air conditioning unit

[rockahula]

We live in Western PA. and have a house that
has a heat pump/air conditiong unit...w/gas furnace.

It is no longer working, and we want to replace.
Should we get rid of heat pump?

Also, what manufacturer of a/c would you recommend?
Rheen, carrier, American STandard, etc???

[airmechanix]

...in TX the utility company owns the electric and gas companies so a heat pump will not help much...unless gas isnt available then a heat pump would work best. As for which brand, it would probably depend on who your contractor reps.

[dash]

All depends on the local temps. and the fuel costs.Your local guy should guide you right in that area.

Take a look at the Carrier Infinity,great system ,humidty control,and is dual fuel(gas and pump ),ready.

[doty]

There's not a better built unit then American Standard. Or a Trane.
But the best unit in the world will not work right without a qaulity installation. Remember cheaper is normally not better.

[docholiday]

You'd be hard pressed to show me anywhere in the US where the add-on heat pump costs more to operate than the most efficient gas only system.

Your going to hear every brand offered here so take it with a grain of salt. If you want to go gas only (or even keep the HP) and you want the ultimate in comfort go with the Rheem Mod90. You wind find much in the way of dispute with that by anyone who has seen or owned it. You may however get some grumbles from the guys who have only heard of it.

[oloenneker]

Originally posted by docholiday
You'd be hard pressed to show me anywhere in the US where the add-on heat pump costs more to operate than the most efficient gas only system.

Your going to hear every brand offered here so take it with a grain of salt. If you want to go gas only (or even keep the HP) and you want the ultimate in comfort go with the Rheem Mod90. You wind find much in the way of dispute with that by anyone who has seen or owned it. You may however get some grumbles from the guys who have only heard of it.

And maybe a few grumbles from guys (like me) who install them...

[coolguy-md]

Originally posted by docholiday
You'd be hard pressed to show me anywhere in the US where the add-on heat pump costs more to operate than the most efficient gas only system.

Your going to hear every brand offered here so take it with a grain of salt. If you want to go gas only (or even keep the HP) and you want the ultimate in comfort go with the Rheem Mod90. You wind find much in the way of dispute with that by anyone who has seen or owned it. You may however get some grumbles from the guys who have only heard of it.

American Standard & Trane have had some serious problems with the R410a heat pumps, outdoor units are not built as well as expected. Multible leaks develope within a few months of operation. We have sent 29 units back due to leaking issues, however we have repaired 18 units before we came to an agreement to start returning them. So thats 47 units total that have had leaking issues out of 54 we installed. (Leaking occured inside the outdoor unit) this is a factory quality problem. At this point we will not sell a trane or american standard R410a system! Buy a Rheem.

[Edited by coolguy-md on 02-26-2005 at 08:56 AM]

[cde72]

I can agree with the Trane R-410a systems... That is why I would recommend keeping a dual fuel set-up with a Carrier system, NOT INFINITY... Heat pumps are economical to run during warmer times (32-70 outdoor ambient) and can actually give you better cooling...

[BaldLoonie]

Tell us your cost of gas & electricity?

[duct dr]

That's interesting coolguy and cde. How old were the systems you had problems with. Were the systems installed on new construction, change out, retrofit? We all know that new construction is the hardest on a new system. The company I work for averages about 20 heat pumps a month with about 12 of those being 410a systems. The only real problem I know of is the factory recall on the XL19i, but that's an R22 system.

[dash]

Originally posted by cde72
I can agree with the Trane R-410a systems... That is why I would recommend keeping a dual fuel set-up with a Carrier system, NOT INFINITY... Heat pumps are economical to run during warmer times (32-70 outdoor ambient) and can actually give you better cooling...

I'd highly recommend the Infinity Control,we have had no probelms,customers love them.

Use the search function,on this site to see what homeowners think about them!

[coolguy-md]

Originally posted by duct dr
That's interesting coolguy and cde. How old were the systems you had problems with. Were the systems installed on new construction, change out, retrofit? We all know that new construction is the hardest on a new system. The company I work for averages about 20 heat pumps a month with about 12 of those being 410a systems. The only real problem I know of is the factory recall on the XL19i, but that's an R22 system.

The installations were change out's, 2 were new construction jobs. We have stopped using them for about 6 months now, July of 2004 wat the last one. Primary location of leak, was inside the cabinet on the right side, on the coil header. We will not install American Standard or Trane 410a systems unitil we feel the problems have been addressed and corrected. Not picking on Trane here, I worked for Trane as a field service manager for years, they have great equipment, and I still sell American Standard & Trane commercial systems.

[fat eddy]

I'm assuming you are around Pittsburgh somewhere, you can draw an imaginary line somewhere around cincinnatti and extend it in both directions, anything above that line is Nat Gas territory and below it heat pumps start looking good.

I would buy a Rheem, it is the best bang for the buck. If you want to spend your money in a cost effective manner. If you insist on paying for name recognition then buy a Carrier, but you don't get anything extra out of it.

[dash]

Eddy,
There is something to be gained.

Can you tell us how your brand ,achieves the same control of the system to dehumidify,that Infinity does?Did they find a way around the 29 patents ,that are in the control?

[boiler101]

I think that was done because of rebates available by the power company(heat pump w/gas furnace). I've run into it some up here. In most cases i've seen, due to our weather the savings don't seem to justify the initial cost of the heat pump and future repairs. But with ng prices going up maybe that is going to change. Plus it is also personnel preference. Some like the consistant feel of gas heat nomatter the outside temps. Depends on what you like.

[fat eddy]

Wow 24 patents on a thermostat,

Do you feel that the patents are what make it special and efficeint beyond compare.

I see why they cost so much now they spend a lot of money getting thermostats patented

[billva]

i'm with the good docholiday, research the ruud modulating 90.