CAC units... need answers from homeowners who have them...?

Question

I have a farm ranch style house in Suffolk county NY, and I'm considering installing a CAC system. The unit is a Ruud (similar to Reem) 13 SEER on one zone... my questions are: If you have this unit, are you happy with it? How much are your electric bills each month? Is it really cost effective to have CAC vs. in wall units? I had asked the installer (a friend) if I could have two zones... as I'm renting the upstairs to a tenant, and don't need to cool the upstairs during work hours... he said it's best just to have one zone, and that I really wouldn't be wasting money cooling all of it vs. some rooms at a time. Any advice would be appreciated.
Forgot to mention... I don't plan on staying in this house more than 6-7 years... and am worried that the cost of installing it wouldn't be worth it. I'm getting it pretty cheap ($6500), but could probably buy 4 in wall units and run them 24/7 for the next 7 years and still not hit the $6500 mark. Any advice??
I should add that the price includes running ducts for all the rooms. The house has no duct work as of yet.

Answer 1

I am an HVAC installer and certified home energy expert in upstate NY. A couple of things you should consider:
1) What are your goals ? Improving the resale value of the home ? Lowering your monthly electric bills ? Improving indoor air quality (dust, humidity, comfort) ? Reducing noise of the AC ? Convenience ?
You should rate each of these on a scale of 1-10 and rank in order of importance to determine if CAC is right for you.

2) A properly designed and installed CAC system MAY save on energy bills vs. wall units but will likely take 6-10 years or more to payback the install cost vs. energy savings. An improperly designed and installed system will likely increase your energy bills year after year and could cause other problems, including indoor air quality problems, noisy ducts, dirty ducts, heat losses in winter (more energy $), water leaks, even roof leaks and roof damage.

A properly designed system means the entire house was evaluated and thoroughly measured including insulation in all ceiling, floor and walls cavities, every window & door and building materials in the home's exterior. Then they use something called Manual-J to properly size the system to the homes conditions. Then they use something called manual-D to design the duct system. These designs produce a written report detailing how many BTU's of cooling are needed and how many CFMs (cubic feet per minute) of airflow are needed for each room.

Two or more zones are recommended when there are different usage patterns in different areas of the house, such as the tenant situation. Also the second floor often needs more AC than the first floor due to heat from the roof/attic. Zoning is best accomplished with one system using a set of dampers and multiple thermostats. You don't need two sets of equipment for two zones. Anyone who tellls you otherwise, doesn't understand zoning.

For $6500 that system most likely is using flexducts for all the ducts. This is the least energy effecient system but it is less expensive due to much lower cost of material and 1/3 the labor of a sheet metal duct system. However, the low cost often means low quality.

To get the story on quality of CAC check out contractors at www.bpi.org and www.natex.org These guys have passsed written and field tests proving they know and pledge to do quality work and save you energy. Also LIPA has a program called home performance with EnergyStar in which certified contractors can get you cash incentives for the new CAC system while increasing energy savings. Check out www.GetEnergySmart.org

Good Luck

Answer 2

I can't answer everything, but it really comes down to aesthetics and convenience. It's nice to just turn on in one place and not have to run all around the house turning on several units. Window units are ugly and aren't even allowed in a lot of subdivisions. You might want to check into something called a mini-split which will cost less, install quicker, look better and could go in just one area (downstairs in your case). It doesn't require new ductwork but does have an outside unit similar to a full CAC. They are made by several companies. You would have to see what brands your AC friend can get. Stay cool!

Answer 3

Well, we've had 2 homes and installed central air in both. One was an attached 2 storey, and present house is single 2 storey.
We also lived in an apartment before buying our side by side.

The apartment had a window unit. I find that window units only work well for small places like apartments or even mobile homes.

The central air unit is much better. When we had central air installed in the 1st home, the sidebyside, the electrician explained how central air works.
He said it removes the humidity from the house. He said that's how it works, just by removing the humidity. When the humidity drops the temperture drops.
Besides, window units don't look as good, and need to be sealed properly.

Answer 4

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