AC system for our old house: good update!

[jane6672]

Update: first HVAC guy gave us our final quote: $20k total  that's 4-5k higher than he ballparked (yeah, I know it's a ballpark, but that is a big difference)

The second HVAC guy came out yesterday. He said yes, the attic space is small, which would make it more of a hassle if they have to replace parts, but wasn't that concerned about it – he said they would move intake aside and go up through there.

They will drop the vents for the first floor down through our under eaves storage, so we won't lose precious "real" closet space. 

They will do 2 zones (one for each floor), it's a 15 Seer unit, AND AND AAAAND

Our final quote came today: it comes out to just over $10k for everything.

HOORAY

**********************
I did read through some old AC threads from here, which was helpful, but I want to think out loud about this.

Okay, we have a cape-cod style house, built in the 40s. Oil furnace with radiators, which we love, but no AC system.

I had the HVAC guy come and do an estimate this morning (these guys have a great rep, but I'll be getting estimates from at least one other place):

Central air is not a great option because:
- Not a lot of room to run ductwork
- The attic is tiny, basically a small crawlspace in the peak of the roof: based on the size, he said it will be difficult to run ductwork, and really tough to service the unit once it's up there
- Our upstairs always gets way hotter than the rest of the house, and that would still be an issue
- Only moderately energy efficient
Estimate: upwards of $10K to do the ductwork

Mini-split units were his recommendation because:
- Very energy efficient
- Can control rooms individually
- No ductwork or piping inside the house (it runs on the outside), it would be 2 outside units, 6 inside units
Estimate: $15-16k

OUCH. He's calling tomorrow with the final estimate.

I don't love the idea of having a wall mounted unit in every room, and I don't love the price. Not losing space to ductwork and the efficiency (a similar house with similar setup has $50-60 electric/mo in the summer) is very appealing.

Something I didn't think to ask while he was here: for a central system, could we have separate zones for the first floor and second floor, or does that require 2 separate units?

[jane6672]

btw, nomad100, I bought a little nail puller tool, and it is PERFECT! Thanks for the rec.

[nomad100]

We are going through this too (getting estimates for installing AC in a house without central air and wanting to keep our baseboard radiator heat) but we decided that mini-splits are not an option for us since we don't want to have a unit mounted on the wall in so many rooms and given the layout of our house, cooling the bedrooms would still be an issue.

We have gotten quotes of $12-16K at this point with 2 more companies coming later this week.

[lmdbww]

My sister had mini-splits installed in her house (old 1800's farmhouse that could not accommodate duct work). They have 2 outside units and 4 indoor units. One set does the living room and master bedroom, and the other set does the dining room, kitchen, and my niece's bedroom. (they circulate enough air to cool everything, basically). They also get moderate heating from it in fall and spring so they don't have to use their oil heat except in extreme cold. They seem really happy with their setup.

She sent a link for reference for you, she got 2 of these packages from this website and my BIL installed everything himself:
www.acwholesalers.com/LG-Air-Conditioners/LMU187HV-LSN090HSV4-LSN120HSV4-21000-BTU-21-SEER-Ductless-Heat-Pump/52987.ac?catId=cat1034&mainCat=cat22185&subCat=cat1037&trail=31438:21.00

She said at the time they were the highest SEER option that you could get in a mini-split. If you have any specific questions, I can ask her for you.

[jane6672]

Mar 17, 2015 10:56:06 GMT -5 lmdbww said:

My sister had mini-splits installed in her house (old 1800's farmhouse that could not accommodate duct work). They have 2 outside units and 4 indoor units. One set does the living room and master bedroom, and the other set does the dining room, kitchen, and my niece's bedroom. (they circulate enough air to cool everything, basically). They also get moderate heating from it in fall and spring so they don't have to use their oil heat except in extreme cold. They seem really happy with their setup.

She sent a link for reference for you, she got 2 of these packages from this website and my BIL installed everything himself:
www.acwholesalers.com/LG-Air-Conditioners/LMU187HV-LSN090HSV4-LSN120HSV4-21000-BTU-21-SEER-Ductless-Heat-Pump/52987.ac?catId=cat1034&mainCat=cat22185&subCat=cat1037&trail=31438:21.00

She said at the time they were the highest SEER option that you could get in a mini-split. If you have any specific questions, I can ask her for you.

Thanks! Do you know what their sq. footage is, and is it an openish floor plan, or are the rooms more separated?

[msmerymac]

My in-laws have a mini-split in their family room/kitchen area, which is great for both extra heat and AC. I'd consider one for my office/3rd bedroom, which doesn't have a heat vent, but it depends on what we do with the office in the future. I think they are great for rooms that need extra heat or AC, but I don't think I'd put one in EVERY room, since they do take up space, especially if you're just using them 1/2 the year or less. We have window units we haul into the master bedroom and living room in the summer, though.

[wawa]

I don't have any real input on the minisplits vs. central system - but yes, you can zone a system with a single unit. They just install dampers in the ducts controlled by zone. It's not a perfect system, but it does work.

[namasteak]

Which would give you better resale value?

All houses here have central AC so I don't have a good opinion for you - sorry!

[jane6672]

Update: first HVAC guy gave us our final quote: $20k total that's 4-5k higher than he ballparked (yeah, I know it's a ballpark, but that is a big difference)

The second HVAC guy came out yesterday. He said yes, the attic space is small, which would make it more of a hassle if they have to replace parts, but wasn't that concerned about it – he said they would move intake aside and go up through there.

They will drop the vents for the first floor down through our under eaves storage, so we won't lose precious "real" closet space.

They will do 2 zones (one for each floor), it's a 15 Seer unit, AND AND AAAAND

Our final quote came today: it comes out to just over $10k for everything.

HOORAY

[nomad100]

jane6672 What good news! Such a difference in quotes. I am so happy you will be getting central AC (and I am totally jealous!)

Sadly we didn't have the same experience. We had 3 different companies come out and they all were in the $15-17K range.  

So no central AC for us this year.  We need to have our chimney rebuilt from the roofline up and that came in at over $5K. So with our other projects that we need to tackle (including windows), the home reno budget can't handle another big ticket item.  

We are putting it on the list for next year since now we at least have a better idea of what the spend will be.

[jane6672]

nomad100 booo! If it makes you feel any better, we put off doing the AC... 3 different years.