"Tony" wrote:


"TURTLE" wrote in message
. ..

"Aaron" wrote in message
ups.com...
I live in Texas, and I am currently using A/C window units and gas
stoves. I am looking into having central air put in before next
summer. I know in Texas, summer in the most expensive time to put
central air in. Is there a cheapest time to do it?

Also, would it be wise to do the duct work myself to save some money.
I think I will need 6 or 7 registers. Also, do I need a register in my
bathroom?

Thanks,
Aaron


This is Turtle.

Cheap time to get something done in Texas or Louisiana is the Winter times
as
you may call it that. in these two states business slows down a good bit
and they can work a deal if they wanted to.

You may do the duct work but depending on your skill as to saying yes or
no. Now
no matter what you must have a Manual D run on the house to tell the size
of
each duct that should go to each room. In all cases you must get a manual
D to see the sizing.

You must have also a manual J run to tell the amount of heating and
cooling you need to install in your home. Without a Manual J calculation
run on the house, just forget about the installer that does not do this.
these words should be set in stone.

TURTLE


Hi Turtle. Glad to see you're back from the problems down in your part of
the country. I have a question about the Manual J. Let's say you have a
house that's been built in the last 20 years and already has ductwork and
the original heater and AC. Let's also say it still has the original windows
and insulation and the same number of registers as when it was built. Given
that, how essential is it to still do a Manual J if one is going to just do
a direct replacement of the heater and AC with newer, more efficient units?

I did a replacement of the HVAC a year ago, and the installer, the one
that did the manual J, talked me *OUT* of buying the highest efficiency
unit cause it was oversized for my house. (3.5+ tons where I needed 2.5
to 3, so I got a 3 ton 15 seer unit)

So I'll rate it as important. The calculations are not that tough, one
has to measure the sizes and locations of windows, and stuff, and enter
it into a program that does the actual calculations. So the question is,
why not do it?