I just spent a lot of money

[Nicholas]

....and I brought my investment to just at the low to middle end we had budgeted for this old house, something I knew was in the cards. The case:

Central AC.

We had a 12 year old 3 ton 10 SEER Gibson unit, that when we bought the house, needed a freon charge. Even with the new windows, I noticed that this unit would start running at 10 am, and would run continuously until about 1 am, and I would watch as the inside temp would go up and up, reaching 83 degrees in the house, with outside temps being in the 90's.

Then I saw the freezing up of the lines, no cool air...low on freon. It took 6 months to leak out. We had purchased the home warranty, and it covered some, but it still would have been out of pocket 375. So with a home warranty discount of 975, another 1000 or so knocked off for other discounts, I ended up with a 3.5 ton, 14 SEER Rheem, ten year warranty. The 3.5 ton was suggested because of the 9' ceilings and lack of wall insulation.

I think I still may have spent too much, (to give you a hint, Lowes wanted 6500 + for a Trane, 3 ton) The law says minimum of 14 SEER as of this year.

But! The damn thing keeps the house at 75 degrees....and actually shuts off! Even with outside temps at 95+.

So....I am sure my lower electric bill will help with the 5 year payments on this monster, and there is a utility rebate available.

Thanks for listening.

[bankeny]

We just made a similar plunge. Our 13.5 SEER unit came in at just over $3K. This was a new install, so part of that was having a circuit put in by our electrician.

The only issue now is the downstairs can be a nice 75 degrees, but the bedrooms upstairs are closer to 85!
It's the opposite in the winter, usually about 10 degrees colder upstairs. Our next focus is on insulation to combat that issue.

[matchbookhouse]

So what did you actually pay for the unit you got? (I'm sorry, my math skills suck). Was there a reason you went for just the 14 SEER? Gosh, I got a 16 SEER unit back in 2006, and it was not much more expensive than a 14 SEER.

[Nicholas]

I can tell you it was more than 6500. Welcome to Florida.

Yes the 15 seer was another 500, and on up from there. I was trying to save somewhere I guess. But it came with a ten year warranty and includes the whole new AH system hanging in the attic, as well as new controls, thermostat etc.

[Don M]

You need to be careful & size the unit to the house & other conditions. Sometimes they will install a unit too big for the house. The unit will not run long enough to dehumidify the building before it shuts off.

[Nicholas]

You need to be careful & size the unit to the house & other conditions. Sometimes they will install a unit too big for the house. The unit will not run long enough to dehumidify the building before it shuts off.

Thank you for that info. It seems to be doing what it is supposed to. At the high temps of the day, pushing high 90's, It will run for about 15-25 minutes, and shuts off for about 10.

House feels great, and has not budged from 75 degrees.