New AC

We have known since our first summer in this house that our AC unit wasn't long for this world. We had it repaired a couple times under the home warranty and then tuned up and repaired once on our dime. Every technician that has looked at it told us it had problems. Some parts were pieced together while other parts were missing (like the plenum). The wiring was weird and we had too many tons for our square footage which meant we were wasting a lot of money on our electric bill. So we decided to be proactive and get it replaced before it died on us in the middle of a hot AZ summer.

We got a few estimates and we learned things from each guy that came. In the end, we chose the company that seemed the most thorough and creative. This guy did a heat load calculation to figure out what size AC units we need. We had two 4 ton units - one on each side of the house. The heat load calculation showed we were in good shape as far as exposure to the sun, number of windows, etc. so he recommended dropping down to two 3 ton units or maybe even one 5 ton unit.

We were intrigued by the idea of only having one unit to maintain, but wondered how that would work with a larger house. The AC guy suggested using the one unit, but creating 3 or 4 zones in the house with separate wireless thermostats. That way each zone could be set with a programable thermostat and could run simultaneously or independently of each other. The unit would be variable speed which would increase efficiency as well.

We decided that was the best option for us. The only down side was the cost. We had planned to replace one unit this year and then save up to replace the other next year. Going down to one unit would cost less than two but we'd have to pay it all now, no saving up for an additional year. After some discussion and budget review we decided to just go for it. So we signed the paperwork and they put in the new unit May 1st.

The new unit is huge!

 It took a lot longer than I thought, two full days. The second day they were here well into the night. A lot of the work they had to do was on the kid's side of the house, specifically in Annabeth's room where the access door is so that meant she skipped nap for two days. She was a good sport about it and wasn't too fussy. We were without AC while they worked and, fortunately, we had mild enough temps that it wasn't too bad.

The new unit compared to one of the old units.

Technically, they still aren't done. There are a few loose ends they need to tie up (patch a few holes, run a few wires), but we'll be leaving on vacation in a few days and those things will just have to wait until we get back. It will be interesting to see how are utility bill changes in the next couple months. We're hoping to save a bit of energy and money!

Update 8/7/14: Our utility bills have definitely decreased! Our July utility bill this year was about $200 lower than the July bill last year. Should be about the same for the August bill too!