PennSilverTaco's HVAC BS MegaThread!

This another issue; My house has two separate systems (2.5-ton downstairs and 2-ton upstairs). The house has flex duct in the attic feeding the entire second floor and I have to set the thermostat to 66-67 in the summer to get my room at the temperature I’d like...

 

My aunt and uncle live in New Jersey and their house is a 3-bedroom/3-bathroom split-level that was built in 1989; Zillow says the house is 1,452 square feet, but with the addition it is well over 1,500 square feet. The house had central air from the time it was built, but they bought the house in 2013 and the original unit had long been replaced; This is the turd the house came with…

 

Let’s get one thing straight; I DO NOT LIKE NORDYNE PRODUCTS. Their one saving grace is that they have scroll compressors, but their overall quality has never been on par with the likes of Carrier and Trane. My aunt and uncle also believe this Frigidaire-branded unit is shit, but it came with the house and they’re not gonna replace it unless it actually needs to be…

 

The unit is 3 nominal tons (36,000 BTUs), which you would think would be large enough for a relatively small house, but nope…



When the previous owners replaced the unit, the extra space of the addition was not taken into account; As a result, the unit was struggling to keep the entire lower level (which has the addition) cool; Also, I don’t know what year this unit is…

It has R410a and was there when my aunt and uncle bought the house in 2014; R410a was mandated for all new construction and most equipment replacements in like 2009, so I’d guess this unit is from 2010-2012.

 

My aunt and uncle had this Fujitsu ductless mini-split installed not long after buying the house to compensate for the lack of cooling capacity from the main unit, and it works great!

 

The house has natural gas heat, and it has a boiler with baseboard heaters that is separate from the central air…



The boiler was replaced by my aunt and uncle fairly recently…

 

And here’s one that I shared in my main thread (Aspergers/Truck build); Brand new Bryant Preferred Series 4-ton heat pump at the home of my former boss and her husband here in Central Bucks…

 

The house was built in 1976 and did not originally have central air; It is a little under 2,400 square feet if the partially finished basement is not included, and has 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. My friends bought the house in October 2019 and had central A/C put in a couple months ago; The house has an oil baseboard heating system, and they got a heat pump to reduce oil use in more mild weather…

 

Last year I replaced my nat. Gas furnace(1964) and air conditioner(1983) with a brand new Trane setup. Best money spent imo. I went with a 3 ton outside unit and 80k btu gas furnace. Both are two stage units and I've got a variable blower. Best I can tell, a two stage unit and zoning would be an excellent setup.

I've got 1250 Sq ft upstairs, and the same down. I heat and cool the basement but it is not a finished living space. I live in Southern Indiana, and the highest gas bill all winter was $89, with 35 of that for running the hot water heater. Highest electric bill has been $91. So pretty cheap for a house built in 1953. It does have energy efficient windows from about 15 years ago, and I did a full gut and remodel 8 years ago. So I have R19 in the walls and R43 in the attic.

 

Not bad! 80K BTUs in Indiana though...? Seems like 100K plus would be better suited to those Midwest winters...?

 

The furnace I had before was 100k btu and was overkill for southern Indiana. I kept the house at 72 all winter and still had cheaper gas bills. I'll look and see if I can screenshot how hard my furnace ran this past winter. I could have probably gotten away with an even smaller furnace tbh.

 

And if a house like yours were being built today, I’d give each floor its own system…

 

Here ya go. You can see that I hardly ever touch the second stage, especially in winter. I had the system installed last July, so this is a true 1 year snapshot.

 

I've got programmable thermostats in my house, but until the builder grade crap that came with the house dies, I won't be able to bring up the efficiency of my HVAC system on my phone! What do you keep the thermostat set to in the summer?

 

I keep the house at 68 when I'm home, and 76 when gone for work. Most of the second stage usage in the summer is from cranking down the air when I get off work. It literally can go from 76 to 68 in about 30 minutes or less. The thermostat is a Trane branded one I had put in at the same time. It runs off the Nexia app.. I needed it for two stage operations and for the humidity control I've got built in. It is also zoning capable although I don't really use that yet. I've got manual vents in the basement I can open/close if needed.

 

Do you have an XLi air-conditioner?!?!

 

Yup, sure do. XL18i is the one I've got.