New HVAC, overdue!

Many of you know that Texas had a record hot streak this summer, just barely missing the record for consecutive 100 degree days and breaking the record for total number of 100 degree days.  This after the coldest January on record.

Our house is 14 years old.  When it was built, it had a York heat pump, but it was "builder quality." That means just good enough to last through the warranty.  We had trouble from the first with it, because it didn't want to switch from cooling to heating and back again very well. 

All summer, the cooling unit has run all day and still couldn't get the temperature down to 78 degrees, where we had it set.  We had it checked a couple of times, but no one could find an actual problem, other than a circuit board problem with the heat/cool switching.

I finally got ambitious and called several companies to come out and make us a bid.  We decided on a unit that is more efficient, has a good warranty, and has a variable-speed fan and a two-stage furnace (we have natural gas; no reason for a heat pump!).

It's been running this weekend, and I'm kicking myself for not doing it last spring!  And it cost less than I was afraid it would.

That's great! I bet you're glad it's done!

We had a York heat pump when we moved in about 7 years ago. It died 3 years after we moved in--on a very COLD February 4th.  By the time the idiots we hired to install the new one stopped their idiocy, we finally got heat on March 4th--which was a balmy 70F...our downstairs had been 44F, and you could see your breath.  Because of this, I am the proud owner of a very large collection of sweatpants in various sizes (so I could layer them--think "Russian matrushka doll"!), and a kerosene heater...

The unit we replaced was a York, described by every source I found as "basic builder level."  It lasted 14 years, though.

The new one is a Trane.

Here in Florida of course we need the a/c --- it's all electric, but there is also heat (reverse cycle)  which we do use at least a few days in the winter (FL winter).

Anyway, 3 hears ago we got zapped with an electric surge and it affected the air.      Luckily we had insurance and we replaced the unit.   While we didn't have much out of pocket expenses due to the insurance - even if we did have to pay the whole thing it would have been worth it with the savings in the electric bills.  Immediately after putting in the new unit (it's an Amana) our electricity bills went down an average of $50 a month.