Charlie:
Let’s see. Richard writes to us from Friendswood. He say he needs to replace his AC system, Tom. “You mentioned that 14 SEER is about all we should get in Houston and, anymore, might actually work against us, but all the quotes we’re getting,” he says, “the replacements start at 16 SEER and go above and they quote variable speed air handlers to control the humidity. I thought the expansion valve helped with that,” he says. What says you, Tom?
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Tom:
What says me is this. This gentlemen actually listened to the show for many years because in the 90’s, systems didn’t come with expansion valves. Now, because of the SEER ratings, they all come. It’s just standard. They all have pretty much expansion valves on there. The high SEER’s are great for energy consumption, but not necessarily dehumidification. If you get a good installer that can tweak the system, the 16’s fine; 14 is usually all you need because we’re dealing with more humidity removal than we are cooling, so the 14’s is all I would spend my money on.
Charlie:
Can you still buy 14 SEER?
Tom:
Yeah. No, it’s the starting point now. The other reason is this. Here at HCC the other day, we had a variable speed Lennox, and one of the students blew out the motor on the condensing unit. It cost $600 for a motor, but yet if you get a SEER 14 that’s just a standard one speed motor, it cost about 40 bucks for the part. What I’m saying is when you go up into that area and you get into variables and you get into controlled systems, today, it’s all, today, electronics, and instead of buying a motor, you’re buying an electronic board attached to the motor. You know how that works because you’re an electronic guy. Be careful, but the 14’s are great; 16’s won’t work against you if you get a great installer. It always comes down to who installs it.