 GooberPremium
join:2000-12-17
Naperville, IL
kudos:5
 ·Dish Network
1 edit | reply to Jack_in_VA
Re: [Heating or Air Conditioning] Are these quotes reasonable? Thanks. Is the Trane a better unit? Looking through some older posts I get the impression that even more so than the 12 year warranty, the quality of the unit itself is possibly better.
Price isn't necessarily an issue here. I'd rather not spend a bunch of money, but once I'm near $10K a couple of thousand either way isn't going to make or break.
My main question is whether it makes sense to go new or ride out the old. And the other question is whether the cost differentials in the various SEERS ratings will be recouped over the next 15 years or so. Our rate is $.09/kWh. I think I've seen some calculators that attempt to provide that information, so I'll check those out too.
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Yedinitsy do nulya. Good job, idiot. |
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| I always recommend a "NATE" certified tech (»www.natex.org).
That does not mean things can't go wrong, but at least they took the time and were serious about continuing training. NATE is similar to ASE techs that work on cars.
Trane and Carrier as considered "equals" in my industry.
Each has a high, medium and low brands - just remember to compare apples to apples.
There are less expensive brands, bryant, day and night, and others.
One thing to consider is a cheap system that is installed properly and is "performing" properly will last longer and cost less to operate than an expensive system not installed properly and not performing. |
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GooberPremium
join:2000-12-17
Naperville, IL
kudos:5 Reviews:
·Dish Network
| The company that provided this quote is NATE certified. It's on their website so I'll assume it's true. As I mentioned, this is a good reputable company, so the NATE cert doesn't surprise me.
The companies I'm considering I believe are all high quality ones that have been in business for many years, received high marks on Angie's list and recommended by either someone I know or I have used them myself. That's about as good as I'm going to be able to do I think.
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Yedinitsy do nulya. Good job, idiot. |
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 KenPremium,MVM
join:2003-06-16
Markle, IN | I don't really know how good those prices are so I can't comment on that. What I do want to say is anyone living in Illinois or any other northern state would be ill advised to go with an 80% furnace. I would throw that option out right from the start. |
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 jrs8084Premium
join:2002-03-02
Statesville, NC
kudos:1 | reply to Goober
Others can answer about the various offers. But, one question in regards to your decision to repair or replace: The current unit was installed in '95, so it wasn't original to the house. I know you closed in your porch, and I think you mentioned you had another addition added on upstairs in the past. Have those addition(s) affected the sizing or other aspects of the HVAC? |
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GooberPremium
join:2000-12-17
Naperville, IL
kudos:5 Reviews:
·Dish Network
| said by Ken:I don't really know how good those prices are so I can't comment on that. What I do want to say is anyone living in Illinois or any other northern state would be ill advised to go with an 80% furnace. I would throw that option out right from the start.
Yeah, that's not even in the running. It's got to be 90% plus. We have an 80% now, and I'm not doing that again. I've kind of mentally taken the gut punch and am mostly considering the "Best Choise" option, although I still need to go back to the salesman and ask him about the two higher SEER units in the same Infinity line.
said by jrs8084:Others can answer about the various offers. But, one question in regards to your decision to repair or replace: The current unit was installed in '95, so it wasn't original to the house. I know you closed in your porch, and I think you mentioned you had another addition added on upstairs in the past. Have those addition(s) affected the sizing or other aspects of the HVAC?
Good memory! Yes, the house was built in 1984 and the system was replaced in 1995. I think we purchased the house in 2001 or 2002. The additions didn't really affect anything. At least not that we noticed in terms of how the system was operating. In terms of electric/gas cost, there was a slight increase, but nothing terribly significant.
The engineer/sales guy walked around with me and checked out the space and said that the 5-ton is still enough, particularly since the new units work better and are more efficient. It seems to make sense since the old unit is working fine.
The one thing I'm considering doing is having them put in a dual zone system. The person was supposed to have quoted me the cost of that, but obviously didn't.
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Yedinitsy do nulya. Good job, idiot. |
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