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In July 2007 I had the 18 year old HVAC completely replaced on my 1989 house. It was the original unit except it looked like the interior cooling coils had been replaced by the previous owner at some time.
2300 SF, 1 story house, slab on grade, with insulated glass windows. I went with ARS and went through the Austin Energy Home Performance program, which evaluates and upgrades if needed, the complete energy envelope of the home; insulation, ducts, sealing, and energy performance of the heating, cooling filtration, duct, electrical service and piping systems (gas, condensate drainage & refrigerant). Most improvements in those areas quickly pay for themselves in energy savings, AND their are rebates available through the program that also help compensate the homeowner for some of the cost of upgrades. ARS was professional and explained everything they were doing. The were prompt with appointments and courteous, showed up for work on time and completed it when promised. HVAC was installed in one day, and the weatherization installed on the second day. On the third day every thing was inspected by the City inspector and we were done. I was very satisfied with it all.
In my case our new HVAC system was by Carrier. it included:
- AC: 3.5 ton, SEER 16 AC Condenser, with "puron" refrigerant.
- Gas Furnace w/ variable speed blower & 2 stage heat so it can respond at lower rates when needed.
- Programmable thermidistate (temperature & limited humidity control).
- Warranty: 1 year labor, 5 year free parts, 10 year compressor, 20 year heat exchanger.
- Weatherization included adding some additional insulation as well as duct and register sealing.
HVAC system was by Carrier.. $7,016
Weatherization..................... $1,361
Sub Total............................. $8,377
Less Rebate..........................<$2,232>
Net cost to Owner ................. $6,144
Rebates:
City of Austin........................ $1536
Texas Gas ........................... $ 396
IRS "Tier 2" ......................... $ 300 I think this was a tax deduction rather then a rebate so it may have been misleading.
Total Rebates....................... $2,232
We are very happy with the performance of the new HVAC. The house is always comfortable, including on the coldest and hottest days . The units are so quiet we rarely hear them running.
I have been keeping a graph tracking my utility usage since we bought the house in 2005.
Since the installation of the new HVAC our annual electrical consumption has been only 65% of previous years and our gas consumption has been 89% of previous years. I need to calculate the savings in dollars, have not done that yet. But I'm confident the HVAC improvements are paying for themselves.
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