Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC)

I was recently faced with a delima. Our A/C unit was poor and inefficient. The inside air handler and the outside compressor were mismatched units, meaning the air handler was original to the house and the compressor was installed in 2007 as a cheap fix to some problem. This creates a very inefficient system as one is always trying to keep up with the other. On the other hand, the heater had no motor to force the combustion gas up the flue. This could potentially kill us if enough carbon monoxide vented into the house. All around, not a great system.

It was estimated that our existing system had about a 10 seasonal energy efficiencyratio (SEER), which isn't bad, but it's not good, either. The United States now requires that residential systems manufactured after 2005 have a minimum SEER rating of 13. by upgrading from SEER 9 to SEER 13, the power consumption is reduced by 30% (equal to 1 - 9/13). It is claimed that this can result in an energy savings valued at up to US$300 per year depending on the usage rate and the cost of electricity.

We decided, with the Texas summer looming over us, to replace the whole HVACsystem - including the duct work! The ducts were intact but showed average (~27%) leakage into the attic and were generally undersized for the house. The duct work is possible to replace yourself (if you can find a cool day to crawl around the attic) but any A/C company will do this service for you. But their pricing does vary. I just decided to bundle this in the whole package, because the way our A/C installer described it, they would do a top notch job. And after inspecting their work in the attic, they did! It was an extra $850 for this service (which is on the higher spectrum), but they upgraded the size of my ducts, installed fully insulated duct work, rebuilt the plenum (where the air goes from the A/C to the duct work), and sealed each connection between the ducts and the vents. Not a bad deal, all in all.

So, for the A/C we ended up with a rather slick unit. It's 16 SEER with a two-speed fan and a two-stage furnace, which means that when less power is required, it will operate at about half-speed. This further saves energy on top of the SEER rating as the whole unit is not running to change the temperature by 1 degree. The brand is Amana - which is the only company to provide a lifetime warranty on the compressor. It also controls the humidity so that you can feel cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter without having to crank the temperatures to the extreme.
Amana ASXC16 Air Conditioner
Amana AMVC8 Gas Furnace

We did do our research. Different A/C installers will sell you different brands which have different operating costs. For instance, Trane uses exclusive parts and the price for those parts are astronomical. Some companies only have one distributor in the area and can be very hard to get ahold of when you need them. Then there's the price. I had about half a dozen A/C installers come give me a free in-home estimate before I decided on one. The highest quote I got was $11,000 for the same system I ended up with! I paid $5,600. This is before you deduct the taxes since I made them buy the system on the Texas Energy Star tax-free holiday, the City of San Marcos rebate, and the $1,500 tax credit from Uncle Sam.

Now our house cools in no time (well, actually, about 15 minutes). It looks very high-tech. And speaking of high-tech, our A/C has one more little goodie. It has a UV lamp, added as an extra component, which is installed in the main supply of the air conditioning system. The lamp operates continuously to purify the air in the home 24 hours a day. It emits powerful ultraviolet (UV) light, which neutralizes airborne bacteria, molds, and dust mites.

The company we used was Dayton Air Conditioning and Heating. I found them well recommended on Angie's List and even got $250 off for using Angie's List! The company is run by Coy Dayton, who was very friendly and knowledgeable when he came to my house for a free estimate. However, I haven't been able to speak with him since, as his secretary always relays my messages on to him. He has a crew that does the installs. They did a great job with the install. However, when I went to use the system the next day, it was blowing but no cool air came out. I called up Dayton, and although I had to insist that they fix my A/C that day, they sent out a technician that found a wire installed by the manufacturer had come loose. From then on it worked wonders. And the UV light makes a nice blue glow in the closet....