Professional Opinions Welcome

[brody]

Hi, I am in the process of replacing the 27 year old GE 8 ton split unit on my 4800 sq ft home (2400 upstairs, 2400 downstairs). I had a Trane FSR come out and evaluate my situation and here is what he recommends I go with. A Trane 7.5 Ton dual circuit air handler fed by two staged 4-ton single phase condensers. I don't have 3 phase electrical supplie available which is why the two 4-ton units. My ducting system feeds both upstairs and downstairs concurrently. Does this sound logical to the experts? I have two sons that work for Trane and I am getting a good deal on the equipment so I prefer to stay with Trane. Your comments, suggestions are appreciated,
Brody

[BaldLoonie]

That would do the trick and offer some staging too, assuming they do it that way instead of having both units cycle together. Can the duct system be split so 2 air handlers, each feeding a floor?

[brody]

Dear BaldLoonie, thanks for your reply. To stage them was an important part of selling me on this concept and I am going to insist they are staged. As far as your question concerning splitting the ducting I can't say because I have no expertise in that, I'm just a homeowner trying to get the best setup for the money. That was mentioned by another installer as an option that would require some serious duct work.
Brody

[ct2]

you canget that and a number of other homeowner related questions answered at the energy star web site

[tinknocker service tech]

you have been lead in the right dirrection two units and one airhandler is the best way unless you want to change all the ductwork and redo the intire house
with twoo units you get to save some money since most houses dont need the full tonage of thier designed rateing untill it gets realy hot in the afternoon. you may find that on a normal day you only need one unit to cool the house and the other kicks in when it has to. make sure they alternate on cycles so they both get the same usage

[beenthere]

If the duct work in the basement is exposed, you might want to consider 2 systems, both with VS blowers.

Would provide btter comfort, and save money in operating cost.

[fat eddy]

Hold on a minute here ,

We need to find out how these coils are configured,it makes all the difference in the world when it comes to determining how the unit will be controlled.

Are they intertwined ? stacked? sequenced ?