megacabdad

Sounds like you have a gas fired furnace then?

If your condensing unit is an older model than most likely it's R-22. It is best to replace the condenser and evaporator at the same time.

You are going to have a hard time finding any R-22 equipment...refrigerant is still going to be around for a long time, however.

You may even be able to take advantage of the cash for clunker appliances tax rebates.

Link

scuzman00

You can use the evaporator coil (upstairs). However make sure that the tech flushes it out thoroughly with a flush to remove any residual oil that may be in there. The newer refrigerants utilize a different type of oil than the older r-22 systems. The oils are not compatable. Also they will need to change out the expansion valve to match the new refrigerant. The older coil may not be as efficient a match as a new coil would be.

Also, if you have a gas furnace, you can have the entire coil assembly replaced instead of what I mentioned above.

I mainly do commercial A/C work for hospitals, but in my honest opinion, I would not go over 16 seer units because you will never see the payback on all of the bells and whistles that go along with the newer stuff.

One thing I would check into, is that one manufacturer is building a unit which incorporates a solar panel to feed power to the condenser to operate it. I have no idea of costs, but something along that line would, if not priced too steep, pay for itself, pending the longevity of the solar panels. The only downside to that would be if your condenser does not get full sunshine all day (which most don't because the operate more efficiently if located in a shady environment).

As far as cheaper manufacturers, look at Rheem/Ruud, Heil, Tempstar. Tempstar used to have a no hassle warranty for 10 years on their equipment. If anything crapped out, they would replace the entire unit in lieu of just throwing parts at it.


Gary