There was a story on TV news last week. The reporter said there were
going to be changes to the SEER numbers of new air conditoners being
sold and that if you had an a/c and an air handler, and one of them
broke, you would have to replace both because the new ones being sold
would not work with the old ones. Hope that's clear....

She went on to say that if you wanted to buy a unit to work with the
one you already have, you should hurry.

So .... is that correct? And if so, what advice would someone in the
business give ...
I bought the outside unit in 1992. It is a Goodman and is still
working fine. I bought the air handler in 2001...a Carrier, and it is
fine. Would it be smart to try and buy an outside Carrier to match the
air handler now (if I can still find one) or just wait until one of the
two units stops working and replace both? The new units are supposed
to cost a lot more than the old ones.
Thanks.

wrote:
There was a story on TV news last week. The reporter said there were
going to be changes to the SEER numbers of new air conditoners being
sold and that if you had an a/c and an air handler, and one of them
broke, you would have to replace both because the new ones being sold
would not work with the old ones. Hope that's clear....

Relax. As usual the TV news often only gets half a story.

Don't make your decision due to the news. I would do nothing until I
need or wanted to.

You can get some numbers now if you like, but I suggest waiting. There
are tax incentives coming out and when all is said and done, it is likely
better economics to go with a matched newer unit when needed than trying to
get a few additional years out of what you now have. I would want the
increased efficiency and reduced operating cost rather than saving a little
on the hardware.


--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

On 8 Feb 2006 16:40:19 -0800, "
wrote:

There was a story on TV news last week. The reporter said there were
going to be changes to the SEER numbers of new air conditoners being
sold and that if you had an a/c and an air handler, and one of them
broke, you would have to replace both because the new ones being sold
would not work with the old ones. Hope that's clear....

She went on to say that if you wanted to buy a unit to work with the
one you already have, you should hurry.

So .... is that correct? And if so, what advice would someone in the
business give ...
I bought the outside unit in 1992. It is a Goodman and is still
working fine. I bought the air handler in 2001...a Carrier, and it is
fine. Would it be smart to try and buy an outside Carrier to match the
air handler now (if I can still find one) or just wait until one of the
two units stops working and replace both? The new units are supposed
to cost a lot more than the old ones.
Thanks.


The old minimum rating was 10 SEER. The new minimum rating is 13
SEER, however, manufacturers can finish out work in progress and sell
existing units that are below 13 SEER. They just can't start any new
production in 2006 that is not up to the 13 SEER minimum.

If I were you, I would do nothing. By the time your outside codensing
unit goes, you will probably want to replace both anyway, go to a very
high SEER unit, collect the tax credit that is available, and have a
good payback on your investment because of the dramatically lower
energy usage and cost.

The new units do cost more, but the payback is there in energy savings
combined with the tax credit.