Central A/C
We have a forced air heating system already in place and would like to install central A/C. Has anyone done this before and how much would it be? The house is a 4 floor limestone and about 3600sqf. Also, I am curious to know if a central A/C system would be more energy efficient than…
We have a forced air heating system already in place and would like to install central A/C. Has anyone done this before and how much would it be? The house is a 4 floor limestone and about 3600sqf. Also, I am curious to know if a central A/C system would be more energy efficient than just having a bunch of window units.
I used a pair of brothers, one does HVAC work, one does electrical. I only have the number for the electric half of the pair–it’s Maico Electrical, George is the owner-brother, 718-369-0808. Good luck!
12:10: If it works, it works…I always suspected you could so this, though I wonder about how it changes efficiency.
A little knowledge is dangerous…I’ve read advice against shutting down registers (maybe too many) because it changes the cooling dynamics of the unit and you get freezing and something-hammer which can destroy the compressor.
glarph – Who did you use?
Thank you
glarph – Who did you use?
Thank you
I did it, the actual unit was not too expensive, $5K if I am remembering correctly. It did need an electrical upgrade at installation, which cost a bit more. An additional upside was I added a HEPA filter to it ($2K more)and my indoor air quality was awesome. Practically never had to dust. I didn’t go for zones, just shut down the registers in the rooms I wasn’t using.
New CAC has EER ratings of up to 20, window units max at 11, so on the surfcace, almost twice as efficient. However, in practice 1) the high-EER units are much more expensive, so most people opt for 14-16EER; 2) if you don’t care about cooling the entire house (and yours is quite large,) you’ll have to go for a zoned system which can add 5-10k.
If you want to conserve resources, cool only the room(s) you’re in, which window units do well. Incidentally, thru-wall units are typically less efficient than window because of restricted air flow (max out at 9EER or so.)
I looked into using my existing original 1899 hot air ducts for central air.I was told that the round duct work was too small and the hot air registers on the floors, or low on the walls, just above the baseboard, weren’t properly placed and that using them for AC would be very inefficent.
It depends if you have space under the roof for a condenser and your existing ductwork allows for zone control of the building.
If not then single ACs will be more efficient.
Better yet, go for a split system. Works fantastically and you can separately control your temperature in different parts of the house with multiple units.