Quote:
Originally Posted by dewilson58
Anybody upgrade from a two stage A/C unit to a Variable Speed unit???
Did you notice reduced electric bills??
Did you notice a more comfortable environment??
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I had one installed two years ago: a Daikin. In the garage it is the same size as what I had. Outside, it is only a third the size of the original unit.
In the house, it is very quiet and comfortable. The only noise is the sound of air coming out of the grates. In the garage, it is almost silent when working. Outside, the condenser unit is so quiet that I can whisper next to it while it’s working and be heard. If your old heat pump interfered with your outdoor entertainment, this is what you want.
A year after I got it, it stopped cooling. Turned out the Freon was low because of a leak in a valve in the evaporation unit in the garage. It seems it came that way. Rather than try to fix it, the company replaced the entire evaporation unit with its connectors. Took an hour.
These cost a lot more than the lowest cost units that come with our homes. (It’s not the highest efficiency model. That costs even more.) I doubt that it will ever pay for itself except in the pleasure of less noise and more comfort. I’d guess that this saves perhaps 15% of my total electric bill, but that runs between $100 a month and $150, depending on the season, and probably $50 of that is refrigerator, hot water, and electrical use.