Ducted or ductless

[StillShaving]

Kinda seems I am pretty dumb. I really had no idea ductless was an option. I’ve seen these ductless AC’s before but never gave them a second thought. So just to put some cost in to perspective - last year, right in the heat of the Summer, our central AC went out. For a replacement we went with a 3 ton Carrier Heat Pump (heat/AC). Duct work was already in place. Cost us 10g and change. Cost of the unit, labor/installation, more attic insulation, new thermostat, and some type of super warranty. I say we still got hosed pretty good. But whatever.

If you can install some wall units in the rooms you use at even half the cost it might be worth it.

BUT...I think that central heat/AC will increase your home value.

Yeah, the prices of new central air units do seem a bit excessive. My home is running on a ~30 year old Trane HVAC system. I was considering an upgrade rather than doing a repair a few years ago but balked at the price and the claims of improved efficiency. The sales tech was estimating yearly energy $ savings than seemed about as much as my total yearly spend on A/C and heat which seemed implausible (though it was hard factor out other household electric and nat-gas usage to get a solid number for comparison). Then many of the online reports stated that the newer systems (high efficiency is the reason???) only last 12-15 years, maybe 20 before they need replacing. So I thought why replace and get a system that is not durable, that it will be worth limping along with the old reliable furnace for another few years.I changed service companies to one who was happy to repair my old unit.

I hope your unit will give great service for a long time. Having the A/C go out on a hot & humid day is horrible.

 

[Toothpick]

Yeah, the prices of new central air units do seem a bit excessive. My home is running on a ~30 year old Trane HVAC system. I was considering an upgrade rather than doing a repair a few years ago but balked at the price and the claims of improved efficiency. The sales tech was estimating yearly energy $ savings than seemed about as much as my total yearly spend on A/C and heat which seemed implausible (though it was hard factor out other household electric and nat-gas usage to get a solid number for comparison). Then many of the online reports stated that the newer systems (high efficiency is the reason???) only last 12-15 years, maybe 20 before they need replacing. So I thought why replace and get a system that is not durable, that it will be worth limping along with the old reliable furnace for another few years.I changed service companies to one who was happy to repair my old unit.

I hope your unit will give great service for a long time. Having the A/C go out on a hot & humid day is horrible.

I think the house was built in 2005 IIRC. So it was about a 14-15 yr old unit already. It was using the old freon that will be illegal this year. So the guy told us he could fill it and repair the leak. But if it get’s another leak down the road either A. it will cost an arm and a leg to fill it and fix it because the freon would be scarce (illegal) or B. He won‘t be able to fix it at all because the freon will be gone gone (won’t have any of the old stuff left) and we’d have to replace the unit anyway.

So we just decided to go with a new one. And we went with a 3 ton 2 stage which is supposed to be more energy efficient. From my understanding the compressor runs at a low energy usage at first trying to cool the house. And if it can’t keep it cool or get to the set point it kicks up to the 2nd stage and runs a little harder at maximum cooling power until it reaches the thermostat set point. While they were here they sprayed the ever loving crap out of the attic with insulation. Like a foot deep or something crazy. It looks like you can cloud surf up there. And boxed in the attic access to stop air from escaping there.

They gave us a quote for better duct work under the house which would further our energy savings but it’s as almost as much as the unit which I thought was absurd. Something like 7500 extra. Eventually I’ll have it replaced but I’m not going with these guys.

 

[Rustyshackelford]

My $0.02...

I would have a furnace and AC central air system installed and ductwork for the portion of the home where it is cost effective. Then for the addition, go with a ductless mini split there as well as any other areas you desire more of zone specific heating and cooling preference.

Growing up, we had some really old ductless units that ran strong for 15 years and were removed at 20 years. The last 5 years, they weren’t as good and were just noisier than you can imagine, but for the cost and function, they did the trick. Now the house has a heat pump and AC central air installed. Ductwork was run through the attic, despite there being the option to have run from below.

Another cheaper option with greater aesthetic cons, you might consider a PTAC through the wall unit for the addition, or another space where duct work is prohibitive. These are basically what you see use in some hotel rooms. You can order these from homedepot for around $1k

I would not advise going for mini splits or PTACS for each space. if ductwork and central air are a bigger concern given the waythe home has been constructed, I would consider the additional benefits of a mix of central and a ductless unit or two. If in the event one fails and needs servive, you mr entire home isn’t without and you can survivor in relative comfort.

 

[Jer78]

Go ductless. Punch it through in the area you use the most and call it a day. They heat and cool a huge amount of space. You can even get dual and triple head units for more complete coverage. We put a single head unit in our 2000 sq ft house and it does the trick. JM

 

[StillShaving]

I think the house was built in 2005 IIRC. So it was about a 14-15 yr old unit already. It was using the old freon that will be illegal this year. So the guy told us he could fill it and repair the leak. But if it get’s another leak down the road either A. it will cost an arm and a leg to fill it and fix it because the freon would be scarce (illegal) or B. He won‘t be able to fix it at all because the freon will be gone gone (won’t have any of the old stuff left) and we’d have to replace the unit anyway.

So we just decided to go with a new one. And we went with a 3 ton 2 stage which is supposed to be more energy efficient. From my understanding the compressor runs at a low energy usage at first trying to cool the house. And if it can’t keep it cool or get to the set point it kicks up to the 2nd stage and runs a little harder at maximum cooling power until it reaches the thermostat set point. While they were here they sprayed the ever loving crap out of the attic with insulation. Like a foot deep or something crazy. It looks like you can cloud surf up there. And boxed in the attic access to stop air from escaping there.

They gave us a quote for better duct work under the house which would further our energy savings but it’s as almost as much as the unit which I thought was absurd. Something like 7500 extra. Eventually I’ll have it replaced but I’m not going with these guys.

Refrigerant is quite expensive. I have only had to top mine off once in more than a decade.

Insulation can be expensive, so depending on what you got done your total price was probably inline. I was recently watching this video...not worth watching unless one was thinking about adding some insulation to their house in the future. The guy was giving a pretty pricey quote for doing some thermal imaging testing and then sealing air gaps and re-insulating the 70's era house down in Austin Texas. I am not going to do that, but was considering sealing around all the overhead light fixtures.