Central air conditioning

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by EVERLAST

For air conditioning.....please do yourself a favor and DONT use 3M of any kind , Kirkland woven and pleated filters as your just asking for longer cooling cycles, higher bills, frozen coils , defrosting coils and defrosting coils mean water in your furnace and fried electric components which are HUGE money for repairs these days.
I've been in the HVAC industry for 30 years and the crap I see which is all preventable is amazing

So don't use 3M and kirkland woven and pleaded? Or use the kirkland?

[MacDaddy77]

I agree with Everlast. The best filters for your furnace ae the cheapest ones and change more frequently. They wont catch all the microbs but wont make your furnace work harder because the return air isn't being constricted.

[mrkajz44]

Originally Posted by chemgear

With the smoke?

Smoke will go right through any residential grade filter anyway (despite what the company claims on the packaging).

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by EVERLAST

For air conditioning.....please do yourself a favor and DONT use 3M of any kind , Kirkland woven and pleated filters as your just asking for longer cooling cycles, higher bills, frozen coils , defrosting coils and defrosting coils mean water in your furnace and fried electric components which are HUGE money for repairs these days.
I've been in the HVAC industry for 30 years and the crap I see which is all preventable is amazing

As I don't have central AC of any kind, do you mean those types of filters in the furnace or somewhere in the AC unit?

**edit**

Whoops, didn't realize I was behind in the thread. I see MacDaddy touched on that.

We bought a HoneyWell standalone air purifier that seems to do the job nicely. Have heard from other HVAC folk that cheap, pourus filters are best for your furnace for sure. Purifier you air elsewhere.

[Twitchy15]

What’s the lowest you should put your air conditioner? Like is there a limit to how low the temp can be set so it doesn’t ice over?

[Iggy_12]

Originally Posted by Twitchy15

What’s the lowest you should put your air conditioner? Like is there a limit to how low the temp can be set so it doesn’t ice over?

my installer told me 19

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by mrkajz44

Smoke will go right through any residential grade filter anyway (despite what the company claims on the packaging).

No, they work. But they clog real, real, real fast. And when they clog the airflow becomes zero.

If the smoke is real bad I use the 3M 1900 ones, they clog after about five days.

[chedder]

I normally just use the reusable/washable filter that came with my furnace 13 years ago when we built. For this summer I put in a "merv 13" rated disposable that says it filters smoke. I left myself a note from installer when we moved in saying stay below merv 16.

Just googled merv. It stands for minimum efficiency reporting values. Internet says 17 plus is for commercial systems. And 8 is a standard filter.

[DoubleF]

I've been using a portable AC unit, but longer term, I was asking for a quote for AC and there's been a few guys who have said, "Furnace too old, cannot install AC" or just not responded.

Is it not possible to install AC in a situation where the furnace is an OG furnace from the 80s, or is were the installers just not interested in an install along side an older furnace? I'd rather not have to upgrade my still functioning furnace just to get AC.

My in laws have a unit from the 80s that still works, so it's not like they didn't have AC in the 80s that can be installed along side an 80s furnace.

[photon]

Has anyone ever done AC in a house with 2 furnaces? I think I've been told that we can put one on the upstairs furnace and it'll keep the main floor cool too since cold air sinks and of course can turn on the fans etc.

Does that work? Or is it just a case of too much area and one won't be enough? (2800 square foot or so)

[Dentoman]

Originally Posted by photon

Has anyone ever done AC in a house with 2 furnaces? I think I've been told that we can put one on the upstairs furnace and it'll keep the main floor cool too since cold air sinks and of course can turn on the fans etc.

Does that work? Or is it just a case of too much area and one won't be enough? (2800 square foot or so)

I have two furnaces and AC units on both. I occasionally use the main floor one on the really hot days, otherwise just use the upstairs one. I could easily get by with just the upstairs one. Basement actually gets too cold with the AC on

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by photon

Has anyone ever done AC in a house with 2 furnaces? I think I've been told that we can put one on the upstairs furnace and it'll keep the main floor cool too since cold air sinks and of course can turn on the fans etc.

Does that work? Or is it just a case of too much area and one won't be enough? (2800 square foot or so)

I did that last year when moving into my house. That is absolutely the way to do it. Upstairs is nice and cool and the rest of the house will be as well. My house is 3850sq ft fully developed (including the basement) and it cools the entire place.

[photon]

And we don't have to worry about the basement now, we suited it and my parents live there (it's got it's own furnace too), so there's a door between the main floor and the basement now. Last year they said it was nice down there all summer.

Thanks!

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by photon

Has anyone ever done AC in a house with 2 furnaces? I think I've been told that we can put one on the upstairs furnace and it'll keep the main floor cool too since cold air sinks and of course can turn on the fans etc.

Does that work? Or is it just a case of too much area and one won't be enough? (2800 square foot or so)

My house is a bit smaller than yours (~2400 square foot 2 storey) and we put central AC on only the upper level. On a very, very hot day (32+) it stays on pretty continuously but it is always comfortable inside, including on the main floor. I do also turn on the furnace fan on my lower floor furnace on hot days to keep air circulating. Our house is on a south facing hill and had inadequate attic ventilation until very recently, so it's a pretty high cooling load that it has been dealing with.

If I had it to do again I'd still only put it on the upper floor, but would maybe go one size up in tonnage from the initial recommendation as it is effectively cooling a larger area.

[Ryan Coke]

I installed A/C on only the upstairs unit last year, and would echo what everyone else said….I’m happy with it as is, no thoughts at all of thinking I should put one on the other furnace.

[Vinny01]

When we purchased our unit the sales guy even said it would pretty much be a waste to install on both furnaces and I think he was right. Last summer was one of the hottest I could remember and the entire home was cooled throughout.

Coming from a house where it never got cool enough upstairs to one where it is definitely 19-20 in the bedrooms at night was a huge upgrade. Nice to still sleep under a decent sized blanket when it is 25 degrees outside.

[Hemi-Cuda]

I just got a quote from Arpi's for a Lennox AC install with 4 different price options. I'm leaning towards the Lennox EL16XC1 3.5 ton for a 2300 sqft house, and the quoted price is $7200 after tax. Is that a decent price? I have absolutely nothing to reference it to other than the other models in the quote, but the cheaper ones are louder and less efficient

[photon]

Yeah that seems in the range of what I've been getting quoted. I've had as low as $4500 for a low end Carrier or Goodman, to that much for I think that same Lennox from Arpi's (though I can get 10% of that in a gift card from Costco + my annual cash back).

Seems more expensive than even last year.

I have one more estimate to come in next week.

Lower SEER units (like 13) are $1000-2000 less than the 16 SEER ones, seems like it'd take 10+ years to recoup that cost.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by photon

Lower SEER units (like 13) are $1000-2000 less than the 16 SEER ones, seems like it'd take 10+ years to recoup that cost.

It's not the efficiency I'm worried about, it's the noise. Plus the tech said the higher SEER units have an automatic shutoff to protect it if debris gets in, or the condenser freezes, whereas apparently the 13 SEER unit will just fry itself

[8 Ball]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

It's not the efficiency I'm worried about, it's the noise. Plus the tech said the higher SEER units have an automatic shutoff to protect it if debris gets in, or the condenser freezes, whereas apparently the 13 SEER unit will just fry itself

That’s not a thing