NFT: New HVAC System

if you have bedroom space on each floor i'd want a dedicated heading and cooling system for each. Zoning takes care of that, but having an entire house set for say 68 degree in the winter is going to be too hot upstairs for sleeping (IMO, we drop it to like 60). I'd go with whatever option gives you the most flexibility to change temperatures between floors.

but I don't really know how much since units keep getting better and better. My question would be does a 2 stage at full capacity on a really hot/cold day work as well as a 1 stage. That I have no idea but I'd research that.

I live in SoCal, so electricity for AC is a much greater cost for me than natural gas for heating. In DC that might be different. We have a two story "tri-level" house with 3 bedrooms in the upper floor. Controlling the 2nd floor temp was always an issue.

From what I read, most major brands are roughly comparable; the HVAC contractor is supposedly a much more important choice. I did a lot of reading of reviews and tried to find folks I knew with first hand experience with local contractors and get comments and recommendations. That effort was very well worth it.

The contractor I chose was a Trane dealer. Overall, we were very impressed with the contractor and his staff. We went with a two stage compressor for the AC and a variable speed fan (part of the furnace). The AC throws a ton of air and is a little on the noisy side (due to the increased air flow versus our 30 year old, original unit). The variable speed furnace is great.

The best investment we made was the thermostat (exact model number may have changed).

Quote:

YTHX9321R5003 HONEYWELL HD COLOR SYSTEM KIT PRESTIGE HD SYSTEM REDLINK ENABLED INCLUDES THE PORTABLE COMFORT CONTROL (REMOTE) + WIRELESS OUTDOOR TEMPERATURE SENSOR AND HIGH DEFINITION COLOR

It has both remote control AND remote sensing. You put the second, portable unit anywhere in the house (e.g. upstairs) and you can sense and control the temp there. Now, at night when everyone is upstairs, you can control the temp there. During the day, when most people are downstairs, you can use the wall mounted unit.

Good luck.

Since you have to get permits and codes ... I'd ask the county inspector which companies and contractors have the most issues and red flags raised. They can't (shouldn't give a recommendation) but they can say who has been a consistent issue.

I've been very happy with Shanahan Heating & Cooling. Only had repair work done with them thus far, but they've done good work at good prices.

We had to get a certain level of efficiency in order to get a tax break. We also received a $450 rebate from BGE. You may want to ask those questions.

I hade a Trane, so I went with a Trane replacement since the other one worked great for a lot of years.

Definately shop around.

And who they went with. I was shocked how many friends gave us input.

I have a 2900 ft single level and it reduced my electric bill about $80 to $120 per month(depending on month). It is a Trane unit. For multiple levels did you look at split units - a separate unit for each floor. That way you only use the units that are occupied.

Heating by electricity is awfully expensive. Can't get natural gas or LPG?

in my 1600 sq foot, two floor townhouse. I went with a single stage AC and 2 stage furnace. To date have not had a problem.

Choose the contractor with the most experience with installing. This is a fairly complex system and you want it to be set up just right for your home.

I was thinking 1 stage AC and 2 stage furnace as well.

Is where you want to go for advice. They have a forum called the wall. Experts post there all the time.
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