Central Heat?
In general, how much does adding central heat to a central A/C system cost? We are going to have to replace the furnace either way. (Three floor brownstone, and please don’t turn this into a radiators are the best, most efficient way to heat a home conversation.) Thank you all….
In general, how much does adding central heat to a central A/C system cost? We are going to have to replace the furnace either way. (Three floor brownstone, and please don’t turn this into a radiators are the best, most efficient way to heat a home conversation.)
Thank you all….
When choosing a forced air heating system for a brownstone application beware of the following:
-90% efficient furnace cannot be used when venting into any existing brick, clay or metal chimney.
-If you have a single zone forced air heating system (located in the cellar) that heats many different floors in a Brownstone you can not use a variable speed furnace.
-Home depot & Sears will not install your system but will sub your installation out to a private contractor for a cheap price.
I’m looking to put in a new gas furnace to replace the old as well as put in C/A for my 1100 ft2 tri-level townhouse. I’ve had Home Depot come out and quote $9400 for a 90% efficient unit and Sears came out and did a more thorough job in considering the type of housing, local climate, being energy efficient, but their quote was over $17,000. I’ll be getting at least 2 more quotes before I decide.
To address the original question, I’ve looked up some of our numbers. We had a rough estimate of 16-18K for the central heating system and a rough estimate of 22-24K for the central heat and central air. In the end, the total cost was just under 22K for both (Sept 2002).
Wow, 5:27, it must be difficult to go through life with your agenda on your shoulders.
Of course one does not overheat and then balance with the air conditioner. There is this thing called a thermostat.
If you’ve ever renovated over a period of time as we did, you would understand that options and decisions change. When we first purchased and began our project, the heating system was nearly useless and, therefore, the first thing we did. We had a system installed that suited our interior taste and would last a lifetime. A couple of years later as we started redoing each room, we discovered the radiant floor heating option has become much more affordable and we love having the warm floors. As each room was renovated, we continued to install radiant flooring.
Obviously (at least to most people), as the radiant floor system extended into the house, the use of the central heating system declined. In fact, we spend less on heat now than we did with just the central heat and much less than the first few (winter) months with the old radiator heaters. This is because the radiant floors make one feel warmer without having to warm all of the air in a room and because they can be controlled room by room. Since the central heat was already in place, there was no sense in removing it and it now comes on only as a backup when it’s extremely cold, so that the floors need not be heated more in order to inefficiently make up for the more severe weather. Perhaps 5:40 would have preferred that we remove the central heat, but how wasteful is that when the central air is already in place? Perhaps 5:40 would also prefer that one remove a fireplace once a heating system is installed–it is two heating systems.
Obviously (to most), in the summer the thermostat shuts down the floors. There is a comfort zone when no temperature systems are used and when the outside temperature goes above that, the central air kicks in. And, of course, a central air system controlled room by room is much more efficient than a couple of window-mounted air conditioners.
The dual system that we stumbled into may have had a larger initial cost, but it is extremely efficient. In fact, we just had a reappraisal done to refinance and the temperature control system added more to the value than it cost to install.
Wow, 5:40, must be nice to have that kinda money to install TWO heating systems! Do you try to balance the overheating by running the a/c to compensate?
I must stop reading this…too many people with too little regard for sustainability, energy consciousness or anything but their own comfort.
We have a 3-floor, 3000 sq ft in which we installed both central heat and central A/C for around 25K– a little less if I remember correctly, but this was four years ago. I don’t recall the breakdown for the heat and A/C.
While I agree with the previous posts that central A/C is not a necessity in this climate and that radiators most likely are a ‘better’ alternative, I think the choice comes down to the type of person you are and your interior preferences. We prefer clean lines and, absolutely as much as is possible, everything built in and hidden away. For this reason, we don’t regret the central systems. We don’t regularly use the A/C (the open-window feel IS nice), but it’s nice to have it there when desired and not have to have a hunk of metal hanging out the window (external air conditioner).
The heating system turned out to be overkill for us because we eventually installed radiant flooring in most of the house, but it does kick in on the colder days so is nice to have tucked away and out of site.
So if these are interior considerations that you prefer, the systems are right for you. If it’s just bottom-line savings or if you aesthetically prefer the radiators, go with another alternative.
I second anon 9:34 am. The newer window A/Cs are light and compact. What do you need to cool the whole house for? Install them in the bedrooms and the living room. Otherwise, enjoy the summer feeling. And I’m not being facetious.
Better idea yet…don’t install central a/c! Cost-ineffective, energy wasteful and not needed in this climate. Window a/cs are perfect for our needs.
This answer might not be quite “on point” then, but:
Friends of mine put in forced air heat and central a/c in their 4-story brownstone, approximately 3600 square feet. Each floor has its own zone and they have two compressors, one in the basement and one on the roof. It ran them $25K, plus an additional $2-3K for the removal of the radiators and replacement/repair of the floors where the radiators stood.
They were not thrilled with their HVAC guys – don’t think they were incompetent, just average, but I can get the name of the firm if you’d like. For what it’s worth, they like the a/c but, if they had to do it again, would install only a/c and keep the hot-water radiators. They had huge radiators which they felt were obtrusive in many of the rooms, but in retrospect they preferred that type of heat (despite the huge rads and ugly pipes) to their forced air.