Lennox, Carrier, Trane - 5 ton unit

[skarney]

We are replacing our a/c system. 5 ton condensing unit with a gas furnace. We live in Texas and we have very hot weather about 8 months and mild weather for 4 months. My gas bill was $20 this month with all gas appliances, and my gas in winter time never goes over $50.00.

We want to have humidity control system installed - a 15 or 16 seer system with variable speeds. We are getting six written estimates. My house is one story, 10 yrs old, 2300 square foot, detached garage far away from home. Brick, and high ceilings throughout.

Please give me an idea of what recommendations you could based on the humidity control models? The Lennox 16 variable condensor, evaporator, variable furnace with the humidity control thermostat looks like a great system. The contractor didn't impress me from this company - but we can find someone else to do the job. This is the 16 seer XRC16-060, CB60o 44-210T, and G60 UH V-60C-090 with the new thermostat.

The carrier unit looks nice, but have heard that the tranes are better -

Suggestions on brands or models I should consider?

[heatpumpguru]

We sell both brands,I think Carrier INFINITY control beats what TRANE has now which is a Honeywell control. 58mvc 3 stage since you do not need alot of heat.

[catmanacman]

that is a nice set up we have been installing them in south texas they work great we use the honeywell iaq you can also go with the xc21

[dash]

Carrier's Infinity control,along with the 3.0 version of the variable speed motor,3 stage furnace,two stage A/C,is hard to beat ,superior dehumidification in cooling.

Be sure they check the duct system for proper sizing beforehand,regardless of brand.Better contractors will do this without asking them to do so,if they just take a quick look,keep looking.

[BaldLoonie]

The key is getting the right size (too many oversize) and the best possible installation. That includes making sure duct system is properly sized and TIGHT.

All of the brands will do you just fine if done right. The problem is too few dealers do things right. If the Lennox contractor didn't impress you, I'd file 13 that bid and look for one you do feel comfortable dealing with.

Carrier's Infinity control is the ultimate in what it can do but may be overkill. Any good setup controlled by a Honeywell Vision Pro IAQ will also do fine. Today is steamy, turned down the humidity setting on my IAQ and within a short time, the humidity had dropped quite a bit and the blower went back to normal speed.

Where in TX? We have quite a few Texans on here, one or more could be close enough to help you.

[rponson]

6 estimates is too many. You will get yourself confused by the time you get 3. I have installed all 3 of the systems that you mentioned. All 3 are good systems. But you will not beat the Carrier Infinity when it comes to COMFORT. and simplicity

[skarney]

Austin, Texas is where we live. I like the contractor that came out yesterday or company. He went through all our needs, and wants, and measured things. He suggested another return air vent location and a air handler system on it's side instead of upright with a filter prior to going into the duct work also. The bids on his were about $4,000 more then the other one....on the low end and $6k more on the other end. That is a lot of money -

[ON-CALL]

Your looking at the B.M.W's maybe get prices on rheem midgrade less bells and whistles prices are high on everthing these days just go fill your gas tank .

[skarney]

ok, I didn't realize I was looking at the BMW lot. With that said, please tell me there are midlines that have the humidity feature? How do I find out what brands are mid way cost? Serious. Never had to purchase an a/c system before for my house. Usually came with one and didn't not go out while I lived there.

[beenthere]

You can get a VS blower with any unit, and it will help with humidity control.
But, during your mild weather, it may not do as well as you would like.

The 2 stage will do better at humidity removal.

[amd]

We live in Texas and we have very hot weather about 8 months and mild weather for 4 months.

Consider a heatpump with a variable speed air handler; you may not even need backup heat.

[rponson]

All of these Manufacturers have multiple tiers of equipment. You need to find a contractor you trust and work with him to get the features you need. too much input will make you crazy.

[skarney]

Well I did a lot of reading. I decided to use NATE website and find contractors within a certain distance of my home. I will receive two more bids. I have two already.

One was a great deal on a Lennox set up, but the guy didn't get a hoot about install. He was not an installer at all, and was proud of it. He didn't look at much of anything except his handheld cell phone walkie talkie to get prices on different systems and tell them how to get unit in attic so they could figure labor installation. I had a horrible feeling some yahoos would show up to install the system - and poof - gone -

The other guy climbed all in my attic looking for any duct problems - even all the way over to the back edge where I don't even go - and he measured things and wanted to know if we had hot spots, cold spots, issues, and what type of sound level, effieciency we wanted the a/c to preform - etc. This guy did the Carrier/Bryant line. He gave us three bids and the lowest one was about 1,000 overpriced. Guess he added his profit on top of the companies - or maybe his inspection fee

They all gave free estimates. Now the other two will also - and I can't wait to see the difference in a NATE certified company. Maybe none, maybe different? Anyone know?