A/C Opinions

[jailbird141]

Anyone who has experience with air conditioning systems, I would like your opinion. I am building a new two story house in Havasu. The first floor will be all garage, roughly 2000 sqft. The second story will be all living area, roughly 2200 sqft. I got a few quotes for the A/C/ system. In your experience, is a 5 ton, 14 seer Amana for the living area going to be sufficient? And is Amana a quality unit? And, are two 2 ton, 19 seer Daikin units for the garage going to be sufficient? Are the Daikin units a quality unit? Thanks in advance for your opinions!

 

[TPC]

1 ton Cooling per 400 sq ft.
Vaulted ceilings ya want more in the Southwest.

Amana at one time was the Toyota of appliances.
Dunno if they still make their own or stick their label on someone else’s. Like maybe Lennox.

The current Amana line uses Copeland compressors and inverter technology. Expensive to service in its later years but still good stuff.
Copeland is still a good product.
The new Amanas run quiet.

Daikins nicely made and cheaper to have serviced. They’ve been at it a long time.

 

[Riverbound]

Anyone who has experience with air conditioning systems, I would like your opinion. I am building a new two story house in Havasu. The first floor will be all garage, roughly 2000 sqft. The second story will be all living area, roughly 2200 sqft. I got a few quotes for the A/C/ system. In your experience, is a 5 ton, 14 seer Amana for the living area going to be sufficient? And is Amana a quality unit? And, are two 2 ton, 19 seer Daikin units for the garage going to be sufficient? Are the Daikin units a quality unit? Thanks in advance for your opinions!

I’m very familiar With both those product lines and you will be VERY happy with them. Only change I would make is to go to the 16 seer minimum for the lifetime unit replacement warranty that Amaa offers. Since it’s a new build, the investment in a 2 stage system in Havasu is worth every penny. So have them bid a 2 stage 16 seer. Should be about $2500 more.

 

[Riverbound]

1 ton Cooling per sq ft.
Vaulted ceilings ya want more in the Southwest.

Amana at one time was the Toyota of appliances.
Dunno if they still make their own or stick their label on someone else’s. Like maybe Lennox.

The current Amana line uses Copeland compressors and inverter technology. Expensive to service in its later years but still good stuff.
Copeland is still a good product.
The new Amanas run quiet.

Daikins nicely made and cheaper to have serviced. They’ve been at it a long time.

The “Amana” and Goodman AC line is now owned by Daikin and plenty of the technologies have passed through. It’s was a good move and made the products much better.

 

[Bobby V]

I’m very familiar With both those product lines and you will be VERY happy with them. Only change I would make is to go to the 16 seer minimum for the lifetime unit replacement warranty that Amaa offers. Since it’s a new build, the investment in a 2 stage system in Havasu is worth every penny. So have them bid a 2 stage 16 seer. Should be about $2500 more.

The difference between a 4 ton 14 seer AS / Trane and a 4 ton 16 seer with 2 speed package was $1800 in May. I went in the middle with the 4 ton 15 seer 2 stage over and under package and a Honeywell digital thermostat. My house is about 1700 sq ft.

 

[Bigbore500r]

The “Amana” and Goodman AC line is now owned by Daikin and plenty of the technologies have passed through. It’s was a good move and made the products much better.

Thats good to know, I remember Goodman used to be "not so good" 10 years ago. I will say we have 2 at the river and they keep working year after year, although they eat capacitors which i don't think is their fault so much as the Needles power grid

 

[Riverbound]

Thats good to know, I remember Goodman used to be "not so good" 10 years ago. I will say we have 2 at the river and they keep working year after year, although they eat capacitors which i don't think is their fault so much as the Needles power grid

There is no “junk” equipment. Almost every failure I have ever seen has been due to install issues.
The Goodman stigma was due to them selling to anyone and everyone which led to handymen becoming AC guys and even homeowners doing DIY

 

[Bobby V]

There is no “junk” equipment. Almost every failure I have ever seen has been due to install issues.
The Goodman stigma was due to them selling to anyone and everyone which led to handymen becoming AC guys and even homeowners doing DIY

My house in Havasu came new with a Goodman. Lasted 7 years. Next was a Trane. Lasted 13 years. Just installed another Trane. I'm sure the semi annual maintenance had helped the last Trane in the Havasu heat. .

 

[Inland Air Balance]

1 ton Cooling per sq ft.
Vaulted ceilings ya want more in the Southwest.

Amana at one time was the Toyota of appliances.
Dunno if they still make their own or stick their label on someone else’s. Like maybe Lennox.

The current Amana line uses Copeland compressors and inverter technology. Expensive to service in its later years but still good stuff.
Copeland is still a good product.
The new Amanas run quiet.

Daikins nicely made and cheaper to have serviced. They’ve been at it a long time.

1 ton per Sq Ft??? Holy shit Batman!!! your gonna need a loan to power that thing! I hope you meant 1 CFM/Sqft.

 

[702sandman]

I typically will use the 400sq ft per ton and here in vegas I would be $2200 per ton on 14 seer trane installed with duct work etc... for the garage I would duct it like a normal system so another 5 ton. 5 ton is pushing it for your living quarters, have you thought about doing a zone system maybe for the bedrooms \ living area.. this would help In my opinion so at night you can turn up the living area a couple degrees and shift more air to the bedroom areas

 

[TPC]

I meant to write 1 Ton per 400 sq ft.

 

[TPC]

1 ton per Sq Ft??? Holy shit Batman!!! your gonna need a loan to power that thing! I hope you meant 1 CFM/Sqft.

You and I have had enough discussions in this forum in threads like these that you know - I know that.
I been at it 44 years.
I edited it for typos and didn’t see I deleted 400 by mistake.
I stand corrected. Bad proof reading.

 

[Riverbound]

The difference between a 4 ton 14 seer AS / Trane and a 4 ton 16 seer with 2 speed package was $1800 in May. I went in the middle with the 4 ton 15 seer 2 stage over and under package and a Honeywell digital thermostat. My house is about 1700 sq ft.

I quoted union pricing as I thought you were pro union. And paying the increased pricing.

 

[Bobby V]

I quoted union pricing as I thought you were pro union. And paying the increased pricing.

Still pro union. Got a bro deal from my buddy in Havasu.

 

[boatpi]

My 18 month old Las Vegas house house about 1
Ton For every 600 square
Feet.

 

[Riverbound]

Square footage per ton is the worst way to determine system sizing. A heat load must be done and if it’s not you need to hire a competent contractor.
I can do a manual J heat load in about 15 minutes and do one on every house I sell to ensure Proper system sizing.

Using rules of thumbs or averages is a short cut and a large lurchase like this deserves more than a. “guess” from your coNtractor.

 

[Wheeler]

Square footage per ton is the worst way to determine system sizing. A heat load must be done and if it’s not you need to hire a competent contractor.
I can do a manual J heat load in about 15 minutes and do one on every house I sell to ensure Proper system sizing.

Using rules of thumbs or averages is a short cut and a large lurchase like this deserves more than a. “guess” from your coNtractor.

What size increments do ac units come in, ie 1t 2t etc.?

Will a 1 ton 13 seer cool the same space as a 1 ton 19 seer?

 

[Bobby V]

What size increments do ac units come in, ie 1t 2t etc.?

Will a 1 ton 13 seer cool the same space as a 1 ton 19 seer?

Stick to drywall.

 

[Wheeler]

Stick to drywall.

I'm getting to be old and ready for a change in life. Maybe I'll buy a Vette?

 

[Riverbound]

What size increments do ac units come in, ie 1t 2t etc.?

Will a 1 ton 13 seer cool the same space as a 1 ton 19 seer?

Standard systems in residential come in 1-5 ton range.
Woth .5 ton options 1-3.5

Tonnage is the capacity SEER is the efficiency. Basically think of to age as the horsepower and seer as MPG

 

[Bobby V]

I'm getting to be old and ready for a change in life. Maybe I'll buy a Vette?

Sold mine. Bought a Tahoe. Easier to get into.

 

[Wheeler]

Standard systems in residential come in 1-5 ton range.
Woth .5 ton options 1-3.5


Tonnage is the capacity SEER is the efficiency. Basically think of to age as the horsepower and seer as MPG

Then what I understand it is the benefit of the higher seer # will be cheaper to run?

If tonnage only comes in .5 ton increments and not fractional, how accurate can you be or need to be in sizing a unit ?

 

[Riverbound]

Then what I understand it is the benefit of the higher seer # will be cheaper to run?

If tonnage only comes in .5 ton increments and not fractional, how accurate can you be or need to be in sizing a unit ?

Correct higher seer will result in a lower per hour cost to run the unit.

it needs to be in the correct range to give proper humidity control as well as prevent short cycling. I factor in around 10-20% buffer whnen I do my
Calcs.

 

[LHC Kirby]

INSULATE INSULATE the garage..... I bought the self install stuff for my garage doors in Havasu.... RV 15' and 2 car door 9' . . . . a tad over $500.. WELL WORTH IT..... the idiot builder VERDE HOMES (out of business now) did not insulate any exterior walls.... stupid on my part not to verify when they built it.

 

[702sandman]

If your asking as a general rule of thumb 400 Sq ft per ton will get you close to what you will need, now when we do new construction jobs we hand the plans over to our engineer who does load calcs and man J and S. You will always have the key board warriors that say this or that and they are the best blah blah blah. Go with a company that has good recommendations from people you know and trust and you will be happier in the end. Hope this info helps

 

[jailbird141]

Thank you for the input everyone. I am going to insist on the higher Seer rating for the living area.