OT: Central Air Advice Needed

[RUHotTrumpetMonkeyLove]

A little HVAC discussion in the off-season...

I'm going to have central air conditioning put in my house before the summer.

The house is forced hot air, so the duct work is already in place. I have a gas furnace (about 15 years old).

1,500 sq. ft., two story house. I'm thinking two zones (each floor).

Should I just go through PSE&G? Contractor? Anything else I should focus on?

Thanks.

 

[DJ Spanky]

Definitely go with a private, reputable contractor - you'll get better equipment and lower prices than going through someone like PSE&G.

Where are you located? Hopefully someone in your area can make some recommendations.

 

[RUHotTrumpetMonkeyLove]

Dupe post.
This post was edited on 3/2 3:26 PM by RUHotTrumpetMonkeyLove

 

[RUHotTrumpetMonkeyLove]

Thanks, Spanky.

I'm in South Bergen County.

 

[wcfan10]

Go with a private contractor. You'll save $$$ over PSE&G. Although PSE&G do good certified work, but its very expensive.
Make sure you get a reputable person though.

I have York Central Air, and I'm very pleased with it.

If you plan on using C/A air alot, then go for high efficiency A/C. If you don't use it very much, say less than 20 days/summer, I woudld suggest you go with a lesser high effiiciency C/A. They are simpler, don't break down as often, and last alot longer (like 2-3X as long).

good luck.

 

[LC-88]

I have two zones. Up and down stairs. No single point of failure.

I'd also suggest not sizing for bare minimum. i.e. make sure that the unit has some "spare capacity", and not working at peak output just to keep up on those hot days. Same for your air intake. Ask the contractor what the minimum intake size is for a particular unit, add at least 20%. Contractor should hopefully already figure this in. Sucker needs to breath. Good luck.

 

[DJ Spanky]

Originally posted by RUHotTrumpetMonkeyLove:
Thanks, Spanky.

I'm in South Bergen County.

Shoot me an email: DJ (DOT) Spanky (AT) hotmail (DOT) com

 

[RU1977]

I used R.A.C.H.S. in mid-jersey, even though I am in Clifton. Excellent work.



R.A.C.H.S.
3 Piech Place
Sayerville, NJ 08872 Phone: 732-698-1388

 

[Crazed_RU]

Why two zones for a 1500 sq ft place? Not seeing the value in that expense.

 

[ruhudsonfan]

Originally posted by Crazed_RU:
Why two zones for a 1500 sq ft place? Not seeing the value in that expense.

Agree. Unless you have some funky insulation issues going on, one properly sized brand new unit will hang icicles on your ceiling in 1,500 s/f.

 

[bxle]

Recently had an American Standard A/C installed. Like it so far. You may want to shop around for brand as much as HVAC company.

 

[mikebal9]

I called an hvac guy and told him my bedroom upstairs wasn't getting cooled by my current AC. Before I got the sentence out, he asked if I live in a split level, which I do. Apparently, even smaller splits can benefit from dual zone. I'm definitely going to look into it when this one finally kicks.

 

[Vejai]

Question for you. If you already have the ducts in place for the heat, how are you going to make it two zones? Are you putting in two units or doing controlled dampers?

 

[RUHotTrumpetMonkeyLove]

Thanks for the feedback, guys.

Spanky, email sent.

A little bit of history... As long as we've been in the house, every summer we've cooled it with window units with thermostat settings. We very much like being able to not have to keep the downstairs as cool at night if we don't have to. That's why I would like two zones.

Vejai, good point about the duct work. I was thinking dampers, but admittedly don't know how feasible that is.

 

[fg7321]

We have one unit for a 1700 sq ft bi-level in the summer we close the ducts downstairs and open the upstairs ducts both levels are comfortable with a 77' setting.

In the winter we do the opposite and close a few of the upstairs ducts .

We also have installed Andersen windows installed and extra insulation in the attic.

 

[rutgersal]

PSE&G is definitely more expensive. We used Reiner group based out of Fairfield,Nj. They use Lennox.

I'd also get a quote from Home Depot. They use Trane last time I checked.

Rather than doing dual zones, we kept a single window unit up top, which was much cheaper and has worked out well for us.

 

[krup]

With all the discussion of "dual-zones" to help with the upstairs, can someone give me an idea of whether an attic fan makes sense that?

My house is south-facing, and really seems to retain the heat upstairs on sunny days. I was wondering whether installing fans to automatically clear the attic air when it gets above X degrees make any sense.

 

[RUich]

I have a split level (three) and the A/C I inherited had a real problem in keeping the temps anywhere near each other. Freezing in lower level (no brainer since cold air is dense) and not nearly as good in upper level where the BR's are located. I solved the issue by installing ceiling fans in the upper level rooms and closing some of the vents in the lower level to help force more cold air elsewhere. Happy with the system now.

 

[SanFranRutgers]

Meyer & Depew out of Kenilworth. Owner is a huge Rutgers Football fan and season ticket holder. Their customer satisfaction ratings are through the roof.

 

[ruhudsonfan]

Originally posted by krup:
With all the discussion of "dual-zones" to help with the upstairs, can someone give me an idea of whether an attic fan makes sense that?

My house is south-facing, and really seems to retain the heat upstairs on sunny days. I was wondering whether installing fans to automatically clear the attic air when it gets above X degrees make any sense.

Traditional old school attic fans work really well, but you need the bottom floor windows cracked open to get the full effect. My first house had four floors (including a walk-up attic). I would crack the windows on the first living floor (non basement) and put the attic fan on. Within about 3 minutes, the curtains on the first floor would be dancing.

More recent attic fans aren't designed to do the same thing. They are designed to draw the hot air of your attic and that is pretty much it. I have one in my current house (2 living floors, no basement and pull down ladder style attic). They are auto and on temp control. When the temp in the attic exceeds 87 degrees, they turn on and run until it drops below. I notice some difference, but nothing compared to the old fashioned kind.

 

[DJ Spanky]

Originally posted by RUHotTrumpetMonkeyLove:
Thanks for the feedback, guys.

Spanky, email sent.

Bakatcha!

 

[JMORC2003]

Originally posted by rutgersal:
PSE&G is definitely more expensive. We used Reiner group based out of Fairfield,Nj. They use Lennox.

I'd also get a quote from Home Depot. They use Trane last time I checked.

Rather than doing dual zones, we kept a single window unit up top, which was much cheaper and has worked out well for us.

I added AC to my 1940s cape, but put the handler in a crawl space upstairs. Since the second floor is a converted attic, it gets pretty hot in summer, so cooling from the top down is much more efficient than pushing the cool air all the way from the basement. Also the thermostat and all my returns are upstairs which helps efficiency. During the hottest months I have 1/2 the downstairs vents closed and set the temp fairly warm otherwise it's an icebox. Duel zone would be the more efficient although initially more expensive solution.

A lot of other capes in my neighborhood have their AC with the furnace in the basement and either use window units to help upstairs.

Bottom line, retrofitting old houses with central air is a pain in the butt.

This post was edited on 3/3 11:46 AM by JMORC2003

 

[motorb54]

Agree to use a contractor vs. a utility company.
But get a few quotes
We replaced our furnace and A/C in 2013
Estimates were up to $3,000.00 different

 

[Knight Shift]

Some great advice here, particularly avoiding the energy company. www.hvac-talk.com has a great forum for advice. Whoever does your system, make sure it is properly sized by them doing a Manual J calculation.