central air prices?

wonderings

wonderings

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I have central air right now, its been around a while, at least 10 - 15 years. Thinking it might be time to update to something more efficient and something that just works better. Having issues keeping my 3 bedroom condo cool on the upstairs. I know I can call places and get prices, but I like to shop around online, get ideas of what prices are out there and research on the different models before dealing with any salesmen. I cannot seem to find anywhere that has prices for these units, assuming its a higher price tag, but was still expecting to find something that gave some dollar amounts for the unit alone.

I have only really tried the big box store type places like home depot, rona, sears. Sears is the only one that seems to carry them, but again no prices.

Any Canadian websites that sell these or have prices? Or are they just not out there as you cant really buy one without getting it installed and served by a provider?
 
Look at Costco too....We also have big issues getting air to the top storey of our house but I'm fairly sure this is a balancing and ductwork problem rather than the air conditioner. It would be cheaper for us to run a newer air conditioner (ours is probably your age) but getting the cool air to the end of the duct runs is still going to be a problem I'm thinking. I installed a pusher fan near the end of one duct to see if it would make a diference, and apart from sounding like a helicopter is in the room with me it didn't do much.
 
My A/C unit is 20 years old and still works fine - or, at least, as well as it ever did. The problem (mine too) with getting the second floor to be as cool as the main floor, has to do with the issue of duct sizing. The rooms furthest from the furnace, should have the largest duct sizes, to compensate for the friction loss of the longer run - and this rarely happens - probably because the original installers don't care, or the contractor doesn't want to pay them a few extra bucks, to do the job properly.
You might try putting a larger pulley on the furnace fan - this will push more air, if the motor is strong enough - if it isn't, you would have to install a more powerful motor. Take this opportunity, to install a DC motor - it's cheaper on hydro.
Restrict the air flow to the closest (to the furnace) rooms on the main floor - this should get more air to the second floor.
Something else you could do is, put a big ceiling fan in the second floor ceiling, over top of your stairs - to push the warm air down to the main floor and help circulate the air. This last thing made a noticeable difference to my upstairs temps.
 
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Doug Tait said:
My A/C unit is 20 years old and still works fine - or, at least, as well as it ever did. The problem (mine too) with getting the second floor to be as cool as the main floor, has to do with the issue of duct sizing. The rooms furthest from the furnace, should have the largest duct sizes, to compensate for the friction loss of the longer run - and this rarely happens - probably because the original installers don't care, or the contractor doesn't want to pay them a few extra bucks, to do the job properly.
You might try putting a larger pulley on the furnace fan - this will push more air, if the motor is strong enough - if it isn't, you would have to install a more powerful motor. Take this opportunity, to install a DC motor - it's cheaper on hydro.
Restrict the air flow to the closest (to the furnace) rooms on the main floor - this should get more air to the second floor.
Something else I did was, put a big ceiling fan in the second floor ceiling, over top of your stairs - to push the warm air down to the second floor and help circulate the air. This last thing made a noticeable difference to my upstairs temps.
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+1 to this.

In any house, trying to cool the 2nd floor is always an issue.

A few things you can do are; install fans on the 2nd floor, which will draw up the cool air.
Ensure your filter(s) are clean, as this seems to be the major issue.
Find your fresh air returns, and cover 1/2 of it with cardboard, plastic etc. That way its not sucking the cool air back down to the furnace.
Lastly, and not a great option is to install a booster fan in your duct. Noisy as hell and has to be installed by an electrician to operate when your furnace fan kicks on.
 
infernobuster said:
+1 to this.

In any house, trying to cool the 2nd floor is always an issue.

A few things you can do are; install fans on the 2nd floor, which will draw up the cool air.
Ensure your filter(s) are clean, as this seems to be the major issue.
Find your fresh air returns, and cover 1/2 of it with cardboard, plastic etc. That way its not sucking the cool air back down to the furnace.
Lastly, and not a great option is to install a booster fan in your duct. Noisy as hell and has to be installed by an electrician to operate when your furnace fan kicks on.
Click to expand...

I did the booster fan the lazy way...manual operation not linked to the thermostat or furnace but I'm OK with this as it is damn noisy and I use it only on the hottest days. Only makes a tiny difference, the balancing and bad duct work is the main culprit. Good tip on the ceiling fan at the top of the stairs though, definitely going to try this.
 
I had the same issue at my girlfriends house, I just block the vents in the basement and the partially blocked the ground floor vents,
it made a big difference and the ground floor still kept nice and cool
 
Keeps the warm air in the down stairs from going upstairs and the cold air upstairs from pooling down stairs.
You shut 1/2 (or all) the vents in the down stairs and leave the vents open up stairs. My parents have the same issue in their bungalow, the basement is super cold, the upstairs is comfortable. So they close all the vents in the basement, the door from upstairs and the temp upstairs stays comfy and so does downstairs.
 
I follow your logic, but it has been my experience, that the more/better circulation you have, from top to bottom, the more even the temperatures are, between floors.
 
First off if the unit has suddenly starting having trouble keeping up there could be other problems, its not worth replacing a working unit simply to upgrade.

The first step is to make sure you have good everything is clean and you have food airflow.

Make sure your furnace filter is clean, the blower fan is clean the outside conderser fins are clean and the evaporator coil above the heat exchanger is clean, you would not believe how many service calls are do to a dirty air filter the system needs good airflow to work properly!

Also improtant is to make sure your vents are not blocked off is important, IF you duct system is designed properly everything should flow well, usually duct systems are poorly designed and don't work well especially in older homes, replacing your ac unit won't do a damn thing to give better flow to the upstairs, if that's the case as others have said u could try a booster fan or have your duct system replaced by someone who can do a proper design of the system.

Also you can try turning up the cooling fan speed on your blower motor. How this is done depends on how old youf furnace is.

Now assuming everything is clean and vents are open let your ac run for 15 minutes or so to get to normal operation then go outside and look at the lines going into the unit, you should see decent condensation on the big line and the small line should be warm, the big line should also be insulated everywhere right up to the valve on the unit.

If you don't see a good sweat (condensation on the big line on a normal warm Summer day) its possible you are low on refrigerant and may have a small leak, might just need some refrigerant if its just a bit low it likely just slowly leaked from the valves. Have a technician check it out.
 
Clean your system, first off its important and you should just do it.

But in all honestly your best bet is probably to get yourself a portable unit or a window shaker big enough to keep up with the loas to put upstairs and run it on the days you need more cooling up there, its a bit of a band aid solution but its IMO the best and cheapest option.

There's no reason to replace your central unit unless the compressor is getting weak, it may need some refrigerant though.

However if your dead set on a new one pm me and I'll hook you up with a pricing guide from an HVAC supplier
 
Doug Tait said:
I follow your logic, but it has been my experience, that the more/better circulation you have, from top to bottom, the more even the temperatures are, between floors.
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Hot air rises, cold air sinks, simple physics, it is what works in my folks place. The circulation is done by the return ducts. The basement is already cool, no need for further cooling
 
several problems at play, 20-30yr ago tract builders install "basic" ductwork, had a formula that gets hot air to rooms and thats where all the thought went. Then our climate changed and A/C became common, affordable. In the '60 you lived with the heat, maybe window units if you were lucky.

So you have systems designed for heat that rises, not cold that falls. You can put a new central unit in and replace a 20yr old one. You'll maybe save costs on energy consummed and get a small percentage of improvement but likely not enough to justify the change.

Changing ductwork is just crazy, so you need to maximize your system shortfalls, big ceiling fan in upstairs hall, pulling up in summer, switched to down in winter, I dont close basement vents, I want the humidity out, thats how A/C cools, by removing humidity, that basement humidity rises. Close drapes during the day, and reduce "phantom" heat sources, transformers, power pks for computers, lights left on, all generate heat. Those new compact florescent bulbs have a hot base.
And opening the windows when it feels cooler outside, only works if you have less humidity, you let the humidity in then you start all over trying to get it out of the house to feel cooler.

Beer, the answer to all heating/cooling issues and feeling more comfortable is beer.
 
Did not read whole thread. I had huge problem with stratification (heating) I ended up busting the duct open and dumping the lions share into 1st floor. Lost a lot of static pressure to 2fl. vents. Natural heat rise took care of the rest.
If I had central air I'd do the same with return duct. Hog out return duct at basement. Keep doors open.
 
careful just making ducts bigger/smaller, there is supposed to be some engineering and sizing in the system. But as Inreb points out , stratification is a problem in a lot of homes and most older homes that have been converted from a different type of heat/cool get whatever works easiest.

For anybody in an older home looking at Central air look at a minisplit system, you have no ducts, just high pressure piping. It allows total zone control and can function more efficiently than a conventional heat pump.
There are also micro duct systems that put AC in through the cieling , small 2" vents that are nearly invisible. Its how you put AC in a place like an historic building.
Its not really new tech, but its not promoted much.
 
I had a new 2 ton unit installed last week, the compressor on my old one died,replaced the whole system with a more efficient new one, the old one was 20 years old. It was 1900 for the replacement. My neighbour forked over 3900 for effectively the same unit. Prices vary. But like others have said clean everything, especially the unit inside the furnace as dust and such around it can diminish its effectiveness.
 
All good suggestions. We noticed that the ceiling upstairs was consistently 8 or 10 degrees hotter than the walls. So we added insulation to make the total R60 in the attic, and then added soffit and roof venting. That made a big difference. Also kept the house warmer in the winter, and it's totally passive.
 
CruisnGrrl said:
What does a central air unit cost these days? House has one but the previous owners didn't maintain it and the condenser coil burst (had to replace the furnace). Not sure if the old one can be repaired or should just be replaced.
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How old? If it was me, anything close to 15 years old (when it requires major repair) and I replace it, 8 years old, repair, in between sliding scale (i.e. I am not paying for a new compressor on a 12 year old unit.)
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