[Cliff Fr]

Originally Posted by jrref

I had a Carrier Infinity Greenspeed HVAC sytem installed yesterday by Sunshine HVAC. As discussed in another thread last week, these systems should save you about 35% on your energy bill, provide exceptional temperature and humidity control, provide superior air filtration and are super quiet. Also, the heat pump will provide heat without the need for Auxillary heat strips all the way down to -13 degrees. So, while our existing systems are struggling at temps below 40 degrees, this system will be very efficient and be cheaper to run even when we need heat. This system uses the same heat pump technology as the mini splits everyone is installing to cool their lanai and garages.

I have a 4 ton system and after watching these techs work, knowing what I know from working with a HVAC contrator while working my way through college, I started to realize the difference in price between contractors for the same exact system may be related to their installation process. In my case eventhough I replaced my existing single stage 4 ton system with a new 4 ton system, the Infinity airhandler is 21 vs 24 inches so the lower plenum that the air handler sits on had to be replaced along with the plywood base. In addition, they replaced everything existing with new which included a new line set, condensate drain, all new duct work in the HVAC closet. They even crawled under the air handler platform once they opened it up to insulate the "cold" side of the line set all the way to where it goes to the outside wall and spray foamed it at that point. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Normally, they pull a new lineset and the pipe insulation goes on as best it can. Here they made sure there was no way that line was going to sweat and leak condensation and over time causing mold. Also, on the duct connections they used mastic along with the typical metal tape to seal the new to the old joints. Everything was caulked and painted as needed. In addition, outside by the condensor they installed a device which monitors the electric voiltage so if the voltage goes too high or too low during a power event, it disconnects the system. This "box" also includes a power surge protector.

Sunshine also has a person come to your home and do a follow-up to make sure everything was done to your satisfaction, to explain how to use the thermostat and to set up the App on your phones. I feel this is a nice touch.

All I can say is these techs did everything "by the book" based on my knowledge and it took about 7 1/2 hours to do the job. As mentioned, I can see how some HVAC contractors possibly could skip a lot of these steps and charge a cheaper price. And be prepared for the estimator to say "oh you don't need to change that" LOL. That said, when you get estimates, make sure you are comparing the same equipment and find out what they are replacing in order to do a valid comparison. My guess is given everything the same, there shouldn't be that much difference in price between reputable HVAC contractors here in the Villages.

One final comment. For those who say they are going to stick with the simple single stage units because they can get a replacement in a day, I asked and these new inverter systems are stocked like the basic units becasue they are installing many of them now and if they don't have it, there are two Carrier distributers close to the Villages where they can get a replacement in a day. They also said, sometimes the basic units may be out of stock and you need to wait so, these days the type of equipment shouldn't be a concern when thinking about a replacement scenaro in the middle of the summer.

Hope this helps those considering or needing a new system.

We installed an Airtemp central AC 4 years ago with a single stage scroll compressor heat pump and backup heat strips. It uses about half the energy of the Rheem it replaced. We hardly use any heat in the Winter so the heat strip aren't a factor. The scroll compressor is very efficient. The system is much less electronic and complicated.