After 18 years, my HVACs are leaking. Required 2 gallons. Decent Carrier units at the time they were bought. Outdoor condensers heat pumps electric resistance heat where necessary. Indoor coils and blowers. Well air filtered but ducts are plastic tubing and half stick out over the 10 inches of attic insulation. Thermostats no longer available except for eBay. Blower moror replacement $1500. Thus the intent to replace. How do you go about buying a high SEER total system replacement? The web sites have little information and certainly no ability to compare prices/efficiency and nice brochures are no longer available. Geothermal not available due to site. Solar not available due to house orientation. Reliable part nuke electricity supplier. Suggestions?
I might start here to develop a list of units I am interested in - and then narrow that down based on what my local installers are carrying/installing. ENERGY STAR Heat Pumps (Mini-Split) | EPA ENERGY STAR Use the product finder function to switch to the products you want
high SEER systems require a larger plenum - which is built into the heater ... which means that older system has to go - or the newer AC system can't realize it's efficiency. Also required will be new ductwork as that has to be more & once it's all done it will be leak checked. .
Join HVAC-Talk.com It's a forum of HVAC professionals. They give sound advice. They will NOT provide instruction on how to DIY repairs, but they give great advice on everything else. The members there typically have the goal of doing great work. They also have a map locator showing the location of members businesses. You may get lucky and have one nearby. Many members are very senior techs and many are owners. They helped me tremendously several years ago following a lightning strike about 50 ft from my house that blew apart a huge oak tree and smoked one of my heat pump condensers. I keep up with my reading on that forum, as it's a wealth of knowledge. Although they don't give DIY advice, you can still learn a lot from reading the threads.
