[jimhoward]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

I would spend 100 dollars to be more comfortable. But I am already comfortable. My single stage heat pump maintains a constant temperature in the house that is within one degree of the thermostat setting, the humidity is always acceptable, and it is so quiet that I don't even know when it is running.

Also, I don't understand the need for a zoned system in a single story house with no insulated interior walls. I maintain a constant temperature throughout the house and my electric bill is usually less than $100. Cooling down the bedrooms at night and not cooling the rest of the house would make me less comfortable, not more comfortable.

Sounds like there would be no reason for you to upgrade. But that is definitely not true for everyone.

My house does not stay at a uniform temperature throughout the house, not even close. One front bedroom gets a lot of sun and gets warm. Another bedroom abuts the garage and has a sort run from the air handler to the register. It gets cold. The one thermostat sits in the middle of the house and has no idea what is going on in distant rooms. Now you can of course manually adjust the dampers to try to make everything as uniform as possible and I do, but it is crude and its not dynamic.

Also, the occupants of different bedrooms in my house like different temperatures. So that complicates things further.

I have a single stage on-off system, I wish I had thermostatic control over the dampers. But I don't. I am not getting rid of a perfectly good nearly new single stage system and spending a lot of money to upgrade. But I would if I could do it economically.

[RRGuyNJ]

Originally Posted by dewilson58

Variable Speed Unit owners......................do you have Zones???
How much was the up-charge??

With our 2-Stage unit, we have zones set up.
Largest benefit is cooling the bedroom(s) only at night (not the whole house).

If we want to continue with zones, SunKool said that would cost an additional $4500.
(current zone equipment would not work with a new variable speed unit)

It's been a looong time since I was in the HVAC business, but if you already have a 2 zone system why wouldn't the new equipment work? The zones I assume are set up with your ductwork throughout the house. It used to be done with electrically operated dampers to control where the conditioned air flows. If that's the case, I would imagine the new equipment would not matter if it's variable or 2 stage or single stage. Things may have changed in how systems are zoned but that seems like a lot of money for an upcharge to a 2 zone duct system that is already in place. Good luck.

[jrref]

Originally Posted by RRGuyNJ

It's been a looong time since I was in the HVAC business, but if you already have a 2 zone system why wouldn't the new equipment work? The zones I assume are set up with your ductwork throughout the house. It used to be done with electrically operated dampers to control where the conditioned air flows. If that's the case, I would imagine the new equipment would not matter if it's variable or 2 stage or single stage. Things may have changed in how systems are zoned but that seems like a lot of money for an upcharge to a 2 zone duct system that is already in place. Good luck.

If he goes with a single or two stage unit then he can reuse the existing zone controls. If he goes with a variable speed inverter system then he needs the zone controls that can be variably opened and closed that work with that system vs the existing zone controls that are either Full Open or Full Closed.

Some companies don't want to do duct work and always charge more others charge less for the same thing. I would get a couple more quotes.

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by RRGuyNJ

It's been a looong time since I was in the HVAC business, but if you already have a 2 zone system why wouldn't the new equipment work? The zones I assume are set up with your ductwork throughout the house. It used to be done with electrically operated dampers to control where the conditioned air flows. If that's the case, I would imagine the new equipment would not matter if it's variable or 2 stage or single stage. Things may have changed in how systems are zoned but that seems like a lot of money for an upcharge to a 2 zone duct system that is already in place. Good luck.

Sent PM.