Sorry, I get so much to reply to I don't usually get back to these posts. You need to e-mail me because I may never see your replies & questions. If my memory is correct, around 35 years ago occassionally the compressors had higher BTUH ratings than the condensing units. Laxer49 I just checked your page & my birthday is on Dec 8th, too, I will be 73. Those 10-SEER condensers' used to do real well. If the E-Coil has a leak it should be replaced anyway. Laxer49, If it were me, I would put a New half ton larger BTUH rated Coil in there with a TXV refrigerant control. If you can get a real good deal on a new 10-SEER with that combination & the correct tightly sealed ducts & airflow it should cool okay in the hottest weather. If you want the most cost-effective payback I would do all I could to reduce the radiant & other heat gain as the insulation will also reduce the heating bills. The Installation is the most important thing, it has to be done right! Read & learn allyou can. Funkeruski, I suppose they replaced the evaporator with a matching TXV controlled coil? Everything has to be performed just right & even then if it is real hot & the indoor load is also heavy it may not equal the old unit which would have a larger BTUH capacity compressor on that 4-ton condenser. Those high SEER tests are performed under rather light load conditions. The SEER of a system is determined by multiplying the steady state energy efficiency ratio (EER) measured at conditions of 82°F Outdoor Temperature, 80°F Dry Bulb and 67°F Wet Bulb (near 50%RH) indoor entering air temperature by the Part Load Factor (PLF) of the system. (The PLF is supplied by the government.) IMO, they ought to be tested at 95 or 100-F outdoor temperature. Which SEER do you think will perform better at 100-F plus ambient temperatures, the one with the larger capacity compressor or the smaller one? You could slow the blower CFM down to keep the suction pressure & E-Coil temp somewhat lower, but that also drops sensible capacity some. At 82-F outdoors, the 15 should do real well against the 10. Just my viewpoint. udarrell _ 2007 Here is a link that might be useful: udarrell.com

Thanks for the help! The 2 ton a/c system that is in place performed fine (actually better than fine since it lasted 19 years) with good air flow to the upstairs. This may be due to the fact that the basement a/c system also reaches the upper floor (the original design of the house had just one system but it was inadequate for the upper floor). So, the upper floor system that is placed in the attic is sort of a supplemental system. Three of the bedrooms are cold in the winter so I've opted for a heat pump system this time. The upper floor is 1755 sq. feet with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths. The existing attic system has one large return vent in the hallway between the master BR and the other 3 bedrooms. I plan to stay in the house indefinitely so I'd rather spend the money up front for the highest efficiency system so as to deprive Pepco, our local power company, of as much money as possible. While budget is certainly not unlimited, I want the most efficient system, properly sized and installed. For a long term purchase like this, I do not mind spending more to get the best.

Making the text a darker bolder black color with in the actual body of the post and replies would not even be seen on the main pages so that surely can't be the logic, if so it is flawed. You would actually have to click on a topic to view the post and then see the darker font. But they are already using the perfect color on the houzz heading, the dark houzz top left beside the icon. And they changed it on the main pages for the posters name, so why the problem with doing it here in the replies where it's desperately needed. If anyone knows of any way to alter the fonts and colors for an Android browser please post your suggestions. I am currently using Boat browser which does have themes and I am using one but no browser I have tried has font color choices.

Yes Nik, I have heard of some ways to watch BBC without living here, always a way around these things apparently. We pay equivalent $US200 per year to watch the stuff, and although we moan about it, I think overall it's worth it, otherwise we would have advertisements with every programme, as per the other channels. Incidentally, a few months ago I watched one called 'Greece with Simon Reeve', he's been around to lots of countries and this was the turn of Greece and so very interesting it was too. Not so far on Youtube, it's still copyrighted, so only a trailer here. youtube trailer There is a bit more about it on this BBC info page, but I'm not sure if you can access it. I should like to see it again when next it comes around. Wonderful scenery, especially further north but I forget the names of the places. BBC Greece info