Original message
| Tammy
 |  "Finishing basement - need advice on equipment"
, posted Tue 29 Jun 10:55  
We have 1100 sq. ft on 1st and 2nd floors (total 2200) - we are finishing our basement - HVAC work to be started in 2 days. We are nervous that we haven't made the best choices when it comes to equipment. We are replacing our furnace, AC and moving duct work around to add about 5 to 6 registers in our basement. 2 questions: (1) is this wise to do - or is zone heating/cooling the only way to go for this to work and be comfortable? (2) we are getting a York furnice with a Copland Scroll compresser (because that compresser comes with a 10 year warranty)- 5 ton. Is this going to be a quiet system? Should we just stick with the 5 year warranty York and standard compressor?
Thanks
Tammy
|
|
Replies:
|
| WEEBJOHNSON
| "Re(1):Finishing basement - need advice on equ" , posted Wed 29 Mar 21:15
GO TO WWW.SMARTERWAYINC.COM FOR INFO ON THE NEW 13 SEER REQUIREMENTS, HAS TO BE 13 SEER !!!!!
JURNEMN ELECT
|
| backyard mech
| "Re(1):Finishing basement - need advice on equ" , posted Tue 29 Jun 12:30
What is the difference in price between the 10 SEER and 12 SEER condenser. I am guessing the 5 year warranty is a 10 SEER and the 10 year warranty is a 12 SEER. Am I correct? Was a heat load calculation done on your home by the contractor? What is the make and model of the furnace?
Absolute Tempcontrol
Aurora Colorado
|
| | Tammy
| "Re(2):Finishing basement - need advice on equ" , posted Tue 29 Jun 13:23
the difference in price is only $500.00 - but our contractor just left our house and we signed a contract for a 5 ton York Furnice and York Compressor (sorry, is the correct term condenser?) - so we ended up with all York - I think that is best - yes? And yes, the 5 year was 10 and the 10 year is 12 SEER with a bigger coil so he said that bumps it up to 13 SEER (do you agree?) My husband did all the heat load calculations on our house and came to realize that for our 1st and 2nd floor we require about a 3.5 tons system - add the basement (another 800 sq. ft) and all the new runs and the 2 90 degree turns that we are adding to our main duct - we figured 5 tons (we were told the 1 tons conditions 600 sq. ft - and that each run takes away about 75 or 100 btu's, and the 90's take some also). The new furnice is 125 (not sure what this number is but I thought you might know) - York - high efficiency 90+. So they are installing this new furnice - matching york AC unit- moving all the existing ducts and adding 6 new registers in our basement for $7,500 - what do you think?
Thanks
Tammy
|
| | Tammy
| "Re(3):Finishing basement - need advice on equ" , posted Tue 29 Jun 13:32
Oh - I forgot to mention that we are also getting a flow thru humidifier installed.
Thanks
Tammy
|
| | backyard mech
| "Re(4):Finishing basement - need advice on equ" , posted Tue 29 Jun 21:01
The sizing sounds a little big to me if you have a standard basement. If you have a walk out basement I would take that footage and cut it in half. Cool air sinks and typically the basement would not be part of the equation unless it is a walk out. The method you are using is called rule of thumb not heat load. Heat load takes into account the R value of windows, walls, ceilings and so forth. It is much more accurate. You should realize about a 20% savings if in fact you can net 13 SEER with the larger A-coil over the 10 SEER. There is a web sight called ariprimenet that will tell you the net SEER of your system if you provide the model numbers. As for the noise your contractor can tell you the exact decibles for different models. This can be varified at York's web sight. For comparison 75 decibles would be pretty good. I definately would go with a 12+ SEER system myself. They save you money, have better warranties and are often quieter than 10 SEER condensers. I have a 92.6% furnace in my own home. They also are more efficient, have better warranties and can be quieter. The most important thing about choosing a system is the contractor. A skilled installer makes all the difference no matter what brand you choose. By the way many consumers think a bigger A/C is better. This simply is not true. Have your contractor show you a heat load calculation. You may be as much as 1 ton oversized.
Absolute Tempcontrol
Aurora Colorado
|
|
|
