Here's how it works: Anybody can ask a question The best answers are voted up and rise to the top I am replacing a 30 year old AC unit and I have had 4 estimates. 2 of the 4 people did not even take any measurements and the other two took a lot of measurements. I am leaning towards the ones that took measurements, but they are giving me two options. I live in Florida. Here are the two options: 3.5 tons 13 seer straight cool 3.5 tons 13 seer heat pump What is the difference between the above two? Does anyone know some important questions I could ask the installers to see which one maybe more qualified or knowledgeable in installing the unit I found paperwork on the house and it indicates that a 3.5 ton was installed in 1984. The two people that did not measure apparently were salesmen. One from sears told me this: OK great give me a call or send me an email when you ready. You currently have a 2 Ton and I can see going to above 1/2 ton more or a max 1 Ton more not 1 1/2 Tons more.

I will install what you want, and our system and service will be better than any company out there. When you contract with Sears you don't get a lot of plastic and thin metals you get a good quality system that will last. I don't understand how Sears can tell me I have a 2 ton when I have a 3.5 ton. Something smells fishy here? The heat pump can move heat indoors to outdoors ("air condition") as well as from outdoors to indoors (heating). The cooling only unit can only air condition. If the house already has heating or you rarely need heat, you can save some money by getting a cooling-only unit, and maybe supplement that with portable electric heaters as needed. As to brand comparisons, I strongly recommend you review the Consumer Reports reader reliability report of air conditioners and heatpumps: that can be done online by paying a fee, or visiting a library. As for some installers carefully measuring and the others not, the latter could be fine if your dwelling is not especially unique: an experienced installer has run the numbers so many times that they know what the result is.

That experience is helped by there being a coarse choice of capacities: 2 ton, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 5, 6, 7.5, 10, 12.5, etc. On the other hand, not measuring could be a sign of an unknowledgeable installer. Do they also propose a 3.5 ton unit? As far as questions to ask, I like to elicit being assured that if anything goes wrong for X years, they will fix it for free. If they can say so confidently, that is a very good sign that they don't think anything will go wrong.what the best ac unit It might be useful to ask an installer why they choose 3.5 tons and not 3 or 4. how to turn on your ac unitThere is a certain degree of assumption about worst case and average case conditions. ac unit cost and installationIf the a/c can't quite keep up on the 5 hottest days that is one thing, but if it can't keep up on 30 of them, that is quite a different matter.

Likewise, an oversized system can chill the air so much that it doesn't have to run much, making the air stagnant and possibly muggy. Questions asking about how they balance those factors are good for you to understand and for the installer to reflect upon. Differences: none and probably made by the same, or comprable, manufacturer. 13 SEER is the lowest efficiency HVAC system a contractor can install. There are much better systems out there that would significantly reduce your electric bill. 2 ton or 3 1/2 ton? there is a nameplate on the outdoor unit that will have a model number. Something like xxx24xxx etc,. the 24 means 24,000 BTU/hr or 2 tons (12,000 BTU/hr per ton). I have a freind that has a variable speed system the runs on low speed all the time and he has a $90 electric bill, in FLORIDA! I sell Ameristar and have for several years. Very good equipment almost no warranty work ever needed. A lot depends on your installer and his competence. The problem with both Ameristar and Goodman is that anyone that has a licsence can buy them at the local wholesale shop, that doesn't mean they know what they are doing when it comes to installing them..

trust me when I say there is a reason that I get paid 80 bucks an hour to fix those screw ups. Get someone that makes their living in HVAC not a buddy that used to do HVAC or a fresh grad from a trade school or a guy that works as an installer for a plumber that a buddy knows. Be sure your contractor can and does do warranty work on the brand you buy,,,what ever that brand may be. I have installed Goodman for years with hardly any problems. The warranties are very good (10 year parts and compressor) plus you can purchase a labor warranty. I warranty my labor for a year after installation. Also if you need parts after the manufacturer warranty they are less expensive than most other brands. It does depend on the installer. If Goodman is installed right, you should not have problems. Thank you for your interest in this question. Because it has attracted low-quality or spam answers that had to be removed, posting an answer now requires 10 reputation on this site (the association bonus does not count).

Would you like to answer one of these unanswered questions instead? Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged air-conditioning or ask your own question.Jeff Wilson replaced his HVAC system for the same reason most homeowners do: It broke. Five years ago in the heat of summer, his air conditioner died — and this was well before he embarked on an all-out Deep Energy Retrofit (DER) to green his 70-year-old Cape Cod. Still, he used this opportunity to upgrade the old, standard unit. "We had to keep a little air conditioning on so we didn't have so much mold," Jeff says, describing a major pitfall of the home: high humidity that produced damaging condensation, causing woodwork deterioration and poor air quality. Jeff got three bids for the HVAC project, ranging from $3,500 to trade the old HVAC unit for a comparable model to $12,000 for a state-of-the-art system. (These price estimates are from the time of installation in 2005.) "We expected gas prices to go through the roof, which they did in 2008," Jeff says, weighing the options.

"And we expected this new HVAC unit to last." The 26-year-old unit Jeff replaced was 80 percent efficient — not bad for 1979 technology. But we've come a long way since then. The standard option Jeff considered as a replacement would basically restore the system to status quo for $3,500. But Jeff was looking for more. The midrange unit was priced at $4,200 and would boost the furnace efficiency to 90 percent, with a 16-SEER air conditioner. The lower the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating (SEER), the more energy it takes to cool the home. The high-end system would cost Jeff $5,800, but for that $2,300 more, he got more features and optimum, 97 percent efficiency. Because the Wilsons mainly used their air conditioning to defuse the thick humidity typical in southeast Ohio during summer, a variable-speed blower was worth the investment. This mechanism allows Jeff to set the humidity level on his thermostat. "Instead of cooling your house down to get humidity levels low, you can do a bit of dehumidifying [with the blower] to keep the temperatures lower," he explains.

Jeff could get this feature plus 7 percent more efficiency on the gas furnace. "We were looking toward the future," he says of the price tag and, when comparing systems, the estimated five-year payback. The choice was relatively easy for Jeff. He chose the highest-end unit and sized the HVAC system exactly to fit his home so no energy would be wasted. However, he did not figure in extra capacity to supply heat and air to the new home addition, which would come to fruition five years later. Because this addition is built using the latest green technology in new construction — and solar panel energy — he doesn't expect to need the extra power for this part of the house. Immediately after installing the new HVAC, Jeff noticed energy bills that were about 20 percent lower. "That's pretty significant," he remarks, noting that as HVAC systems age they become less efficient. The old system was probably running at 50 percent efficiency by the time it was replaced in 2005.