Quote:
Originally Posted by billethkid
I did check past listings with the most recent being 2014.
We have a gas furnace and electric air conditioning.
Trane......new construction 2004....original install by Munn's.....maintained annual inspections by Munns since new.
Just had the outdoor fan unit replaced as it stopped working....replaced by Munn's $400.
Life expectancy of HVAC is 10-14 years depending who you talk to or personal experience.
I usually replace major equipment before they fail......not prematurely....but when time is on my side.
There are stories around of units going to 20 years or more.....usually in the minority.
Have you replaced yours?
Who did you use?
Product and how you decided?
Size of your home?
How much if you are inclined to share that?
Our home is 3000 square feet......faces N/S....current system is a Trane XR 12 and has served us very well these past 14 years.
Any and all advice is appreciated.
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I believe as you do that the,"normal life," is 10-14 years.
The SEER number is a number for the efficiency of the unit-it is marked on your system. I believe the REAL efficiency falls off as the unit ages.
Our unit is 4 years old as is our home, it is a carrier and it was installed by the builder. The unit is a heat pump and it supplies both cooling and winter heat. I believe a unit that provides both heat and cooling will not have as high a SEER number as a unit that only cools. Our unit is marked SEER 15. I checked, the ones used in Fenny are the same marked SEER 15.
A call to the home radio show 96.5 FM, I called to ask if you replace a seer 15 with an 18-what will you save. If, my math is correct 15 to 18 is 30%. The reply was you would save 15-20%.
RE: your $400 to replace the fan.
Truly, I do not know what a fair price for that is. You can easily get that information on the internet. I do know that if you have a variable speed fan the part is much more expensive than a single speed fan.
We did not have a choice. I stay in touch with a former business associate who lives in Boynton Beech. He bought a Lennox high efficiency unit-18 SEER-I think. His unit which came with the house was abt 12 years old. He reported to me that his electric bill dropped by 30%. After a year or so a rectifier blew. It was covered under warranty but it took them about 10 days to get the part and it was the middle of the summer.
Truth-I expect our AC compressor was put in before the home next door was built. We keep the bushes cut back but I suspect they too were put in after the compressor was installed. Getting a new one put in is sure to be an interesting project.