and got a dual stage variable speed unit. I didn't want to spend for the 21 SEER unit.

Thermostat is nice as well. Wi-Fi, internet enabled, color touch screen.

10 year parts and labor warranty.

On the old one, the heat exchanger was cracked. The part would be free, but the labor wouldn't. Plus there are several other items that need to be repaired. Cost is only only one aspect.

Just out of curiosity, what did Costco quote for the system?

Oh, I meant to write that.

Costco is running a sale starting on October 3, so I need to wait until then. With all the membership discounts and cash cards, etc. the cost for everything I mentioned above is $10,355.00. The price also includes the first two years of maintenance. It also includes free duct cleaning as well.

Is the Costco price before or after the rebates for energy efficiency etc.?

After. I'm only eligible for a $300.00 energy rebate.

If you have the Executive Membership you get cash back on that too.

I took all of that into account. Actually they do in their final written quote. The person had said a 3% discount if using the Costco Amex card. For purposes of my comparisons, since my other credit cards give 1% cash back, I used a 2% discount rate as the actual cost reduction for going through Costco.

The actual number (if I recall correctly) with the entire 3% figured in was $10,250.

All of the other quotes were around 15% higher for very similarly configured systems.

Installation on Friday. I think it's supposed to rain that day unfortunately.

Just checked and it looks like the weather may have changed. Rain has possibly moved to Saturday/Sunday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

For a critical replacement or repair, yes, it can be done in the rain.

For a routine job that can really wait a day or so, what's the rush?
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The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.

You folks are thinking the installation would be done in the rain? I hardly think so so the point is moot. No reputable company would attempt it so what is the problem here? They know the restrictions much better than we apparently are giving them credit. They would just reschedule the install. Methinks you are just grasping at something that is very unlikely to happen.

However if there is a failure and it's raining/snowing I believe they will troubleshoot and repair the outside condenser unit in the rain or snow including brazing, replacing the compressor and adding 410A Freon.

My techs wear slip on covers on their shoes. No mess tracked in. Another quality of a reputable company. I've never had one problem with any of the techs tracking in anything from outside since 1989.

Heck, I've seen drywall delivered to houses that aren't shingled/wired/plumbed yet in the rain. The builder doesn't care, he has a schedule to keep....

I'm not terribly concerned. With a 1-year 100% satisfaction guarantee and a 10 year parts and labor, it should be fine.

I just don't want dirty shoes in the house.

We had costco do the carpet in our house and the big advantage the salesman mentioned was there are standards they require their installers to meet. These are higher than what the average sub would do, and you have the "might" of Costco on your side should something happen.

I agree. I feel a lot more relaxed than I usually do during these times. I'm pretty certain it's because I trust Costco to make things right if the installers do something wrong.

That's funny. This is probably as close to that as you can get.

Installation seems to be going pretty well. They were here promptly at 8:30 and have been working pretty continuously to get everything done.

They wore booties initially and then laid down a canvas tarp. It's a little moist outside from the earlier rains, but no rain during the installation, which is a relief.

Presently the condenser has been put into place and is ready. They put down a new pad and ran all the lines. The venting to the outside is completed as well. They are working on getting the furnace installed and assembled right now.

Furnace is all installed and assembled. They will soon be hoking everything up and charging the system. They told me that if it were raining right now, other than for a light sprinkle, they wouldn't charge the system and would wait for a dry day. They're going to get this done just in time. The rains start moving in later today. It's already really gray and dreary out there.

Well.... how did the project go?

It went perfectly. The rain held off and the system got installed, charged and tested with no problems.

The only issue I have is the thermostat shows a humidity level in the house that seems to be 10% higher than it really is. I have a digital hygrometer against which I'm referencing it. In addition, I have a couple of humidistats at home and the off-on click is also happening at about 10% below the number being reported on the new thermostat.

I'm going to watch it for a couple of days and then I'll bring it up to the installation company. I don't know how the discrepancy will affect maintenance of humidity levels, but I can't imagine it will be in a good way.

Costco installers were great. They use Service Experts around here and many other places. But like the Service Experts guy said to me, some SE offices are better than others and Costco uses a variety of companies, depending on the area.

I'd researched the installation company before I signed on.

Pictures to follow later today.