Should I have had installed AC with my new furnace?

[AlexGB]

This is probably a tough question to answer -- and maybe it's a dumb one:

Four years ago I had a new Rheem Contour RGFD furnace installed. I live in central NY state where AC isn't a real necessity, at least not to me, so I decided to skip having central air installed at that time.

When I tell people that I didn't have AC put in along with the new furnace, they look at me like I'm the village idiot. They always say something like "But it's so much cheaper to have it done at the same time you have a new furnace!!" (And now that we're sweltering I hear "Don't you regret that you didn't have air conditioning put in"?? Arggghhh.) And in a way, I do.

So -- if I have a matching Rheem/Ruud AC installed now, will I end up paying a lot more than if I had done so four years ago? Was I the village idiot? Any general thoughts on this will do, I'm not trolling for price info, per forum rules. Thanks.

AGB

[DDinIL]

I guess it would depend on the size of the village .... Seriously though, it really shouldn't make that much difference unless it is a downflow configuration and the furnace would have to be moved in order to install the evaporator coil on the bottom. If your home hasn't had ac before though make sure they check and make sure your ductwork will support the additional airflow.

[gregp]

it will cost more to do it today than if you did it when you had the furnace installed. I know it would if were doing the work. I make the recommendation to people who are replacing the furnace to consider doing the a/c at the same time because the crew is already there, the site is prepped, ductwork disconnected, etc. How much more is anyone's guess.

[mike_home]

It may have cost a little less, but not enough to loose sleep over it.

Here is a thought to make you feel a little better. If you had done the installation four years ago, you probably would have purchased an R22 condenser. Today you can only purchase an R410A unit. Over time the R22 refrigerant will be more expensive to replace if you need service in the future, so in the long run you may have actually saved yourself some money.

[stonewallred]

Or if his duct work is not insulated. For years around here, heat only systems did not require insulation. Adding an AC meant they had to have duct work replaced or insulated.

[heaterman]

In the northern tiers, most duct work is in conditioned spaces so insulating it is not always necessary. And to answer the original question. As long as no major duct modifications are necessary, the additional cost to do it now should not be all that much more than if you had done it when the furnace was installed.

[motoguy128]

If your home hasn't had ac before though make sure they check and make sure your ductwork will support the additional airflow.

If he's in upstate NY, wouldn't a correctly sized AC almost always require the same or less airflow than a modern furnace? I'd guess that in that region in a typical house, a 80k BTU unit for example might often be paired with a 2.5 or 3.0 ton A/C. A 80kBTU 95% furnace would need around 1200CFM for a 60F temp rise, so the A/C would need the same or less.

[AlexGB]

Thanks, everybody, your replies are helpful.

As far as the ductwork goes, the only issue I can think of other than sizing is that the house has never had AC before, so all the air return grilles are at floor level. It has always been my understanding that with AC a number of them have to be up at ceiling level...true?

Also, the house is a cape -- meaning that the upstairs bedroom has sloped ceilings with only a 7' maximum height in the center. IOW, not a full upper story.

The furnace is a 60kBTU Rheem with the modulating touchscreen thermostat (I think it's the 400 series?). I have a brand new 150 amp electrical panel that was planned with future AC in mind, so hopefully no problems there.

mike_home -- regarding the R22 vs R410 refrigerant, I guess it's sort of like the way it was with car AC units years ago before they started switching from R-whatever to the R134. I had an old 1987 Ford that was leaking but the price had gone up so much on Freon that I didn't bother fixing it. So your comment makes sense to me.