Shopping For New HVAC Units

Continuing Posts:
Shopping For New HVAC Units
New HVAC Purchased
Rheem HVAC Units Installed

My upstairs A/C unit is going out. I’m guessing it is well over 10 years old, which in some ways doesn’t seem to be that old for HVAC units. Since moving into our place we’ve had regular maintenance done on the two package HVAC units. The average bill for maintenance has been $500 per year. Just recently the technician said our upstairs unit was performing at 50% capacity and it was a matter of time before it went out.

Helpful links I’ve found while researching HVAC units.

• Explains the different types of HVAC Systems
• California Consumer Energy Center explaining energy efficiency, how they work and sound levels
• Some links for figuring out which manufacturer to go with
  • Yahoo Answers posting
  • 2007 JD Power consumer report on HVAC-Residential and Light Commercial Contractor Satisfaction
• Best practices guide for residential HVAC retrofit. The focus of the article is on duct work, but I found it really informative on how important your ducts are.
• Here are some HVAC manufacturer websites. I focused on what I could get here. Post a comment if you have more suggestions for this list.
  • Trane
  • Lennox
  • Rheem
  • American Standard
  • Amana
• Government tax credits for energy efficiency. I should qualify for the $1500 rebate.
• I can also take advantage of the NV Energy rebate for putting in energy efficient units that meet certain SEER and EER ratings. Make sure you check your electric company’s website to see if they have similar deals.

We have package or all-in-one HVAC units, so heating and cooling are in two units on top of our roof.

Next step for me is to start getting estimates from contractors. I know this is a DIY site, but there are some things that I won’t mess with, and putting in new HVAC units is one of them. Plus you don’t mess around with not having a working A/C unit in the Las Vegas heat.