Click Here To Get A Free Quota! “John B. was courteous, professional, and pinpointed the problem quickly--a broken capacitor.” “Their office courteously called 15 minutes before the technician arrived and the technician, Scott, promptly fixed a broken capacitor.” “The system works perfectly and keeps the upstairs very cool.”Central Air purifiers are the air purifier of choice for those of you with big open spaces or cathedral ceilings or who simply do not want the noise usually generated by most room air purifiers. cleaners are installed in your furnace or central air conditioning system and filter the air that comes out of your ducts before you breathe it in. air purifiers usually need professional installation by a contractor. Review our listings below and then go to our product pages for more detailed reviews and pluses and minuses of whole house air purifiers by our experts and customers. « Previous Entry | Choosing the best strategy for adding central air to an old house takes a lot of research and perseverence.

Here's what we found. As we've mentioned previously, we've been busy evaluating ways to add central air for the past month as our work removing the second floor walls and ceiling came to a close. Today we made our final decision. While there are certainly many ways to cool a house (window units and open windows work for us on good days), we made a decision back when we bought the house that we'd install central air conditioning. The basic reason was our own comfort (Chicago+August=Yuck!), but long term resale value and controlling humidity was also a consideration. Knowing this, we started our research early on, including a visit to the vendor expo at the Renovation & Restoration Expo last summer at Navy Pier. It turns out that finding reliable information is tough, but in the end we did find good answers and helpful folks out there. ( was one of the most helpful resources.) For us it came down to the pros and cons of two different approaches: Forced Air (or 'conventional' ) systems and High Velocity (or HiV) systems.

These two systems work in fundamentally different ways: So, the systems basically differ in the physics of how they cool a home. However, the engineering of each system also includes other important differences. The other major differences between the systems fall in several categories: Well, we went in to this expecting the worst since retrofits of mechanical systems are certainly never easy or cheap. We weren't mistaken, unfortunately, and all the quotes from three contractors came in over our intended budget. However, there was one major surprise: the high velocity system was consistently cheaper than the conventional option. Manufacturers of HiV systems typically position themselves as high end products. While the price tags we were quoted do fit that discription, we thought that a ductwork system was going to be our discount option. The good news is that this ultimately made our choice easier in the end... We're going with a High Velocity system. The combination of the lower cost, lower visible impact and the need for a single return were our deciding factors.

We're also optimistic that by choosing a quality installer we can mitigate the negative aspects of the system like noise and distracting airflows...which leads us to our final topic. Pitfalls to Watch For 80% of all central cooling systems in the US are installed improperly. my ac unit outside is not turning onThe most prevelant errors are oversized condenser units and unacceptable leaking in ductwork. typical car ac repair costsSuch errors can increase energy costs and decrease the lifespan of mechanical systems, increase condensation in the attic and other spaces (which can lead to mold and/or decreased lifespan of wood and roofing material), backdraft and ventilation issues which affect air quality and safety. my ac unit fan not running

The solution: picking an excellent contractor for installation who is experienced and who has experienced, long-term employees who can "trouble-shoot" on the job and who love old houses. This is one area of our house where, in the end, we decided it was essential to pay for quality. If only 20% of installers do the work right than a deal that sounds "too good to be true" is definitely a reason to be suspicious. Therefore, getting multiple bids for HVAC jobs is a must. While we've gone with non-competitive bids on other occasions when we trusted a personal referral, we didn't here. If you do go with a HiV system, select a contractor with lots of installation experience with that type of system. Message boards we read that included discussions between contractors consistently cautioned against underestimating the differences in technique between installing these two very different systems. Some contractors were advising each other to sub-contract out the system design to the manufacturer just to make sure it is done right (again, sub-contracting eventually increases the cost).