Hello Everyone,
We just moved to a 13 year old home in Alberta (near Calgary) and are looking to install an AC since summers can still get pretty hot here. The house is about 2,500 sqft, facing south east with many windows so there is a lot of sun heating. The central HVAC setup is 1 80BTU furnace for the basement and 1 80BTU Furnace for the main and upper floors which are zoned with individual dampers and thermostats.
Based on speaking with several HVAC contractors my understanding is that the current furnace (for main and upper floors) is undersized and if I were to install an AC to correspond to the existing blower I would be installing a 3 ton which would again be undersized and may not provide enough cooling on hot days. I was given 3 options:
1. Install a 3 ton AC but no warranty is provided since the installer thinks I will have problems down the line and doesn't want to be held responsible
2. Replace the furnace with a newer 2 speed unit and install 3.5/4 ton ac with the understanding that the 2 speed blower can handle a slightly bigger AC size
3. Install a new bigger furnace and properly sized AC which will require some duct work changes
Out of the 3 options #2 seems to be the most reasonable to me however I am hoping to hear if anyone has other suggestions.
PS. I thought about the idea of mini splits but would rather avoid this option due to extra cost and the look. Anyways it seems kinda redundant as we already have ducting to every room.
We just moved to a 13 year old home in Alberta (near Calgary) and are looking to install an AC since summers can still get pretty hot here. The house is about 2,500 sqft, facing south east with many windows so there is a lot of sun heating. The central HVAC setup is 1 80BTU furnace for the basement and 1 80BTU Furnace for the main and upper floors which are zoned with individual dampers and thermostats.
Based on speaking with several HVAC contractors my understanding is that the current furnace (for main and upper floors) is undersized and if I were to install an AC to correspond to the existing blower I would be installing a 3 ton which would again be undersized and may not provide enough cooling on hot days. I was given 3 options:
1. Install a 3 ton AC but no warranty is provided since the installer thinks I will have problems down the line and doesn't want to be held responsible
2. Replace the furnace with a newer 2 speed unit and install 3.5/4 ton ac with the understanding that the 2 speed blower can handle a slightly bigger AC size
3. Install a new bigger furnace and properly sized AC which will require some duct work changes
Out of the 3 options #2 seems to be the most reasonable to me however I am hoping to hear if anyone has other suggestions.
PS. I thought about the idea of mini splits but would rather avoid this option due to extra cost and the look. Anyways it seems kinda redundant as we already have ducting to every room.
source https://hvac-talk.com/vbb/threads/2240093-Tricky-situation-with-AC-install-Need-help!?goto=newpost
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