How better are furnaces & A/C units these days?

[Navy Jr.]

Our A/C compressor isn't working. Appears it needs R-22, but will find out tomorrow when repairman shows up.

Anyway, it got me to wonder if I should be thinking about replacing both the A/C and the furnace. The A/C is 12 years old; furnace 16 years old.

Has the efficiency really improved that much during that time?

Also, has anyone heard if Congress has or is about to re-institute the energy tax credit for such upgrades that expired at the end of last year?

 

[Vlad D Impeller]

Re: How better are furnaces & A/C units these days?

Not much better at all, what you save in electricty is less than what you spend in repairs.

 

[Bass Man Bruce]

Re: How better are furnaces & A/C units these days?

Not much better at all, what you save in electricty is less than what you spend in repairs.

Probably true over all but there are big differences in efficiency from model to model. You would have to compare the efficency of what you have to what you can get and then do the math on savings vs outlay.

 

[dolluper]

Re: How better are furnaces & A/C units these days?

There can be a big difference...mid efficentcy is the way to go if you change out reason cheaper parts than high effic...only drawbacks are thinner heat exchangers [thinner metal] direct drive motors [more expensive] IF tour unit is still good I would hang on as long as i could mine is only 26 years young and it has a thick heat exchanger.....cost wise it costs me 250 extra a season here in the C O L D north

 

[Coors]

Re: How better are furnaces & A/C units these days?

I just had my air handler die in Feb. 30+ years old, so I had them install a heat pump system. ( Florida here). It still dropped to the 30's alot; emergency heat strip never came on, but it ran alot.
My bills from last year- couldn't see a difference, but the weather was different this spring. Can't make a good comparison.
But now that summer is here;this unit only runs on a/c about half the time the old straight cool did.

 

[rwise]

Re: How better are furnaces & A/C units these days?

efgh043, is that supposed to be an advertisement?

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: How better are furnaces & A/C units these days?

The newer units that use R410a has a bigger effieciency rating than those of R22. It won't be long before the R22 is phased out in the US. They are already phasing them out in Europe.

This is going to be a Catch 22 real soon when R22 models will cease to be manufactured. All of us using the old models will not be able to get replacement parts at a lower cost. Just like it happened when the R12 units where phased out. R22 freon is already in the price increase. Just a year ago I could get a 30# jug of R22 for about $65, it now is up close to $200.

If you have the cash on hand, I suggest getting the units with the 410a. However, these units operate on a much higher pressure than their older counterparts. This is what makes these units have such a higher efficiency rating.

I also agree on the cheaply made heat exchangers. I have seen many units in the 10 year range being scrapped out more so than the older units.