Time for a new furnace & A/C

[Al Margita]

I'm starting to look for a new furnace & whole house A/C. My old gas Lenox furnace has held up well & is still working fine after 57 years but I looking to replace it with a more efficient as well as the bunch of window A/C units I currently have. One area that may be a problem is that 18 years ago I had an addition put on but at the time didn't run duck work to that area. Just have a in wall furnace to heat it. I'm looking for suggestions on what to look for in a furnace (brands, models, accessories) & A/C unit, questions to ask a contractor & is there a way to have the A/C to to my addition since there isn't any duck work??? I'm guessing the furnace & A/C from others I've talked to will be around $4,000 to 5,000 for the Pittsburgh area, any help on what to use for the A/C in the addition & approx cost for such thing. Thanks in advance to anyone that responds,

Al

[ds549]

hy house is 100 years old, i put in new bryant 80% eff nat gas furnace and 10 seer ac. my cooling bill was 50.00 less a month and heating was less also.( i used 3 window units). i know there are 90% eff furnaces but was told by my tech they dont last long (7-8 years) so i went with the 80%. if you use a heat pump , you can go geothermal and heat your house real cheep but cost more to put the loop in the ground. i paid 2500.00 3 years ago for the furnace and ac and have it put in, i had 2 ducts added. i got quotes from good companies in the 3500.00 to

4000.00 range. things to ask would be if the ac guy actually calculates if your goin to have enough air flow in existing ducts , ac must have plenty of size for your house and ac size. heating is easier than cooling.some guys just use the existing ducts and if it works then ok but if it doesnt , then you need bigger ducts..in my 1000 sq ft rental house i put in ac with existing ducts and it didnt cool well. i had to go from 6 in room ducts to 8 in ,add 2 more ducts and increase the air inlet size on the inlet ductwork.also i had to put in more attic vents to cool it up there more.cooling is alll about moving enough air efficiently/quickly. lucas

[Joseph Meehan]

Especially since you need to do some adjustments due to the addition, I suggest you start with choosing the most important part, the contractor, not the equipment. The contractor can help you choose good equipment for your specific situation and most importantly make sure it is properly installed and sized to assure the best results.

[Rural Technologist]

get a munchkin furnace w/hydronic coils installed by a pro and a decent 14 SEER condenser outside. add a HTP or triangle indirect water tank and you will have a state of the art, affordable, very efficient system for the next few decades. You probably will see a large savings.

-p