Let me start off by stating I am no dummy when it comes to home maintenance or projects. I do my homework as best I can when I don't know something and know when to leave it to the professionals when needed. I have lived in our home 10 years and re-wired the entire house, re-plumbed the entire house, insulated all the walls and attics (before there was none), and we finally finished putting in all new windows and doors in the last few years. I am very handy. However when it comes to these furnace and AC systems... I am lost!
I AM NOT DOING A FURNACE AND AC INSTALL MYSELF... I AM LETTING A CONTRACTOR DO IT!!! I just would appreciate some guidance and assistance on what I am getting/looking for.
Our Home was built in 1946. As noted it is now well insulated and that alone has saved us a ton of money on our gas and electric usage and bills. Our furnace and AC were installed in 1998 and the brand is "Airquest". There is not much info online that I can find, I am assuming they are a lower level budget brand furnace and AC. We have not had a single problem with either unit at all. I have never had them serviced or had an inspection or maintenance done to them. The only thing I have done is replace the filter every few months and monthly in the winter months. My only complaint is that they are LOUD!!! The furnace sounds like a jet engine when the ignitor fires up. The blower itself is what I would expect it to be. The AC unit is right outside our bedroom and is loud as well. I cannot even hear my neighbors AC unit when it runs until I get within a few feet of it. Our AC unit you can hear most anywhere outside and is annoying enough to not even want to sit on our deck for long periods of time. But it does perform.
Then there is the roof snow melt and ice-dam issue. When I re-roofed my house 5 years ago I made sure to ventilate our attic spaces. The snow melt and ice-dams we had in the winter went away after the re-roof project... except where the chimney is. Around the chimney the snow melts quickly and we have ice-dams only on the side of the house the chimney is on. I am assuming that since our furnace is the old school type that vents into the chimney it is putting a lot of heat into the chimney and causing the attic space around the chimney to stay warmer and heat that part of the roof causing that snow to melt and form the ice-dams on the eves below it.
In my area I saw an advertisement from a reputable heating and cooling company that is a Trane dealer that stated there is a deal for 0% 36 month financing on Trane equipment. The noise on our furnace and AC unit has been loud enough as well as the snow melt thing that I have been wanting to replace at least the furnace once we could afford it. This deal with Trane is a deal that is definitely affordable and I don't mind financing at 0% :yes:
Here is the quote I got for the Trane systems: (I removed the prices since they are not relevant to the topic).
Option #1
 Trane XR95, 95% efficient furnace, 60,000 btu’s
ď‚· Trane cased aluminum indoor coil
 Trane XR13, 13 seer air conditioner, 2 ½ -ton
ď‚· 10 year parts warranty, limited lifetime heat exchanger
Option #2
ď‚· Trane XV95, 97% efficient 2-stage furnace with high efficiency variable speed blower
 60,000 / 40,000 btu’s
ď‚· Trane cased aluminum indoor coil
 Trane XR15, 15 seer air conditioner, 2 ½ -ton
ď‚· 10 year parts warranty, limited lifetime heat exchanger
Option #3
ď‚· Trane XV95, 97% efficient 2-stage furnace with high efficiency variable speed blower
 60,000 / 40,000 btu’s
ď‚· Trane cased aluminum indoor coil
 Trane XL15I, 15 seer, air conditioner, 2 ½ -ton
ď‚· Deluxe air conditioner, weatherguard top, scroll compressor, added safety controls
ď‚· 10 year parts warranty, limited lifetime heat exchanger
ď‚· 12 year compressor warranty on XL15I
ď‚· Aprilaire 600M standard control humidifier
I am leaning toward option 2 or 3. Same furnace but the AC units are slightly different. It does not appear that there is much difference between the two, but I like that the XL15i has the nice covered top so I would not have to make another top cover for the fall and winter seasons when I don't run the AC.
I would like someone to explain the whole 2 stage thing to me. I am assuming my existing furnace has a single stage. I think I understand it as it runs on the slower stage first and kicks up higher if needed?
I would like all opinions on these systems. If there are known wide-spread issues with any of these I would like to know. I did some googling on the furnace alone and it turned up a lot of negative reviews of mother boards going out, other circuitry and other issues within the first couple years of install. I try to take that with a grain of salt because I know the only reviews of items like a furnace online will be negative reviews. But it was hard for me to find a lot of negative comments on a Carrier furnace.
I work in IT and know that heating and cooling technology has come a long way since my furnace was installed. It worries me a little bit that this furnace has a lot of computerized stuff in it. Should I be?
I should state that we live in Michigan so Falls, winters and springs are cold, summers can be very hot. The furnace will be in the basement. Our house is a total of 1800 sq. ft. story and a half with one finished living room in the basement.
Any advice good or bad would be helpful. I would like to make sure I am making a good investment for the next 20 years with a furnace and AC unit.
Thanks!
I AM NOT DOING A FURNACE AND AC INSTALL MYSELF... I AM LETTING A CONTRACTOR DO IT!!! I just would appreciate some guidance and assistance on what I am getting/looking for.
Our Home was built in 1946. As noted it is now well insulated and that alone has saved us a ton of money on our gas and electric usage and bills. Our furnace and AC were installed in 1998 and the brand is "Airquest". There is not much info online that I can find, I am assuming they are a lower level budget brand furnace and AC. We have not had a single problem with either unit at all. I have never had them serviced or had an inspection or maintenance done to them. The only thing I have done is replace the filter every few months and monthly in the winter months. My only complaint is that they are LOUD!!! The furnace sounds like a jet engine when the ignitor fires up. The blower itself is what I would expect it to be. The AC unit is right outside our bedroom and is loud as well. I cannot even hear my neighbors AC unit when it runs until I get within a few feet of it. Our AC unit you can hear most anywhere outside and is annoying enough to not even want to sit on our deck for long periods of time. But it does perform.
Then there is the roof snow melt and ice-dam issue. When I re-roofed my house 5 years ago I made sure to ventilate our attic spaces. The snow melt and ice-dams we had in the winter went away after the re-roof project... except where the chimney is. Around the chimney the snow melts quickly and we have ice-dams only on the side of the house the chimney is on. I am assuming that since our furnace is the old school type that vents into the chimney it is putting a lot of heat into the chimney and causing the attic space around the chimney to stay warmer and heat that part of the roof causing that snow to melt and form the ice-dams on the eves below it.
In my area I saw an advertisement from a reputable heating and cooling company that is a Trane dealer that stated there is a deal for 0% 36 month financing on Trane equipment. The noise on our furnace and AC unit has been loud enough as well as the snow melt thing that I have been wanting to replace at least the furnace once we could afford it. This deal with Trane is a deal that is definitely affordable and I don't mind financing at 0% :yes:
Here is the quote I got for the Trane systems: (I removed the prices since they are not relevant to the topic).
Option #1
 Trane XR95, 95% efficient furnace, 60,000 btu’s
ď‚· Trane cased aluminum indoor coil
 Trane XR13, 13 seer air conditioner, 2 ½ -ton
ď‚· 10 year parts warranty, limited lifetime heat exchanger
Option #2
ď‚· Trane XV95, 97% efficient 2-stage furnace with high efficiency variable speed blower
 60,000 / 40,000 btu’s
ď‚· Trane cased aluminum indoor coil
 Trane XR15, 15 seer air conditioner, 2 ½ -ton
ď‚· 10 year parts warranty, limited lifetime heat exchanger
Option #3
ď‚· Trane XV95, 97% efficient 2-stage furnace with high efficiency variable speed blower
 60,000 / 40,000 btu’s
ď‚· Trane cased aluminum indoor coil
 Trane XL15I, 15 seer, air conditioner, 2 ½ -ton
ď‚· Deluxe air conditioner, weatherguard top, scroll compressor, added safety controls
ď‚· 10 year parts warranty, limited lifetime heat exchanger
ď‚· 12 year compressor warranty on XL15I
ď‚· Aprilaire 600M standard control humidifier
I am leaning toward option 2 or 3. Same furnace but the AC units are slightly different. It does not appear that there is much difference between the two, but I like that the XL15i has the nice covered top so I would not have to make another top cover for the fall and winter seasons when I don't run the AC.
I would like someone to explain the whole 2 stage thing to me. I am assuming my existing furnace has a single stage. I think I understand it as it runs on the slower stage first and kicks up higher if needed?
I would like all opinions on these systems. If there are known wide-spread issues with any of these I would like to know. I did some googling on the furnace alone and it turned up a lot of negative reviews of mother boards going out, other circuitry and other issues within the first couple years of install. I try to take that with a grain of salt because I know the only reviews of items like a furnace online will be negative reviews. But it was hard for me to find a lot of negative comments on a Carrier furnace.
I work in IT and know that heating and cooling technology has come a long way since my furnace was installed. It worries me a little bit that this furnace has a lot of computerized stuff in it. Should I be?
I should state that we live in Michigan so Falls, winters and springs are cold, summers can be very hot. The furnace will be in the basement. Our house is a total of 1800 sq. ft. story and a half with one finished living room in the basement.
Any advice good or bad would be helpful. I would like to make sure I am making a good investment for the next 20 years with a furnace and AC unit.
Thanks!