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Higher SEER = More Problems? Worth it?

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Higher SEER = More Problems? Worth it? RAJ 06-09-2006
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Posted by RAJ on June 9, 2006, 10:15 pm
According to CR:
Contractors they survey say units with a SEER of 11 to 14 tend to hold
up best. SEER of more than 14 tend to be more complex, with more that
can go wrong.

Any opinion on this? It seems that anything above SEER 14 is just a
waste of money. Are you really going to save that much more a month to
make it worth it? And will it give you more trouble?

RAJ


Posted by mrkool on June 9, 2006, 11:39 pm
Hey RAJ,

In my opinion, having been an HVAC Contractor for 30+ years, I tend to
agree
that 14 seer or more is a waste of money as it would take a very long
time to
pay-back the difference, than say a 13 seer, which is what I put in my
own home.

I'm sure the day will come when electric and gas will be so expensive,
we'll
wish we had a 30 seer, but until at least 2010, when R-22 will be
phased out,
I'll be installing 13 seer cooling and heat pumps and more than ever
putting
in dual fuel systems, 96 AFUE gas furnaces and 13 seer heat pumps.

I've been using Amana units for awhile now, and really like the varible
speed
blowers, biggest improvement in heating and cooling since electronic
ignition in plae of the pilot light.

You can get a lot of info at http://www.hvac-talk.com/ the pictures on
the wall of shame
are pretty good to.

Take care,
mrkool


RAJ wrote:
> According to CR:
> Contractors they survey say units with a SEER of 11 to 14 tend to hold
> up best. SEER of more than 14 tend to be more complex, with more that
> can go wrong.
>
> Any opinion on this? It seems that anything above SEER 14 is just a
> waste of money. Are you really going to save that much more a month to
> make it worth it? And will it give you more trouble?
>
> RAJ


Posted by Noon-Air on June 10, 2006, 2:29 am
It really depends on where you are located... here in the south, the payback
on the a/c or a heat pump is really pretty quick as we have 9 months of
summer here as opposed to 9 months of winter sports where you would actually
see a payback from a 96% AFUE furnace.

> According to CR:
> Contractors they survey say units with a SEER of 11 to 14 tend to hold
> up best. SEER of more than 14 tend to be more complex, with more that
> can go wrong.
>
> Any opinion on this? It seems that anything above SEER 14 is just a
> waste of money. Are you really going to save that much more a month to
> make it worth it? And will it give you more trouble?
>
> RAJ
>



Posted by hallerb@aol.com on June 10, 2006, 8:08 am

Noon-Air wrote:
> It really depends on where you are located... here in the south, the payback
> on the a/c or a heat pump is really pretty quick as we have 9 months of
> summer here as opposed to 9 months of winter sports where you would actually
> see a payback from a 96% AFUE furnace.
>
> > According to CR:
> > Contractors they survey say units with a SEER of 11 to 14 tend to hold
> > up best. SEER of more than 14 tend to be more complex, with more that
> > can go wrong.
> >
> > Any opinion on this? It seems that anything above SEER 14 is just a
> > waste of money. Are you really going to save that much more a month to
> > make it worth it? And will it give you more trouble?
> >
> > RAJ
> >

buy a long term MANUFACTURERS warranty. Around here 10 year is common.

that way service costs are minimal


Posted by m Ransley on June 10, 2006, 8:14 am
You need to find a Seer chart showing payback comparisons, the savings
is not linear increasing but is less for each Seer number increase to
figure your cost and payback. Some manufacturers simple units go above
14 my lennox is 15 seer. It also depends on hours per year used,
location and total $ you pay to AC. Run your numbers and figure in a
doubling of electric cost for 10 yrs out, every house and location are
different.


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