What's a fair price for central air

[The patriot]

OK, I'm tired of lugging the window units around.

How much should central air cost for a 24x64 ranch house?

I already have the ducting (hot air heat )

I'm thinking that a 2. 5 ton unit should do it. I want a quality unit (Trane) and it would have to be on the far side of the house from the electrical panel. (long run)

I was given one quote for $2800. 00 for the American Standard (made by Trane) high efficiency unit. I would get a $380. 00 rebate with the hi-eff one.

A regular eff unit would be about $500. 00 less, but no rebate.

I was told that this guy does good work.

Anyone out there do A/C's? Does this sound fair?

TIA

Eric

 

[Wayne M.]

Eric, I have a 25X25 two story house, also with Hot air and no A/C. Two years ago I went for Central air (2 ton I think), Aprilaire humidifier, and honeywell programmable 'stat. I had the local utility (Keyspan) do it. They gave me the best price of a couple estimates and they only deal in Trane. I went for a new furnace too, since I had the original Westinghouse. If memory serves, it was about $5K for the deal, and I did the electrical service with my Electrician buddy.

I'll have to check what my efficency is, but I think there were 3 grades and I wound up with the middle one. It works real good, and I got rid of the units.



Something to think about,

Where are your air returns? All mine are at the bottom of the wall. This is good for heat (cold air drops, and is recurculated) and bad for A/C. Though they left the first floor return alone (only 2 right next to each other), the upstairs (one in each BR) were modified. they sealed the bay behind the sheetrock (area between studs), opened the tops of the return boxes and installed grilles near the top of the wall, creating a high return. Both returns were covered with closable grilles (like a vent). In summer the lower return is closed so hot air is returned. In winter, the top is closed and the lower is opened. This system seems to work well. I hope this info helps you make a decision, Good luck!

 

[The patriot]

Hummm I never gave the returns any thought. Thanks for bringing that up. Mine are down low.

Eric

 

[illflem]

I read last week of a guy with a cheap AC alternative. He runs a sprinkler all winter and ends up with a 900 ton chunk of ice that he covers with a tarp and straw for insulation. He then ducts his heater intake under the tarp. Says he still has ice left over when winter comes back. He does live in northern Wisconsin though.

 

[JConley]

That is a pretty neat idea. Too bad we cant trap the 100 degree temps down here and save it for winter.

 

[me4osu]

Bet they don't have THAT in Oregon.

 

[Amianthus]

2. 5 Ton?! What the he** are you going to keep your house at? 45f? You don't need one that big.

There's a couple of factors that come into play when selecting an A/C unit. How well is the house insulated? How good are the windows? Are there alot of South facing windows? Where will the unit be placed? Will the house be zoned? Are there trees nearby for shade? What color is the house? How many floors? What's the layout? These are the questions I ask when I'm going to install an A/C unit for someone.

I use a thumbrule for sizing, but base the final tonnage on all of those factors. For your house, I would recommend no more than 2 ton and no less than 1. 5 ton. You don't want a unit that's too big because it will run and shut off right away. That's hard on your unit and doesn't control humidity. But you don't want a small unit (hold your jokes) either. Then it runs too much and is hard on your bill. Not to mention, it may not be able to make up for losses during the day. 2 Ton should work fine and dandy for you. But then again, I haven't seen your place.

My last question, why do you feel you need to go with a name brand? I sell Janitrol (Goodman). The parent company also makes Amana. I have had great success with these units and the warranty is as good as any I've seen. I won't say anything bad about Trane units or any other unit for that matter, they are all pretty much the same. There are a few differences, but none justify the difference in price (IMHO). If you have any questions, give me a call. (608)304-0399. I'd be more than happy to give my opinion.



BTW, I feel that ~$1500 is reasonable for a professional to install an A/C unit in a residence. Provided it isn't too complicated. I do it as a side job for BOMBing money so I charge less.

 

[The patriot]

Amianthus....

If it wasnt for my wife I'd keep it 55-60 all summer!!

House has standard builders grade insulation. Guess it's R-11? The whole house can use, and will get some more.

Windows same thing. Double hung builders grade, vintage 1975.

The unit will be on the south side of the house.

Lots of southern exposure(mucho windows ,patio double door etc), w/o the benefit of substantial shadetrees close enough to help.

House wont be zoned, color is white, and it's a standard ranch house, 3br, 2 bath. One floor. No basement.

I also plan on doing vynil siding some time soon at which time will be insulated first on the exterior. Probibally a year or two.

Trane was highly reccomended to me. Just trying to get something that people had good experiences with. I hate to go and do a job twice.

My mechanic here at work does A/C on the side (he's too far from me to do mine 100 miles ) he told me that the price I got would give the installer about $900. 00 profit which he said was pretty much going rate, to slightly cheaper.

Maybe the A/C's cost more here??

It was 105 last summer for a short spell, I dont want to run out of A/C... ... assuming the electric is still on.

A small diesel preferably water cooled gen set will be next.

Eric

BTW The installer said 2 OR 2. 5 ton. Price he gave me was for a 2. 5 installation, over the phone.

 

[Steve M]

Ten years ago we had a 2 ton Rheem unit installed for just over $2,000 in our 930sq ft mansion. That included 5 registers, the air return in the hall and woodwork for the air handler. It has heat strips and relays for control so when there's a problem I can go to Grainger supply and get whatever I need for it. So far it's needed one relay. The company still adverstises the same special for $2000. Simplicity has paid off for us. It still runs quietly and we rarely see an electric bill over $100. We could have went for a York heat pump unit with all the electronics to go with our Florida lightning storms for a mere $7000. I'm glad we went with the simple unit. The compressor sits right outside the kitchen window so it gets a look see every day for any abnormailities. The prices you quoted sound fair to me if you get the same good service we've had from ours. They also removed the old oil heater and hauled it away. And the tank...

 

[DMalone]

A/C HOUSE

Hi, did he do a heat load calulation, windows, door, etc. what type of windows. He should be able to get close as to what size you will need and then ask him is it design for what ambeint conditions, example 95 degree, I dont no were you live but it does depend on what is normal summer temps. I believe all manufactures use scroll compressors now and that is a big saving in your electric bill. I assume its not going to be a heatpump. Get the highest seer rating you can afford. Get a real programmable thermostat and you will be ok. I have been doing this work for 30 years but i work on industrial equipment, chillers, low medium high temperture refrigeration units, 1hp to 400 tons. And no heat pumps are junk unless you live in florida,az, of course this is my opinon. You dont want a unit that runs all the time, but you dont want one that short cycles either, just make sure it has a good condenser and a name brand compressor. Make sure the install is properly done suction lines traped insulated line clamped good. Drain on evaporator has a trap installed. good luck

 

[The patriot]

Well, this guy came highly reccomended, but I will get some more quotes before commiting.

I'll also ask about the 2 ton unit. Maybe the 2. 5 is a bit large. ?

Steve, sounds like you got a real good deal.

DMalone, he didnt get too tech with this estimate. I got it over the phone. He's a friend of my neighbors, and on occasion my neighbor does jobs with him. My neighbor dont know enough to do the job alone.

My work is sort of related to this too, but I'm on the steam generation end of it. I did a little work with absorption units(Trane), and centrifugal(mostly York) but my main concern was the steam plant.

I know a little about everything, but not enough about anything. except boilers.

Thanks for all the info guys. It gives me more to think about.

Eric

 

[C Schomer]

Eric, you have to see if your furnace is an AC model and what tonnage it can support. 2. 5 tons will be 614 sq'/ton in your house - about right for normal conditions but you have much south exposure to consider. The only residential AC install I've done in the last 20 years was my daughters last summer. A 3T 12 SEER Rheem cond unit, 4Tcoil (for low latent load climate like Denver) and all the other goodies cost me about $1000. Elec was 10' away. Craig