homeowners!

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: drnickriviera
You also have one more thing to look at. Make sure the home inspector knows what he's talking about. How long was the unit allowed to run? Is it vacant now? I just want to make sure that it wasn't 95 F in the house and he let it run for 10 mins. I know inspectors will try to find something 'wrong' to make it look like they've done something.

Bullshit, they get paid the same amount either way.

 

[Vette73]

OP another option is to find a AC guy on the side and buy the equipment from eBay (most local places will nto sell it to you but check anyways)

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: dud

A friend who worked as a receptionist from an AC place out of place told me that it'd cost around $3200 for a 13 SEER system. I need at least 15 SEER to qualify for space cash (south park reference), and I think the most I'd want to spend is $4000. I'll call some places next week to get some quotes.

That seems like a low-side estimate to me. I live in Florida and a slightly larger house. A 13 seer system with heat pump and air handler replacement would cost between $5,000 and $6,500. You are correct about the tax incentives to install energy efficiency into your home but you might want to look into the amount. I believe it is 30% or a maximum of $1,500. Note ? not all ENERGY STAR products will qualify for the tax credit. I actually found an honest A/C company who had been advertising the incentive and was told that yes, you can get it but it is limited to a very limited number of highly efficient units.

Go get at least 3 estimates to verify that price. It seems too low ..

You should be able to get a replacement a/c for about $1000 per ton right now. The thing is some companies are quoting price with the incentive built in (a la car sales much of the time).

There is a big range of the capabilities of any unit though...when I purchased my last a/c back in the 90's I spent an extra $1000 than a basic model (same size) for some energy and comfort features. My electric bill was averaging $300 at the time, it went down to $125-150 (1700 sqft in south florida)

 

[iGas]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: dud

A friend who worked as a receptionist from an AC place out of place told me that it'd cost around $3200 for a 13 SEER system. I need at least 15 SEER to qualify for space cash (south park reference), and I think the most I'd want to spend is $4000. I'll call some places next week to get some quotes.

That seems like a low-side estimate to me. I live in Florida and a slightly larger house. A 13 seer system with heat pump and air handler replacement would cost between $5,000 and $6,500. You are correct about the tax incentives to install energy efficiency into your home but you might want to look into the amount. I believe it is 30% or a maximum of $1,500. Note ? not all ENERGY STAR products will qualify for the tax credit. I actually found an honest A/C company who had been advertising the incentive and was told that yes, you can get it but it is limited to a very limited number of highly efficient units.

Go get at least 3 estimates to verify that price. It seems too low ..

You should be able to get a replacement a/c for about $1000 per ton right now. The thing is some companies are quoting price with the incentive built in (a la car sales much of the time).

There is a big range of the capabilities of any unit though...when I purchased my last a/c back in the 90's I spent an extra $1000 than a basic model (same size) for some energy and comfort features. My electric bill was averaging $300 at the time, it went down to $125-150 (1700 sqft in south florida)

I didn't know American economy is so bad that people are working for free.

Here in Canada West Coast it cost me slightly more than $1000 CAD ($830 USD) per ton for the cheaper & lower SEER units at whole sales and that is after contractor discount (tax isn't included).

IMHO, the price sweet spot for heat pumps in most long hot/humid area is 17-19 SEER.

San Diego Install or Replace a Heat Pump Stats -- Average Project Cost $5,000 - $6,000

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: iGas

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: dud

A friend who worked as a receptionist from an AC place out of place told me that it'd cost around $3200 for a 13 SEER system. I need at least 15 SEER to qualify for space cash (south park reference), and I think the most I'd want to spend is $4000. I'll call some places next week to get some quotes.

That seems like a low-side estimate to me. I live in Florida and a slightly larger house. A 13 seer system with heat pump and air handler replacement would cost between $5,000 and $6,500. You are correct about the tax incentives to install energy efficiency into your home but you might want to look into the amount. I believe it is 30% or a maximum of $1,500. Note ? not all ENERGY STAR products will qualify for the tax credit. I actually found an honest A/C company who had been advertising the incentive and was told that yes, you can get it but it is limited to a very limited number of highly efficient units.

Go get at least 3 estimates to verify that price. It seems too low ..

You should be able to get a replacement a/c for about $1000 per ton right now. The thing is some companies are quoting price with the incentive built in (a la car sales much of the time).

There is a big range of the capabilities of any unit though...when I purchased my last a/c back in the 90's I spent an extra $1000 than a basic model (same size) for some energy and comfort features. My electric bill was averaging $300 at the time, it went down to $125-150 (1700 sqft in south florida)

I didn't know American economy is so bad that people are working for free.

Here in Canada West Coast it cost me slightly more than $1000 CAD ($830 USD) per ton for the cheaper & lower SEER units at whole sales and that is after contractor discount (tax isn't included).

IMHO, the price sweet spot for heat pumps in most long hot/humid area is 17-19 SEER.

San Diego Install or Replace a Heat Pump Stats -- Average Project Cost $5,000 - $6,000

I think we have a 15 SEER unit. It is a 4 ton Goodman (Copeland Scroll Compressor) we had it installed about 5 years ago.

 

[Squisher]

Your local utility might do free energy audits and could give you some idea of how much it is costing to cool the house if you don't already know. You might find the payback on going to a 19+ SEER unit would be less than that 5 years considering all the factors that go into cooling this house (location+insulation+style of house+number of windows+local energy costs+etc.).

 

[dirtboy]

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Originally posted by: alphatarget1

Originally posted by: Baked
Buy some ceiling fans.

I'm in Texas...

Ceiling fans still help a lot. You can raise the thermostat, and still be comfortable with ceiling fans. The movement also adds interest to the room imo.

If I run all the ceiling fans in my house for a month, my bill goes up $150. Yes they help, but I'm not sure how cost efficient they are.

 

[EMPshockwave82]

run a geothermal system if you can afford the upfront cost and you have the space to do it.

my parent's heating and cooling bill averages less than $35 per month.......