I'm curious. What do professional members here have for heating and A/C...

[Paul12644]

and do any of you have duct restriction or other problems? If so, what did you do to rectify it, without violating the DIY rules. I'm interested in what professionals do to fix their problems.

[skippedover]

I have an oil fired baseboard heating sytem using a System 2000 EK-2 as the heat source for cold weather. Shoulder seasons and for cooling I use a Bryant 288ANA036 2-stage heat pump as a hybrid heat system and very comfortable cooling system in the summer. I have an electronic air cleaner for my wife's allergies (the variable speed air handler runs 24/7/365 at very low speed for air cleaning) and I don't have any duct problems. I designed the system using Manual 'J' and 'D' and 'S' and the static pressure is .4. I have a totally independent humidier that works only in the coldest weather to maintain between 37% and 45% RH.

Incidentally, I used to have a 10-SEER straight cooling unit and also used that PSC air handler for air cleaning as previously mentioned. But when I installed the newer high efficiency system with VS blower and 2-stage unit, even though I am heating the home with the HP all spring and fall and many days during the winter, my overall electrical consumption dropped 27%, proving that higher efficiency saves energy.

[ga-hvac-tech]

I have a 2000 ft split level, with 3 zones. The heat is a 100K 2 stage 80% rarely goes into high), and the cooling is a 3 ton HP. Zoning is with a HoneyWell TZ-4, with a bypass. All ductwork is metal. Oh, and an AirBear right angle media filter.

Am looking to change the HP to a 2 stage with a new zone panel.

[just_opinion]

I got window units. So ducts work is no problem. What is manual F, K J etc..

[Airmechanical]

dual fuel systems

if they break fix them



.

[Sleuth]

I have a Ruud 3-Ton Dual fuel Heat Pump W/ VP IAQ & Air Bear Filter.

:bump:

[openclasspro]

boiler-takes care of basement, ist floor and second floor floor zones,sidewalk and driveway snow melt,2-a/s 15 seer var speed ahu with how water coils,heatpumps,outdoor reset,all new designed ductwork with all equipment in mechanical room,a 1 comfort level.

[gevans]

Lennox 16 SEER heatpump with whole house filter and Honeywell FocusPro.
I had it changed out this year even though there was nothing wrong with the (6 year) old system. Too many rebates to pass up. All metal duct, completely sealed, with extra insulation.

[pauls heating &]

carrier 58mvb w older single stage ac- waiting till ac fails then going to
add on infinity hp..

changed out a lil ductwork-my house was built in mid 50's-
all supplys on interior walls-in living room changed return by front door
( real cold spot in winter ) to a supply...added a supply near kitchen door-
another cold area-just correcting orig install mistakes-
house is way more comfy now on them cold nights

[local 392]

Geothermal Waterfurnance with DC drive fan. This seems to have solved alot of my airflow issues by keeping air moving at very low flow in the off cycle. This stops all of my hot and cold spots. I'm very happy with it and thank you for my 30% refund on taxes!

[Some Dude]

Geothermal Waterfurnance with DC drive fan. This seems to have solved alot of my airflow issues by keeping air moving at very low flow in the off cycle. This stops all of my hot and cold spots. I'm very happy with it and thank you for my 30% refund on taxes!

Very funny, now stay out of Delta's concourse, we all know their girls are hotter than commair's.

[spymoocow]

1984 carrier furnace...68% efficient....a 3 ton coil thats about 4 years old and a 2-1/2 ton 1984 Carrier Air Conditioner. No duct issues...Use a 16x25x1 standard fiberglass filter and change it every 30 days.

[Todd S 2]

and do any of you have duct restriction or other problems? If so, what did you do to rectify it, without violating the DIY rules. I'm interested in what professionals do to fix their problems.

I'm was lucky when I bought my 2 story home that was built in 1946. My registers are (all) interior high sidewall. The returns are low on the exterior. The ductwork is (old school) quailty craftman built. The A/C has always worked great. I built two room additions with crawl spaces under. I had no choice. Anyway, my furnace is a 18 year old Bryant 95%AFUE, 2-stage, variable-speed. The A/C was hit by lightning and I put in a 2-speed A/C. I wish I had installed a H/P but my wife wanted A/C now and the A/C was in town. I have a Carrier Infinity Air Purifier and a AprilAire model 600A whole house humidifier. I put in a 3 zone damper system and it took care of the heating issues I had with the rooms over the crawl spaces. Also the zone system makes the second floor A/C like a champ. My next move will be geothermal.

[chuckcrj]

Bought my house in Nov 08
Pulled out cracked Pulse and installed;
All Am Std communicating
Heritage 18 2 stage HP
3-stage VS 95% Furnace
Accuclean electronic air cleaner(only mistake, am taking it out and installing Aprilaire 5000)

Very lucky to have got a house with properly sized ductwork, very very comfortable house.

[openclasspro]

18 yr old 95%er-i think not

[junkhound]

5300 sq ft, in Seattle area also.

4T Rheem 8 YO air-air HP, totally trouble free for that time.
Plus 4T custom GSHP (4T is the nominal scroll rating), 9.5 GPM, 55F EWT, 42F LWT. -(transfers nearly 5T worth of heat for 3.7kW input, condensor is 7.5T carrier unit, evap shop built)
Outdoor t-stat switches from air-air to GSHP at 46F air temp.
Still using old HW Chromotherm t-stat indoors.

Lots of trees on south side, A/C has been run less than 30 hours total in the last 5 years .

All metal ducts, 1" foam insulation on outside.

[Paul12644]

Junkhound,

I'm surprised the A/C didn't run a lot last summer. It was between 105 and 108 degrees for 3 or 4 days in a row in Redmond last year. That's why I decided to get a heat pump this year. For me, it was unbearable.

[heatairman]

I've got a goodman 95% var speed 2-stage furnace running propane.....nat gas is coming soon! 16 seer single stage for AC honeywell IAQ and truesteam humidifier
ductwork is all solid pipe
and I really want an electronic air cleaner!

[tecman]

2800 sq-ft, 3 zones. Two zones are ClimateMaster ground source heat pumps, and the new addition has a Goodman 10 SEER air source.

Paul

[leander311]

I'm lucky, my '74-era Austin TX house was last owned by a decent HVAC contractor. The 15-yr old system he installed is ~13 SEER, all sheet-metal ductwork, Aprilaire filter, 80% gas furnace. Looks old and not real fancy but runs like a dream. Gas and electricity bills never exceed $100 in my 2150sf house.

My DFW house I'll close on next month, contractor special for that tract neighborhood, but luckily it looks like he was also a decent contractor. 2005 home with ~13 SEER unit, sized correctly for heat load, good duct and filter sizing, and sealed well. Looks like I've been pretty fortunate all around. Also will insulate and add a Daiken 22SEER/16EER (no typo) Quaternity mini-split in the garage.

[openclasspro]

Bought my house in Nov 08
Pulled out cracked Pulse and installed;
All Am Std communicating
Heritage 18 2 stage HP
3-stage VS 95% Furnace
Accuclean electronic air cleaner(only mistake, am taking it out and installing Aprilaire 5000)

Very lucky to have got a house with properly sized ductwork, very very comfortable house.

best thing i did was take out aa 5000 and put in a clean effects in my mothers

[dash]

Carrier Infinity Heat Pumps with Copeland Scroll compressors,zoning,Carrier Air Purifier

[chuckcrj]

best thing i did was take out aa 5000 and put in a clean effects in my mothers

Have you ever used Air Advice or similar IAQ monitors?

Did before and after on my Accuclean. Showed huge reduction in particulates(dirt,dust). 2 months later my 1 year old daughter started getting allergies again and started noticing a lot more dust around. Checked blower wheel and it is quite dirty and only 2 months old???? Cleaned Accuclean and back to clean air.

1-2 months later same story so did another Air Advice test. Back to hi levels of particulates and chemicals/VOC's. Cured the latter with ERV.

Started noticing dirty blowers at customer's houses after less than 1 year of operation.

Bottom line is if they are not thoroughly cleaned every 1-2 months, including the field charger which BTW is not serviceable by homeowner, the performance drops off and they are not cleaning the air. How many people will pay you to come clean it 4-6 times per year?

My air cleaner is sealed to the furnace, ductwork was cleaned at time of install. 2800 sq ft living space very clean house, no pets. TESP is .6 on hi cooling stage-.5 on hi furnace fire.

Attached is an independent lab test that shows how Accuclean performance drops off with filter loading.

[REP]

I moved ionto a summer cottage of about 900 sq. feet.I insulated it and winterized it with a 90% Armstrong eg6f 40m furnace.It was something my co had and wanted to get rid of because they were now (then) an American Standard dealer.To that I added a 12 seer American standard 1 1/2 ton a/c system.Thatcost less to operate than nthe three window jobbers I used while I worked on install that summer about ten eleven years ago.
The cottage was built on a rock slab with 1/2 having a 30" crawl space and no crawl space for the rest.It required an innovated duct system with 1/2 ceiling registers and 1/2 floor registers .The same with returns.
To that I added a spaceguard filter and a aprilaire 550 humidifier,with a skuttle fresh air kit .It was so pretty when I got done with it that I took pictures.
As you can see,I did for myself what I beleive by keeping it simple.
The ductwork was a bear because of cramped spaces but I designed it correctly and it worked like a charm.when I moved,the only sadness was that I couldn't take that design with me (LOL).
I now live in the warm weather and live in a condo.If something goes wrong now the only tool i need is my phone haha.

[openclasspro]

funny- with the two accucleans in my home, family members home, customers-have zero complaints with any othe the accucleans i have installed since 04' upon becoming a/s dealer.nor have i or we experienced any conditions witht he blower wheel,my customers do keep the pre filter as well as the cells cleanded every 2-3 months-i stte this in all proposals, i guess i'm just lucky.

[Twilly]

Twilli says most have Coleman's but will lie about it

[Artietech]

Attached is an independent lab test that shows how Accuclean performance drops off with filter loading.

Interesting to see that in order to get the complete report, you have to go to Aprilaire website. Did they pay for the 'independent lab test'?

[chuckcrj]

Interesting to see that in order to get the complete report, you have to go to Aprilaire website. Did they pay for the 'independent lab test'?

Here is a quote from our sales and marketing manager who used to work for Research Products(RP).

Yes I have seen it- I was with them when it came out. RP did testing themselves first. After reviewing their internal results, for more credibility, they hired an independent lab company to conduct the research, hence the “white paper” title.

It is exactly my experience at my house and observing customers hvac equip.

The Service Advisor at our Am Std distributor has one in his house and says yes if they are not thoroughly cleaned every 2 months they lose performance. Again how many people are going to actually clean their unit every other month? Done right it takes 20-30 minutes.

Just run an IAQ test after it has been cleaned and again after 2 months and the results will be clear.

There have been threads about this very thing on this site so I won't beat the issue any longer.

[Artietech]

not doubting you or the results.... it was just an observation.

[Shophound]

I've been through two summers now with what is now a fifteen year old Fraser-Johnson condensing unit on the ground outside and a four year old Rheem furnace and cooling coil indoors. Ducts are all metal, the boots sealed at the ceiling. Plenum above the furnace is also sealed, so I'm not blowing conditioned air into the attic through the combustion air intake screen. Mechanical closet doors sealed from the house so furnace does not draw air from the house for combustion, nor draw air in from the attic into the return air pocket below the closet, adding to heating and cooling costs. TXV used for refrigerant metering. Condenser coils cleaned at bare minimum in spring before cooling season begins. Filter changed as needed. Honeywell VisionPro thermostat. System rock n' rolls year round without cleaning out my back account, and we stay mostly comfortable (still working on building envelope issues to make house less chilly in cold weather).

[Wirenut]

10 year old Lennox 2 stage furnace 13 seer AC, no problems yet. I replaced the Invesys thermostat with a new vision pro and outdoor sensor. Now I don't need to find my glasses to check the outdoor temp or thermostat setting!

[clarkkent]

1300sq ft with 2.5 ton 14 SEER ht pmp, 3 ton drive VS ahu running at 900cfm with 46,000 btu evap coil, 7/8 x 3/8 lineset 22' TEL , 18" return with 20x25x4 standard pleat filter. Flex duct with TESP of .17" in wc. Indoor unit @ full cfm pulls .33 amps. First month of operation July 05 saved over 400KWH over Junes bill. Had Vision pro until Tuesday and click was loudest thing indoors you heard. Just installed Ecobee wi-fi stat and can access stat from anywhere or with I phone app. Plus get local weather forecast on stat with a push of the button. And no more click from stat.

[fixitguy]

Gas for the dryer and water heater..Never used more than 225 gal a year,except when the tank leaked!!
Heat study says 2.1 Tons of AC, but the 3 TON carrier made from scrap
cools REALLY GOOD!!
2500 hrs heating and 4oo cooling here in Portland OR, old numbers, you have have newer numbers??
1500 sq feet. alum siding over I dont know what. I blew in 1 foot in the attic
like 18 years ago..... $160 a month INCLUDES the 9 amp blower motor, I figured it out last week! I did put in a curved piece in the plenium for better air flow and measured 1325 CFM {borrowed that niffty tool] from work one weekend.
Wanted to install gas at my wifes house as we're trying to selling. Its oil with
no gas access, so am installing carrier used heat pump, but needs more return and more supply lines.....That should really help selling it...[this weeks project during the slow days]

[tedkidd]

11 yr old 80% modulating baxi combi heating rads & 2 bathroom floors. Unico w 2 t ac. 2700 sf eating under 1000 therms per year.

[gary_g]

1800 sq-ft, all-electric split foyer in Baltimore.

All-metal ducts. No ductwork issues.

3-ton, 14 SEER Goodman heat pump. I may be oversized by 1/2 ton or so, but I need all the heating btu's that I can get in the winter.

Also have a masonry wood burning fireplace w/insert in the below-grade family room. Helps even-out the temps between the 2 floors in the winter time.

[hmscool]

2.5 ton carrier heat em up pump my pellet stove. aprilaire 700 humidifier and pleated filters will redesign soon tho. thinking foossil fuel....

[dash]

In the filter testing I didn't see where they say the same size filter for all brands, which probably isn't possible.

This could have an effect,if they used the same cfms for all brands.

Trane guys would say, lets see the results if you clean it every 30 days.

How do we know the "dirt" feed into the filters is typical of what a home would see?

We have customers that the Carrier Purifier or media filter lasts 18 to 24 months,and that's based on the controller's static reading,true dirty filter indication.On the flip side some need changing in 6 to 9 months.

All in all, probably some merit to the testing, and the Aprilaire must be a very good filter.

[Airstar Solutions]

Trane19i with standard pleated filter, using a Honeywell WholeHouse HEPA F500 independent of the HVAC system. Soon to upgrade the filtration to a PureAir HepaShield 600 with ECM motor.

[Freezeking2000]

I have a Luxaire 2 stage 15 seer heat pump with 5KW heat only used in defrost. Honeywell 8321 stat, AA2200 air filtration.
Outdoor unit model HL5B036 with a variable speed air handler for all cooling and 75% of my heating. It does suffer from high static and noise since i went from 2 to 3 tons and have not had time to increase returns and add one additional supply. This heat pump will heat my home to 20 degrees with no back-up.

For the really cold weather I have a NewYorker steel oil boiler with 3 zones and a boiler mate for hot water. With the heat pump i normally use about 500 gallons a year for heat and hot water.

[neophytes serendipity]

AirEase 60k btu, 95% AFUE, 2 stage furnace with an ECM motor.

AirEase 16 SEER 3t, 2 stage heat pump, R410-A, 25* F balance point.

Aprilaire 5000 filter.

Honeywell Vision Pro IAQ w/outdoor sensor.

All new lineset.

All new power run to condenser with oversized wire.

Mostly new return ducting in the attic to allow for filter (furnace is a downflow).

Floor ducting is undersized and in a concrete slab. Not fixable without major work... bust up the floor or redo everything and route it all in the attic. There is a round "plenum" under the furnace and the supplies are cut into it along the perimeter. Ducting is straight line from the furnace location to the boot in the floor. Ducting, at least what I could see, is plain old galvanized metal.

System static is low on the return side, but the supply side is bad. I am running .8" TESP in 2nd stage (heat pump) heat. Fortunately, most of my run time is in stage 1 (heat pump or gas). I am running .3" TESP on low (stage 1). ECM fan is rated at .5" TESP.

Due to the ECM motor, I have more airflow than the old system ever delivered, and it had a 4 ton drive.

Overall, I am happy with it.

I have to relocate the water heater, or put in a tankless, to allow for a humidifier.

[openclasspro]

Interesting to see that in order to get the complete report, you have to go to Aprilaire website. Did they pay for the 'independent lab test'?
funny thing a good friend of mine was with a/a for a long time-as he said:
1-do a test either when ALL air cleaners must be or not be ones with filter medias
2-he was ashamed to see the results of the white paper test with their holy grail 5000 when the results of the white paper test came out when they ran the test with the media removed.
3-that when brand new, the filtering of the the test when brand new- was subserviant of the others.

I know what i will continue to endorse,sell, and stand behind...

[ga-hvac-tech]

I remember back in 2005-6 when the Train Clean-effects filter came out... It did not take a rocket scientist to realize it was more hype than fact.

Funny, but high end air filters seem to be sold more like siding and windows than quality products... reminds me of the movie 'Tin Men'... :eek2:

[tedkidd]

Ha! Good stuff!

I always suspected a good media filter was light years ahead of 1", and that comparing media filter was splitting hairs. If someone really needs super iaq they step up to electronic/media combo or even add hepa.

Maybe an iaq expert will comment?

[RayD8630]

Honeywell T498a thermostat connected to a baseboard heater. ::DD:

[iraqveteran]

Got me a Goodman 13 SEER 3 1/2 HP.

(2) 14x25 returns.






But when I get my tax return back...



I'm ripping out the electric water heater and going to a tankless gas water heater.

And I plan to remove the HP within the next year. Going to go to high efficiency, zoned system. Going to replace all the flex duct with hard duct, increase insulation, add more attic ventilation, and seal off the crawlspace.

[jw4335]

I have heat pump with gas furnace. The only reason I went with gas was to keep from increasing size of electric service to house. Aprilaire 5000 filter and uv light, all Lennox

[fincomber569]

I got window units. So ducts work is no problem. What is manual F, K J etc..

I have Three mitsubishi minisplits, a single evap and two double evaps plus radiant floor heat (propane boiler)
No ductwork
fantastic comfort
Inverter compressor on both doubles
single unit in my living room is wired to my stand-by generator.
I did a man J but sizing not so critical with the inverter technology.

[mayguy]

My equipment is 5 years old.

-Trane XV90 60k two stage furnace.
-Trane XR11 2ton A/C.
-Honeywell F200 Media Air Cleaner.
-Honeywell HE220 Humidifier.
-Honeywell IAQ t-stat.
-Honeywell Fresh air damper.

[Hirschowl]

The Best System on the Block:

75K Lennox G71 furnace
Lennox 2 ton XC 13 Condenser
Lennox Signature Stat with outdoor sensor
Healthy Climate 10 Air Filter
Healthy Climate 17g Bypass humidifer
RGF's REME Air Purifier (wonderful product)
Perfect ductwork
Little Giant Condensate Pump

[Balystic]

Twilli says most have Coleman's but will lie about it

1947 single wide. Coleman Mobile home furnace added to replace oil wall heater in 1962. Looks all burned up but still runs good. Added an central A/C from janitrol in 1982. Coleman t-stat got tore off the wall durring a fight in the house (long story). So now use aligator clips to run the show. Blows breakers once a day but house comfy.

[tedkidd]

1947 single wide. Coleman Mobile home furnace added to replace oil wall heater in 1962. Looks all burned up but still runs good. Added an central A/C from janitrol in 1982. Coleman t-stat got tore off the wall durring a fight in the house (long story). So now use aligator clips to run the show. Blows breakers once a day but house comfy.

"...You know you're a redneck when..."

I sense a little competition for top hillbilly...

[stinkmeaner]

The Best System on the Block:

75K Lennox G71 furnace
Lennox 2 ton XC 13 Condenser
Lennox Signature Stat with outdoor sensor
Healthy Climate 10 Air Filter
Healthy Climate 17g Bypass humidifer
RGF's REME Air Purifier (wonderful product)
Perfect ductwork
Little Giant Condensate Pump

Mind telling me how much you spend on the gas bill a month? I just got a G61MP-60C-111. I thought I had the MPV, but I guess not. It's not that big of a deal to me.

[Poodle Head Mikey]

For the first floor I have a 1984 Coleman 36K condensing unit. Was a 13.1 SEER when installed in 1984. It has heat reclaim to heat domestic hot water. It has a 5 ton A coil attached to it. I have never so much as had a cover off the unit or a set of gauges on the unit. Now I Have hosed off the condenser coil two or three times since 1984 - but that's IT for 'service'.

For the 1st floor I have a 75K WeatherKing 90% natural gas furnace which replaced the previous 55K 90% Coleman from 1984. The burner on the monoport Coleman kept going out one Christmas about 6-8 years ago - I had no idea why - so I tossed the bastard out, found the WK in the shed under a workbench, and installed it.

The WK furnace is a downflow converted to upflow.

I have two orifices plugged on the WK furnace so I guess it's about 40K. It does the 1600 square foot 1st floor here very nicely.

I have a Unico 3036 air handler for the second floor. It is tied to a 36K WeatherKing 13 SEER condenser. I just came down here from working on installing the 2430 which will soon replace the 3036. The WK conenser has an EPR set to 56 lbs. I'm going to leave that - which will re-curve the existing 36K WK unit down to about 30K. When the WK compressor eventually poops the bed I'll install a 24K condenser which will give me 22-23K cooling for the second floor.

I have a 120 square feet of roof top collector to provide hydronic solar hot water. It presently heats 160 gallons of domestic hot water but I am adding staple-up PEX floor radiant for solar space heating.

The backup to the solar hot water is a small Tagaki tankless water heater.

The Tagaki also has a loop with a small bronze circulator and a small plate-frame heat exchanger. This creates hydronic heating water for the 250K water coil which I installed in the return opening for the second floor Unico system. With 110º water I think the water coil is rated at about 85K. The heat load up there is about 23K - worst case. So I'm cool with that.

I have recently resided the house with R-4 insulated vinyl siding with 1/2" polyocyanurate foil-faced foam board under it. Total additional R is 8.0

I am re-roofing the house is standing-seam aluminum in "solar white" - it has an SRI of 81. I am installing it over a 1" foam board and a 1" air space.

The parts I have done already have demonstrated an astonishing reduction in heat gain.

When the new Unico is up and going I am going to fill the attic space with blown-in cellulose.

Which is why I am going from three to two tons upstairs and would like to do the same reduction downstairs. But the damned antique Coleman just will not falter.

[green jumper]

Twilli says most have Coleman's but will lie about it

I have a coleman 2 stage heat, 95efficent, VS motor, with a 15 seer 2 stage condenser attached.

[Mithrandir]

I have an 20+ year-old Bryant furnace and a Trane Condensing unit thats about 5+ years-old.

I plan on getting a Lennox G60/61(I'm still workin on my wife to get the 90+) and a XC 15 within the year. I already got the metal and everything planned out, I just need the cake.

[Airmechanical]

18seer american standard hp



.

[timebuilder]

In my 1935 1 1/2 story cape cod, I have a 60% oil furnace with hot water baseboards.

I am looking at getting a gas line run in from the street and going with a condensing gas boiler. At a later stage, I will use a large minisplit system with multiple branches.

[y7turbo]

Goodman 80% 115kbtu single stage furnace,
Goodman 3ton condenser, Goodman uncased Evap coil.

I installed it about 2.5 years ago, works ok. I just change the filter once and a while and throw my gauges on the first time I turn on the A/C each year.

[mrbenz7]

Bryant 36,000 btu AC and Bryant 30,000 btu gas furnace. No problems and a great and quiet performer.

[Crazy4thenucks]

I have 2700sqft, Lennox G40DF-36A-070 80% furnace. No cooling, no humidity control, 1" DZ pleated filter....hoping to put in an ECM motor as an upgrade because I dont want to change the 5 yo furnace. Looking at adding a RUUD 3 ton 13ajm cooling only as the portable 12k is to loud to have running in the bedroom all night. I need to do a duct sizing calc, I think the retards who put the sytem in didnt do it right.....damn general contractors!

[genduct]

Sometimes the shoemakers kids don't have shoes!
Got a Lennox pulse when they first came out replaced with a Carrier 90+
But never got around to installing that split system.
The jury is out! Do I like to suffer or am I just cheap. Actually with limited side yard, the outdoor unit needs to be on a roof that is over 45' high without good access. Still need to enlarge that roof access.
Am I alone?

[johnt2_2002]

I have a 2yr old York PV9 2stg furnace with ECM motor. Works great.
And 7yr old Kenmore(keeprite) 2ton AC, which came with the house and works a lot better with the new furnace.

[viessmann]

lennox g61 mpv 72. 6 months old all new ducting in crawl space . navien instant hot water ,viessmann solar panel to preheat domestic.im saving about 50.00 a month on gas bills .

[thump_rrr]

1450 sq-ft per floor with all electric baseboard heating throughout.
Top floor is cooled and heated by a 24,000Btu LG LS-K2430-HL Minisplit heat pump (2004) when weather conditions permit .
Main floor is cooled and heated by a 24,000btu Winia WSH-242AL Minisplit heat pump (1999) when weather conditions permit.
1,000 sq-ft finished basement is cooled and heated by a 12,000btu Winia WSH-120AL Minisplit heat pump (1999) when weather conditions permit.

I would have loved for this house to have had ductwork.

[papa_jo]

i have a 3 ton package Heil h/p I got at a scratch n dent sell at the distr.

[yellowirenut]

i have a weather king split system (10 yrs old)....it was here when i moved in....i never even look to see the tonnage..lol

[Gus-Herb94]

Upstairs (no pro here) has a Trane XV80i, Trane XR13 3 ton condenser, zoned between master suite and other half of upstairs. Downstairs has a 20 yr old 2.5 ton Armstrong Condenser with Armstrong furnace.

[h20 stove]

Goodman 75k 90+ gas furnace with 2.5t ac, 3 years old. Great unit. Uses NO gas, In fact don't even have the gas line connected. I use a waterstove connected to a coil in the ductwork. Heats great! Also have baseboard heat in my basement, also connected to the stove.

[HVAC Teacher]

Heil 80% nat. gas

10 seer R22 whirlpool AC 2 ton

Upgrade them when they die - BUT THEY JUST WON'T!

[fixitguy]

1500 sq ft in Oregon, Beckett AFG just keeps running... 70 degrees 24/7

well sometimes I turn it down to 65 just to save 2%.........

AC, a 3T lennox box with 3.5 ton compressor and a 3 ton w coil..[ all came from the scrap bin]

[adamwhatley]

I am not in pro. Statius yet (need to apply)!!!! Anyways I have a Trane (2.5) ton heat pump with variable speed Trane air handler with 10kw aux heat in my my 1654 square foot house. It works like a charm, I also have Trane clean effects filter system! It does everything that I want it to with no problems. It is the best system I have every had!

[mjhvac]

Foothills east of Sacramento. 2700 sq ft home. Carrier Dual fuel H/P. 58MVP100 furnace, 38YDB048 H/P. Carrier comfot zone II zoning. 5 zones. No bypass. 4 stages of heat, 2 stages of cooling. Self designed economizer system. Works perfect.

[energy star]

New 4-ton Trane heat pump. Tossed out my Trane 40/60 HE gas furn and 14i a/c. See ya round Mr Propane man!!

[martyinlincoln]

Lennox xp19 heat pump and a G61 furnace. Previous system was only 10 years old but the tax credit, mfr rebates and electric company rebates made it too good of a deal to pass up.

[jtrammel]

I would put the Broan/Maytag IQ Drive system ac with 97% modulating furnace. That unit is just down right cool. Only unit in industry with inverter drive compressor. I don't own my home but when I do decide to buy a home that is definately what i will put in. It just makes more sense to me than the 2 stage compressor units. this compressor operates from 40% to 118% capacity very similiar to a mini split. Its industry leading technology

[Southern Mech]

I would put the Broan/Maytag IQ Drive system ac with 97% modulating furnace. That unit is just down right cool. Only unit in industry with inverter drive compressor. I don't own my home but when I do decide to buy a home that is definately what i will put in. It just makes more sense to me than the 2 stage compressor units. this compressor operates from 40% to 118% capacity very similiar to a mini split. Its industry leading technology

Trane had a variable speed compressor years ago XV15.

[Southern Mech]

I have a Trane 19i 3 ton down and a XL14i 1.5 ton up. I have radiant floor heat in garage and in hardwooded areas of kitchen an bathrooms, not yet running yet just pipe roughed in.

[chuckcrj]

I have a Trane 19i 3 ton down and a XL14i 1.5 ton up. I have radiant floor heat in garage and in hardwooded areas of kitchen an bathrooms, not yet running yet just pipe roughed in.

That infloor in your house, is it staple up, or poored?

[Southern Mech]

That infloor in your house, is it staple up, or poored?

stapled in the house under subfloor, I am on a crawl space. The garage is poored, and I am getting ready to do a patio and hot tub room poored.

[BURL-REF]

1988 Heil Quaker 3 ton split AC, 9 seer. Changed the run cap on the compressor , and just this year replaced the indoor fan motor and capacitor.
No duct problems.
For heating , using Nat gas, Have a Crown Bimini wall mounted boiler, 96% AFUE rated w/ outdoor reset, with indirect fired hot water tank. Installed 2 years ago, including rebates and gas savings I have most of my expenses covered. Its all savings from now on.

[havdaddy]

Badly installed Goodman 3 ton heat pump package unit on the first floor and an equally poorly installed Goodman 2 ton split upstairs. New construction house we bought. Can't wait for them to die so I can do it right. Still contemplating replacing the ductwork before then though.

[Poodle Head Mikey]

Or is the first floor larger than the second floor?

PHM
--------





Badly installed Goodman 3 ton heat pump package unit on the first floor and an equally poorly installed Goodman 2 ton split upstairs. New construction house we bought. Can't wait for them to die so I can do it right. Still contemplating replacing the ductwork before then though.

[havdaddy]

Second floor only on half of the house. Cathedral ceiling in living and entry foyer. Duct in crawl has a 10" flex going to an uninsulated 10-8-8 Y. Then the two 8's go to two 8-6-6 Y's. Total length is about 60-70 feet. The 10" comes off where the trunk goes into the crawl and goes across the house to service the dining room and the study on the other side of the house. Pretty good right?? Oh, t-stat is in the hall upstairs. The bedrooms and bonus room are consistently 5-7* cooler than the t-stat during the winter. Going to move that to the bonus eventually. Can't see how this guy even has a license.

[Southern Mech]

Second floor only on half of the house. Cathedral ceiling in living and entry foyer. Duct in crawl has a 10" flex going to an uninsulated 10-8-8 Y. Then the two 8's go to two 8-6-6 Y's. Total length is about 60-70 feet. The 10" comes off where the trunk goes into the crawl and goes across the house to service the dining room and the study on the other side of the house. Pretty good right?? Oh, t-stat is in the hall upstairs. The bedrooms and bonus room are consistently 5-7* cooler than the t-stat during the winter. Going to move that to the bonus eventually. Can't see how this guy even has a license.

Perfect, I mean a few dampers and plant a bush infont of it and wamo.

[hvacvegas]

Second floor only on half of the house. Cathedral ceiling in living and entry foyer. Duct in crawl has a 10" flex going to an uninsulated 10-8-8 Y. Then the two 8's go to two 8-6-6 Y's. Total length is about 60-70 feet. The 10" comes off where the trunk goes into the crawl and goes across the house to service the dining room and the study on the other side of the house. Pretty good right?? Oh, t-stat is in the hall upstairs. The bedrooms and bonus room are consistently 5-7* cooler than the t-stat during the winter. Going to move that to the bonus eventually. Can't see how this guy even has a license.

Thats sad. Even more sad is I'm doing that same thing in a new home ::DD:
Seriously. Homeowner, architect, and engineers all decided it was the way to be done. :-\.

Anyways: I'm running a AMVC95. Standard 25x25x2 CARR filters. Old 10 year old armstrong AC. Honeywell IAQ. Going duel fuel later.

[tedkidd]

Seriously. Homeowner, architect, and engineers all decided it was the way to be done. :-\.


Because they're so much smarter than the hvac guy. But when it doesn't provide perfect comfort and control it'll surely be the hvac guy or equipment manufacturers fault.

[Southern Mech]

Because they're so much smarter than the hvac guy. But when it doesn't provide perfect comfort and control it'll surely be the hvac guy or equipment manufacturers fault.

We as HVAC guy's are also mechanical engineer's, some with degree's some not but It is our job that if we have a doubt in a design that an engineer comes up with to diagnose, and go back to him with a solutiuon. I never do work from an engineer b-4 I go over the design myself. Cause like you said in the end, it's our problem. Why wait till then?

[hydronicsman]

My house was a hodgepodge. Two boilers, one steam, one hot water. It had steam heat, hot water baseboard, and hydro air. Oil. No A/C at the time.

Ditched all the steam rads, piping, and the steam boiler. Killed the hydro air (ackk). Demo'd the HWBB.

Now, the living area of the house is QuikTrac radiant floor, four zones. tekmar thermostats. The sleeping area (which was hydro air) is two zones of HWBB. Boiler is still the old Trianco/Riello with tankless coil (not long for this world). New oil tank, Tiger Loop.

One three ton system- Ruud variable speed AH on a 15 SEER American Standard condenser, and a 2 ton system- the former hydro ductwork is cooling only, with a 2 ton Ruud variable speed AH on a 15 SEER American Standard.

Vision Pro 8000's on the non-radiant zones.