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That sinking feeling


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When all the houses in my neighborhood are 15 years old AND the air conditioners are being replaced all around me!

Mine lasted about 18 yrs. until last summer. I was a little shocked at the price increase from the older systems, about double. But the new unit is much more efficient, keeps the house as cool but only runs about half the time as the old unit. Utility bill is about 30% less.

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When all the houses in my neighborhood are 15 years old AND the air conditioners are being replaced all around me!

Mine lasted about 18 yrs. until last summer. I was a little shocked at the price increase from the older systems, about double. But the new unit is much more efficient, keeps the house as cool but only runs about half the time as the old unit. Utility bill is about 30% less.
Yeah, we have been looking at the efficiency of the new stuff. Will probably do a full gut and replace furnace with the high efficiency model as well. I'm sure everything will eventually almost pay for itself.

Good news is a local shooting buddy is in the HVAC business so if I plan it right I can give him some business in his off season

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Sarge - If you're going a full refit look into the new Variable Refrigerant Flow and mini-split systems. There is some really cool stuff on the market now, especially nice if you have a larger house and don't utilize all of the space.

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When we did ours the contractor had some good reasons to do both furnace and ac at the same time. The new systems have slightly different form factors for ducting, so labor and materials to retro fit may not make sense. Especially in light of the fact you could pay 2x when the odd old piece dies. We elected to go all new for that reason.

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When all the houses in my neighborhood are 15 years old AND the air conditioners are being replaced all around me!

Mine is only 7 years old and I've been dealing with the home warranty and low end repair companies for two weeks on a coolant leak.....

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  • 2 weeks later...

All Lennox. Best furnace at 98% efficiency. Best 19.5 seer AC unit. Both units have modulating blah blah that run more efficiently blah blah. I pretty much quit listening after $12k

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all the houses in my neighborhood are 15 years old AND the air conditioners are being replaced !

Another month, and you'll be SAFE.

A/C's NEVER go except during The Hottest Months of the Year :(

Replaced my A/C five years ago, and just had the fan motor go,

on a Friday afternoon, during 97 F. heat - of course, no one came

out until Monday - 55 hours or 3300 minutes later :(

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19.5 seer rating? HOLY GEEZ. That's like the tippity top of the line stuff there and not something I recommend! Mainly because that is manf's just started to hit that rating... the equipment is not time tested enough for me.

I'd ask him or whomever to quote 16 seer equipment, get quotes for Lennox, Trane, Carrier, and Goodman. Those are are good quality manufacturers with a proven track record, solid warranties, and a wide range of installing contractors.

Just a note, I'm a Project Manager with a general contractor who's built apartments, schools, and aviation facilities.

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19.5 seer rating? HOLY GEEZ. That's like the tippity top of the line stuff there and not something I recommend! Mainly because that is manf's just started to hit that rating... the equipment is not time tested enough for me.

I'd ask him or whomever to quote 16 seer equipment, get quotes for Lennox, Trane, Carrier, and Goodman. Those are are good quality manufacturers with a proven track record, solid warranties, and a wide range of installing contractors.

Just a note, I'm a Project Manager with a general contractor who's built apartments, schools, and aviation facilities.

17 seer cost more because there is a rebate in the 19.5 and the 19.5 has variable output so it can run at 25% 59% 100% etc depending on temp humidity etc.

FWIW I am only hearing negative comments on goodman so we are leery to go that route

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