HVAC system replacement quotes

Are you saying the quotes for the 2 stage 17 Seer and multistage 20 Seer are the same? When i received quotes for Trane systems a year ago the price difference between the 2 stage 17 Seer and multistage 18 Seer was very close, less than $1K, which surprised me, as I expected a 2-stage unit to be a good bit cheaper.

Also are you being quoted pricing for 2, 3-ton units for a 2,800 sq ft living area home? If so that sounds to be very over-sized unless it’s an incredible leaky home. I have a single 4 ton unit for 2,500 sq ft (1993 build, vented attic, fiberglass insulation) which keeps the house comfortable in the heat of summer. A manual J using the program I linked in the other post indicates I should have a 3.5 ton unit, so technically I’m slightly over-sized in my home. You should really look into that.

Also if the price is $ 4,000 per unit installed, $8K for 2 units, for 17 or 20 Seer units, that is incredibility good pricing. I’d definitely want quotes from him if he was in BR.

It’s common/norm for them to use existing refrigerant lines and flush it of old refrigerant/oil.

ETA: I guess I misunderstood - the 17 seer unit is $4K cheaper than the 20 Seer per unit? That really does seem to be a big difference in price based on my quotes on similar units for the Trane.

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That's the difference in prices between the 17 and 20 SEER quotes for 2 systems. The 20 is like $25K total for both.

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So you are saying $17k for 2 17 seer and $25k for two 20 seer 3 ton units? That is extremely high.

I'd expect closer to half of that. The units themselves are only going to cost $3000-4000 most likely.

Even if you don't actually plan to use anyone else, you should still get other quotes to hold your guy honest.

Dude. Call and get as many quotes as you can. I recently got a quote with an A/C that has done all of my stuff for as long as I can recall. I found another guy and he did it for 1/2 the price.

A/C guys are worse than used car salesmen and lawyers.

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Alx, here's the short answer - you pay more for higher SEER, but there comes a point of diminishing returns...17/18 SEER is probably as high as you want to go and still get the payoff over the life of the equipment. The cost for 20 SEER won't net you the savings you'll need to offset the upfront cost.

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This is true and here is a on-line calculator LINK you can use to estimate the anticipated payback period for a more expensive, but significantly more efficient (reduced electrical bill) HVAC system. Keep in mind the HVAC experts state that the expected average life of a HVAC system is 13 to 15 years, whether it is a less expensive single stage system or expensive multistage system. Assume you’ll break-even on $ about the time you might have to replace your HVAC units.

With that in mind, HVAC “experts” suggest that the most important factor to consider is your comfort. Because you stated in the other thread a very quite outdoor and indoor system is very important to you, perhaps that should be the major predetermining factor in your selection. And multistage systems because of their long run times provide exceptional humidity control in summer. What I don’t know is whether a 2-stage system is significantly more “noisy” than a multi-stage system. I do know numerous posters that have multistage HVAC systems have stated they are incredibly quite. But I also suspect that even a new, less expensive single stage, lower SEER system, is likely going to significantly quieter than the old units you have now.

just got a 4ton Goodman 14seer installed for $7493

So, my 17 quote isn't looking bad at all.

So, all installed yesterday. Only 6 decibels different from old to new, but when sitting on the porch, I had to go look to see if they were running. That's all the reduction I wanted anyway.