How much should I expect to pay for a package gas heat + electric A/C unit for a 1800 sq ft home?
Sunday, February 7th, 2010 at
9:18 pm
You are currently browsing comments. If you would like to return to the full story, you can read the full entry here: “How much should I expect to pay for a package gas heat + electric A/C unit for a 1800 sq ft home?”.
Filed under: Wind Power
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
To get exact figures I really need the ceiling heights, amount of insulation in the walls and number of windows to figure a "Mechanical J", which is a load calculation for HVAC.
However figuring standard would be:
1800 SF divided by 400 SF Per Ton of HVAC = 4.5 Tons
4.5 Tons X $1,800.00 Ton = $8,100.00
Price figured on split system with 13SEER air conditioner & 90% gas furnace. Also, based on replacement versus new construction.
A lot depends on where you live and which company you go with. Two years ago my wife and I replaced our furnace with a high-efficiency two-stage furnace and added one of those new A/C systems with the EPA-approved coolant and it cost us close to $6,000.00. Now, before you go into sticker-shock, we went with the most expensive company because the system they sold us was one of Consumer Reports’ top-rated systems (American Standard) and they gave us a 10-year warranty on parts AND labor. No one else came close — best we could get was 2 years for parts and 5 years for labor.
Tankless water heaters are to die for – but they are not for everyone. A tankless water heater stores no hot water and is triggered to come on by water flowing through it. Once the demand is sensed, it begins heating up. Full bore capacity can normally take five to seven seconds. No a big deal huh?
Now, assume your kitchen sink currently takes 4 seconds from the time you turn on the tap to the time you get hot water. This is the travel distance time from your existing tanked unit. By merely replacing the unit, you need to combine the heat-up time of the tankless PLUS the travel time to get to the fixture. Nine to eleven seconds can seem like an eternity. If budget is not an issue, there are piping & pumping strategies that can eliminate this delay.
On the flip side, in my home I located the unit central to all fixtures and knew of this delay going in to it. I have a gas fired Rinnai brand which I love and wouldn’t have anything but. I’ve substantially dropped my gas bill as I am no longer paying for stored hot water 24 hours a day. The efficiency of these units will smoke any high-efficiency tanked model available.
Always work through a licensed plumber and ignore the units at the big box stores. Although attractively priced, they have higher pressure drops across the units and lower water flow rates. Be sure to check with your local utility about rebates that may be available along with the new 2006 federal tax credit for high efficiency equipment.