udarrell wrote:
Todd H. wrote:

Greetings,

It's that sad time to replace a furnace and possibly the A/C at the
same time. The location is Chicago, IL, home is a 15 year old 2-story colonial around
2300sf, with a 15-year old 100,000 BTU furnace and a 3ton A/C unit.
Summers get hot and obnoxiously humid, but aren't that long. Winters
are, well, Chicago winters.


Hi Todd,
A new home in 1991 & they did not install the A/C system so that the
upstairs would be properly cooled!
That ought to be the first item you have them address.

What SEER is the unit installed in your home?
Ten-SEER or above & working good, forget replacing it, as you probably
NOT see any appreciable savings.

Are you for real? No savings from replacing a 10 SEER system with a
15? They can't even legally build 10 SEER anymore, for obvious
reasons.


A 10-SEER is usually better at reducing humidity & they are good
functioning units.

The SEER rating has nothing to do with ability to control humidity. A
variable speed blower is a key to that, however not sure how much of an
issue that would make in Chicago, or if it's worth it. Variable speed
is most effective in removing humidity on days when it's not that hot,
but very humid. In Chicago, when it's humid, it's usually also hot
enought that the AC is gonna run enough to remove the humidity without
a variable speed blower. One thing I would keep in mind is the
variable speed motors and controllers cost a lot more to replace if
they fail.



Do not fall for all the hype about "potential" savings, as even the
15-SEER may not work well with your conditions.,

15 SEER vs 13 SEER means that the 15 SEER system will put out 15% more
cooling with the same amount of electric used by the 13 SEER. Not
sure exactly what you mean by his current conditions, but if you mean
things like installed ducting that may be inadequate, then I agree the
SEER rating is not gonna fix that. But a higher SEER unit installed
with the same ducting is sure as hell going to use less electricity for
the same cooling output.



They can not guarantee that those SEER levels will save you any money or
provide as much or more comfort than the existing unit.

If SEER is just pie in the sky, why are many electric companies
offering rebates to get them installed, thereby lowering peak demand?