Hi: I'm building a house and am evaluating a bid for my HVAC. The house has full basement, 1st floor is about 3300 sq ft, 2nd floor is about 1000.
Bid calls for Frigidaire 5 ton for 1st floor and basement, 2.5 ton for
2nd floor. Metal ductwork (not flex).
Questions:
1) Bid puts both outside units side by side. Is that ok or should they be far apart?
2) Bid only has one main return on each floor, no return registers in other rooms. Is that ok? I thought it was important to get returns into bedrooms where doors would be closed restricting flow.
Any other comments anyone has regarding reliable units or whatever will be appreciated. Also, what should ballpark cost be?
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as long as they are not discharging hot air into the other unit. Usually they don't.
important. Air is blown into the room, mixed with the air that is there. Then it must have a free access to return back to the unit called the return. If that is inhibited in any way then your comfort maybe in jeopardy.
Most units discharge up so a 4-5 foot sepration would be a plenty. Check the manufacures specs. I say 4-5 feet so I can work and clean about them. Check the over hang and make sure that they are not blowing into it. Same applies to the drip edge, git them out away from the house a bit. East side of the home away from bedrooms for the condensers. Ask about how much noise the condensers make measured in decibles, then compare.
I have seen expensive home with returns in bedrooms, some homes I recently looked at the master bedroom had a grill through the wall for air exhange. I live in a hot climate and do not close the doors. If I do then the preformance of the a/c suffers. If you got the money I would put returns opposite the supplys in every bedroom.
The installer is much more important than the brand name. Get the highest seer that you can afford. I would make sure that the duct is insulated on the outside. The amount depends on where you live. http://198.147.238.24/ac_calc/default.asp Will allow you to play a little "what if".
I did a home in Carefree AZ, 50 miles north of Phoenix. 5 ton on the bottom and a 3 on the top. Summer time the 3 ton unit never turned off. Hot air rises and cold air settles. We had to install a set of doors at the top of the landing to keep the 3 ton unit from running all of the time, as well as moving the return into the master bedroom. Your climate may be different. Doors looked WAY out of place. Door placement made over a $200 a month difference in the electric bill.
Costs depend greatly on the area where you live. Steel, sheetmetal, wood and copper are going through the roof right now. Make sure you get non escaluation clauses or start buying the stuff you need in bulk.
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