My system is old, it was old when we bought the house 22 years ago. Two story house, about 80 years old, central air/heat on the first floor, nothing upstairs. Gas furnace/air handler in the basement, condenser by the driveway. We've been thinking about putting a mini split in the upstairs since there isn't a good way to run duct work. Figured we'd price a complete new system since everything is so old. Local lennox dealer was at a recent home show so we scheduled an appt. They came by today, price for the 80% Elite line was just over 17K, an additional $4200 to install the mini split upstairs. Both condensers would be next to each other. The Merit line was about $1300 less. That is everything new with installation. The Merit ML180/14ACX was the equipment that is on the estimate. No load calcs done, no measurements taken, asked me what the square footage was on the two floors. From what I've been reading the past several months this wasn't exactly what I should have expected. Footprint of the house is pretty square about 36'X36', upstairs is a study, bedroom and bathroom. I'm thinking I should get another quote or two. What sayeth the beeb.
$17,000? If so, holy fuck! I jusyt bought a furnace for my garage that is exactly the same as I put in my house 3 years ago. York 96% 80k btu, 2 stage heat, boxed A-coil. I got it at my friends cost, which was $1300. I think the condenser is going to run me around $900, $100 for a line set. There must be a shit ton of labor for install. Like $10,000. Have them give you an itemized bid.
Seems high, wait for JBraun to answer. I believe he does home systems. (i do commercial only...) anyway, definitely get more quotes, from good contractors. The service and warranty is important, don't go low budget just because they are low. You get what you pay for... but in our area Lennox is always high. for a quote, load calcs would not be run... ball park 1 ton of cooling for 400 sq ft. I might have that wrong, but I'm a few beers deep and watching peaky blinders.
I read into it he was getting re-ducted. Tin ain't cheap and ain't quick, so there's likely a good $3-4k in the bid for tinwork. Bid is high if it's just a plant changeout.
Located in central Calif, summer temps over 100 is common but humidity is low. That was for a full replacement including flex duct. There are 7 registers, furnace is in a 1/4 basement, perimeter foundation, not a slab. I was surprised at the cost. Especially the mini split as the condenser would be directly below the upstairs bedroom. It also includes state certification/testing.
Get the additional quotes and ask for references. Ask for itemized estimates. I would have to guess that in CA the regulatory and tax components are fairly significant compared to some other regions.
I do hvac sales, and $17K on a 80% system is a little out of line, what seer etc? Mini-splits are expensive as shit If i know nearly what they are doing then i can help ya out a little more.
Craig, For comparison: we had our system replaced about 2 years ago, also Lennox. 3 ton xc14 AC unit (an upgrade over the 14acx) and a ML193 furnace (also a better unit) installed in the attic. No new ductwork, and the delivery line to the condenser was not replaced, but they did have to do some tricky cutting of old-school wallboard to expand the size of the intake, and they did that masterfully. Total cost was 9k, but we negotiated against two other bids. I'd have all the estimates you get (and get a few) itemize the ductwork from the base install. Hope this helps.
Did they guarantee you 14 seer?? because if so, they lied to you, that furnace doesn't equip a variable speed blower to get you the efficiency.
Total cost was the price listed above which included the mini split, not additional. The Mini Split will heat and cool. I wrote it down wrong in the first post, should have brought the paperwork with me. They will be replacing everything other than a couple boxes but those will get modified. 14 seer is required here as of Jan 1 so that is what was spec'd. Total cost for the Merit line, $16,190, Elite, $17,450. I also asked who makes their mini splits and was told that Lennox made them. I've read online that Gree makes them. I'll be getting a couple other quotes as well.
That's exactly what my friend in Ohio just paid for a similar setup with similar home. His house is about 90 years old, had gravity heat from the 1st level up, nothing in the attic. Got everything redone including panel upgrade for $17,000. His was Lennox branded so I would assume paid more for that. Again, that's OH, not CA, so guessing that has to do with same price for "branded".
CA has a TON of regulatory requirements for any permitted job and that adds considerable cost to an HVAC install. It adds thousands to the cost of any system install compared to other states, so it is not useful to compare costs against anyone in other states. Also I assume you are going from an old R22 system to a R410A system so that requires cleaning or replacing (likely replacing, since they are so old) the linesets.
Sorry I'm late. I'll save the novel and just hit the important parts... Lennox is a very good quality product, as is Rheem, Ruud, Carrier, Bryant, Trane, etc. The bottom of the price spectrum is a little ugly. I'd stay away from Goodman, Gibson, Tappan, etc. but don't get too hung up on equipment. Look at it the same way you'd look at having someone do your suspension. You don't care whether they use Ohlins, Penske, K-tech, or Race Tech stuff, as long as they do good quality work, pay attention to details, and provide good support. You should choose an HVAC contractor the same way. Find someone you trust. The equipment is secondary. A load calculation is step one. Before you can present (or sell) anything you need to know what the building's requirements are. If you invite a company to give you a proposal, and they don't bother to do a load calc, it's a huge red flag. To stick with the suspension analogy, skipping the load calc is like not asking for your weight. An Ohlins 30mm kit will do you no good if it's sprung for Pedrosa. Pricing in this industry is quite elastic, and every market is different. I don't know your market, but the price doesn't seem all that out of line if the quality is there, but again, skipping the load calc is not a good start. Get a referral. It's really the only way to get the whole story. When my sales rep sits down at your kitchen table, the first thing he does is hand you a big book with the name and phone number of every customer for whom we've installed equipment over the last three years. We invite everyone to look through it for a name they recognize, and if they don't, ask them to choose a couple of people at random and give them a call. I'll grant that this is more acceptable in Green Bay, WI than bigger markets but it's an example of the confidence we have. Look for a company who stands behind their work and gives you something in writing. We also offer a one-year unconditional money back guarantee. If you lose confidence in us, or the system isn't perfect, or you regret your decision for any other reason, you can schedule us to come back and remove it. We take it back, and give you a full refund.
