Comparing HVAC quotes: 2 stage AC vs 1 in SE Pa.

8 years ago

We have a 2600 ft^2 home, bedrooms (hot) facing west with no shade. The 15 + year AC leaks. I talked to Trane and Lennox dealers, and I feel comfortable w Trane (Higher Consumer Reports reliability) We do have a whole house humidifer (installed when we waterproofed the finished basement) and I am trying to decide among 1.) 16 seer, single stage, 2.) 17 seer 2 stage, or 3.) 18 seer 2 stage Trane systems @ 36,000 btu's (all with 80,000 btu furnace / 97% AFUE. The prices are $8700, $10,400, and $$11,400 respectively. The 2nd floor is not always as evenly cooled as the first floor. (I guess that suggests 2 stage) I wonder if the jury is still out on 2 stage reliability? does my whole house dehumidifier steer the decision? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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Comments (5)

jimbop99
8 years ago
I would think a single stage AC with dehumidifier plus a furnace with variable speed blower would be a nice upgrade. A two stage should give you longer run times and may even temps out better.
J L C thanked jimbop99
mike_home
8 years ago
Do you have a humidifier or dehumidifier? You mentioned both. If you have a dehumidifier then what humidity level do you typically have in the house during the summer?

Did the contractor do a load calculation? A 3 ton AC for a 2600 sq. foot house sounds undersized.
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ionized - thanks for the comment and I will definitely look into adding a humidifier later on vs at the beginning. I moved from a house in the North Hills that was your typical 1950's Pittsburgh Cape Cod and in the winter we had a big problem with static which I would like to dry to avoid in my new home. I realize I might be off the mark for my reason on humidity control but in general, I just want to do this system right because I have that option. to all - can anybody give me a range that I should be paying for a new high efficiency system (as spec'd above) from either Trane, Carrier, Amana/Goodman, or York for my size house? Quotes as mentioned before are on top of each other so thats what makes me comfortable with them but it would be nice to hear from someone on here as a sounding board. Thanks to all the previous comments and suggestions.
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Day n Night is more or less the same thing as Comfort Maker and Heil. These are all ICP brands that are very similar. In fact if you look at the ICP brands they all look the same except for the name decal on the units. The Carrier Infinity is more or less the same as these just in a different wrapper. The Day N Night, Comfort Maker & Heil are more or less ICP brands that tend to use a lot of the Old Carrier 'TRA' model number tech transferred over to R410a refrigerant models. These 'TRA' models were used back in the early 2000 time period. The biggest thing of note that I see in comparison to the Amana 5 speed is the compressor type difference and the noted noises these machines make after each cycle. (Hissing noises). As far as I can tell the hissing noises are probably related to the type of compressor used for the 5 speed machine as Amana makes no mention of any new noises of operation. In the 5 speed machines (Inverter Systems) The Carrier and ICP brands all use Rotary Compressors. The Amana uses Swing Compressors in all units up to 4 tons and scroll compressor in 5 Ton model. This is also likely the reason the Amana is a shade more efficient. Carrier makes model that is more efficient in a 2 speed. However, with that said matching a 5 speed machine with zoning would increase efficiency in my opinion not to mention it will just work better. If you decide to go with a ICP brand or Carrier 5 speed, due to the hissing noises the condenser will make after every off cycle I would be leery of placing this near a bedroom window. 2 speed models likely won't make these hissing noises as the compressors are almost always scrolls. I've been to a class on the Comfort Maker 5 speed (Inverter System) and while the hissing noise is not all that loud or lasts that long (few seconds), the noise occurs after every off cycle. Condenser sitting near a bedroom window it would take some getting used to. So you definitely want to consider these things especially tied to a zone system, because equipment cycling can happen a bit more frequently with zone systems.
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I have zero experience with heat pumps but do have 34 years of experience with having two HVAC systems. My house is far smaller than yours - about 2800 sq ft on two levels plus an unfinished basement. The house was built in 1948. It's a 1 1 /2 story house that only had 1/2 the 2nd floor finished when we bought it, and they rarely used that bedroom at all. We added a full dormer across the back of the 2nd floor, making two BR's and two ensuite baths. And we installed a separate HVAC system for this area. We like to sleep in a cool/cold room but don't want to freeze on the 1st floor. Right now, the outside temp is 39°. My upstairs furnace is turned to "off" as I see no reason to heat it with no one up there, and then to have to open a window to get it cold enough for sleeping when I go to bed tonight. it will be in the mid-50's when I go up at around midnight. I like it like that and am very cozy! But this weekend, the temp is to drop into the teens so I will turn it on when I get up and have it set at 62°. In the daytime, my 1st floor HVAC is set to 71° in the winter, and 73° in the summer (upstairs AC is set to 65° in summer and runs constantly). It is cold in my basement - only one ceiling vent - so when I'm down here doing my breathing treatments or laundry and am on my computer (desktop is down here), I use a space heater. Having two systems has worked very well for me. I have them checked/serviced twice yearly. I cannot imagine that a basement HVAC system could ever get my 2nd floor as cold as I prefer for sleeping. It gives me a lot of flexibility.
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weedmeister
8 years ago
Having two floors does not mean you need two stage. What does need to happen is that whatever airflow problem you have with the 2nd floor needs to be looked at and fixed. It may just mean moving/fixing/adding a return upstairs or checking the vents for obstructions/kinks, etc.

I can't see where spending the extra $2K-$3K is worth it. Just look at their variable speed blower with the AC.
J L C
Original Author
8 years ago
@ Mike_home: I meant only de-humidifier. I am not home now, will check the humidity reading when I got back. We installed the de-humid as part of a basement waterproofing system some years back. At that time we were running a 10yr old Cent AC and the dehumid definitely was working. Prior to that the basement smelled somewhat musty (my wife is very sensitive w/ allergies) and we ran 2 portable dehumids on the first floor, emptying them frequently SE Pa can get warm and sticky, the whole house unit was needed, it will be interesting to see if we need to run it with new AC. As for the load, 3 contractors each bid 3 ton units after their inspections. I haven't seen their results, but I will ask and if I find out anything interesting, I will comment. Thanks all for your help. John
J L C
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks weedmeister (interesting username) The input here makes me confident about going with the 1 stage 16 seer. No-one, other than 1 sales rep was suggesting a 2 stage solution. One hvac co. owner gave me a higher end 2 stage quote, along with a 16 seer 1 stage for comparison. He advised me that the 1 stage was more than adequate for our house. So I am definitely leaning in that direction. The 2 stage sound nice, but most advice is that those systems are complicated and if they break (and they likely will) you are out big bucks. Thanks all. Appreciate the input, best, John

Comparing HVAC quotes: 2 stage AC vs 1 in SE Pa.

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Comparing HVAC quotes: 2 stage AC vs 1 in SE Pa.

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