On Nov 4, 10:34*pm, Tony Hwang wrote:
Jeffy3 wrote:
Had an estimate from SEARS for a new gas furnace / central air the
other night. *Sales guy recommended a humidifier system and an electro-
something filter system that allegedly removes all kinds of pollens
and microbes that a normal replaceable cardboard filter will not .
Each was around $600. *Are these ad-ons gimmicks?

Hi,
First of all Sears are quite expensive. EAC and humidifier(Aprilaire)
are both useful. Does not cost that much. I installed them myself.


I'm not so sure how effective the electronic air filters really are.
A friend bought a new house that has two gas HVAC units that both
include electrostatic filters. He hadn't cleaned them in a year.
We took the media out to wash them and I was very surprised at how
little dirt there was on either of them. No more visible matter
than would be on a cheap conventional filter like I have. His house
is very clean, no pets, kids, etc, which may be a factor. I know
they are working because if you bang on a duct a bit you can hear the
high voltage arcing from particles that get dislodged.

Any one else have experience with how much dirt shows up on these
electrostatic units?

Humidifier may be a good idea. My only concern would be that the
house has no insulation in the walls. Is there a vapor barrier?
If you do get one, I'd keep it set relatively low. Highly recommend
Aprilaire. You can get their top of the line model for $225. Not
that difficult to install. If you have the necessary skills, you can
easily do it yourself. So, if you're getting some average humdifier
for $600, it doesn't sound like a good deal to me.

As others have said, if you can insulate those walls, that would
definitely pay for itself over time. The only issue obviously is it
may not be that easy in your existing home. How about the attic?
Is that well insulated?