HVAC Guys, Which Unit Is Better?

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~6500 sqft with basement and bonus area above garage. All quotes include material and labor.

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That’s big. But how much area is the HVAC covering, and how many units?

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Trane 14 SEER split heat pump system - $8,000.

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I’d recommend a minimum of 16 SEER. This was the max I could get before jumping to dual stage or variable speed units.

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For an additional $5,600 they'll install basic venting and exhaust fans in three bathrooms.

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What? Why is the HVAC quoting this? $5,600 is a lot for this, IMO. $150-200-ish for each HVL, plus install. $5k labor is ridiculous for a new build from the HVAC crew.

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A) a 23 SEER Mitsubishi split ductless heat pump $5,200

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This is what I have and it’s great. Mine is a 2T to cover about 750 sqft. I paid around $3k installed in 2019.

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B) Ultra Aire ventilating whole house dehumidifier $5,000.

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This is not even close to the same as mini-split. It provides no heating or cooling, and “whole home” for just the bonus room?

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Second quote came with 4 "levels" to choose from. Trane 14 SEER with a XB air handler $23,000, 15 SEER with XR air handler $25,000, 16 SEER with a M-Series air handler $27,000, or 19 SEER with a Hyperion XL and a Comfortlink II thermostat $31,000.

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Is this one unit? Price seems high, and sqft is very high for a 5T. So I assume you’d need 2 units. As above, I’d recommend at least the 16SEER. Not sure the difference in air handlers, but may have some differences that are worthwhile (multi-speed blower).

What about duct work? Both offering hard duct or flex? Any additional testing or sizing they are providing? System Balancing?

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What? Why is the HVAC quoting this? $5,600 is a lot for this, IMO. $150-200-ish for each HVL, plus install. $5k labor is ridiculous for a new build from the HVAC crew.

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“This would also allow for one basic exhaust fan and venting for the two bathrooms and one half bath” this is what was in the quote. I took it to mean they could install them, but it might mean something different? It’s also listed in the quote from the other company but it’s included in pricing.

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That’s big. But how much area is the HVAC covering, and how many units?

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That’s the total sqft that’ll I’ll be heating/cooling.

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This is what I have and it’s great. Mine is a 2T to cover about 750 sqft. I paid around $3k installed in 2019.

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My bonus room is about 680 sqft so that’s good to know.

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This is not even close to the same as mini-split. It provides no heating or cooling, and “whole home” for just the bonus room?

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The quote stated pulling fresh air is required and they recommended the dehumidifier for this purpose. It said it would be ducted to the main unit duct.

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Is this one unit?

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No, that’s the 4 options they offered me.

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Not sure the difference in air handlers, but may have some differences that are worthwhile (multi-speed blower).

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They’re all variable speed except for the 14 SEER option which is a single speed.

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What about duct work? Both offering hard duct or flex? Any additional testing or sizing they are providing? System Balancing?

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Hard trunk and flex branch on both. No testing or sizing I’m aware of or system balancing.

This has to be 2 units I'm thinking now.

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So is it priced per unit?

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Ok, after going back and rereading the quote, it is multiple units. The company's provided their quotes two entirely different ways and it caused me confusion. So, the first quote is this:

Main Level
1.) Installation of Trane 14 SEER split heat pump system. It includes ductwork consisting of metal trunk line and flexible branch ducts, refrigeration piping, drain, low voltage wiring, digital programmable thermostat and labor. This would also allow for one basic exhaust fan and venting for the two bathrooms and one half bath. The unit has a ten year warranty and one year labor warranty. $13,600.00

Basement
2.) Installation of Trane 14 SEER split heat pump system. It includes ductwork consisting of metal trunk line and flexible branch ducts, refrigeration piping, drain, low voltage wiring, digital programmable thermostat and labor. The unit has a ten year warranty and one year labor warranty. $8,000

Bonus Room
3.) Installation of 23 SEER Mitsubishi split ductless heat pump system. It includes interconnecting refrigeration and communication lines, drain and labor. There is a twelve year compressor warranty, ten on parts and one on labor. $5,200.00

4.) Installation of Ultra Aire ventilating whole house dehumidifier with digital control. We would recommend this option for bringing in fresh air through as it would dehumidify it first. The ducting for it would be connected to the duct system of the main unit. It carries a six year warranty. $5,000.00

So a total of 31,800.

The other quote is how I listed it. I only see it listed as 5 ton primary unit. It says nothing about an additional unit, but the first quote didn't mention any specific air handlers like the second quote did. Why is that?

Delete - double post.