I guess thats why you have emergency funds

[Lonewolf]

We'll all excited, just paid off the car, got a raise, doing a new budget to try to find new ways to save the "extra" money and turned on the air conditioner . . . well at least tried too. Had the repair man we've had come out to the house a few times over the past 7 years who warned us that it probably was closing in on its last days finally pronounce the compressor shot. It is about 19 years old, so probably about right from what I know from the life span of these units.

Anyone else experience the death of a central air conditioner and have any advice? We have the option of the basic install vs the "deluxe" install, which so far includes a humidifier in addition to being able to have a little more direct control over airflow (it doesn't blow at one constant rate but adjusts). I admit I don't know much about this so any advice would be appreciated. Overall, I trust our repair guy, as he could have "sold" us on a new unit years ago, but kept breathing the life into this every two/three years at a cost of less then 60 bucks a shot. From my vantage point he has been honest with our repairs (I admit, I am not the handy man) but has steered me in the right direction where it made more sense for me to do the repair with recommendation on parts.

I haven't got an estimate yet, so do not know the difference between the two options, just wanted to put this out there as it is frustrating to climb up one hill, just to slip back down again.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Lonewolf

[disneysteve]

I'd suggest checking with your local utility company and finding out what type of rebates they are offering for getting a high efficiency unit. Then choose the highest efficiency you can afford to get the max rebate.

[sweeps]

A humidifier is an option for a furnace. Did you mean a dehumidifier?

Don't forget about the $300 energy tax credit.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by sweeps

A humidifier is an option for a furnace. Did you mean a dehumidifier?.

I thought the same thing. The point of AC is to remove humidity. However, sometimes the easiest time to install a whole house humidifier is when they have the duct work open to install the new AC unit.

[creditcardfree]

When we intalled a new furnace and AC our humidifier added only a couple hundred to the total cost. It was worth it to us. The air is much more comfortable in the winter this way.

[QueenOphelia]

I live in a 1200sf co-op and had to replace my main window a/c last year. It was a 23 year old 22000BTU Friedrich.

I spent $900 on a new one which I thought was a good 'investment' as they seem to have longevity. My apartment gets southern exposure and it bakes in the summer. The a/c has a timer so my place is nice and cool when I get home from a brutal day in NYC heat.