Installing Central Air - Unico or Spacepak
Does anyone have experience installing a Unico or Spacepak central air system into a brownstone? We are starting to investigate putting such a system into our 2 story duplex and wondering about others’ experiences. What was the cost of installing this and was it relatively complication-free, or was it not worth it in retrospect? We…
Does anyone have experience installing a Unico or Spacepak central air system into a brownstone? We are starting to investigate putting such a system into our 2 story duplex and wondering about others’ experiences.
What was the cost of installing this and was it relatively complication-free, or was it not worth it in retrospect? We have forced heat and window AC units currently.
Thank you.
About a year ago I spent 15k for to have a Spacepak system (everything included) installed in a very small (1500 sq ft.) three story townhouse. The house was gutted, so they didn’t have to do any breaking. I don’t believe the works spent more than a few days installing everything.
I imagine with price increases, you shouldn’t have to spend more than 20k max. It pays to really shop around. For the record, we did not have multiple zones installed — just one.
“We are tentatively thinking it would cost around $15k to install for 2 floors, approx 1800 sq ft total (20×45 floors). Is this a reasonable estimate?”
i think it will be significantly more than this. $25-35K.
How do these systems affect your electricity. i.e. Do you have to upgrade wiring etc. We’re thinking about putting in such a system but worry about whehter our existing electrical system (which is about 20-30 years old) can handle the load.
OP here. Many thanks! These were really helpful comments. We do not have existing ductwork- I misspoke. That is why we are thinking of the Unico/Spacepak option. I am glad to know that it seems to be doable and potentially worthwhile.
We are tentatively thinking it would cost around $15k to install for 2 floors, approx 1800 sq ft total (20×45 floors). Is this a reasonable estimate?
Thank you!
We did Unico and I have some mixed feelings in that we were trying to do a fair amount of preservation and, while the mini ducts fit in nicely in the walls, you still need a major trunk duct coming off each air handler and we ended up losing more space than we were led to believe. I think it is a great system but get the contractor to be really precise with you about how much space they are going to need and where. No complaints about the system, just the aesthetics.
Both Unico and Spacepak have good reputations. I do have to ask: when you say “forced heat,” can I assume that is forced air heat? If so, this would mean you have duct work already installed. This would alleviate the need for the smaller Unico/Spacepak ducting I think. I suspect I’m not getting the whole picture. Unico/Spacepak are more expensive, but have benefits beyond the use of small duct work. Don’t know if this helps, but good luck. I think Central AC is a good investment in Brownstones.