Looking for Advice on Central Air Installation

Hi,
I have heard of Central Heating and Cooling- I cant remember if we got a quote from them or not....We installed central AC about 4 years ago. So far, so good...No problems...I dont know a whole lot about it as my hubby handled it, but I do know one thing...........We have 1 little thermostat downstairs that we used for Heat and AC. When the AC is on, its ALWAYS cooler downstairs and about 5 degrees HOTTER upstairs...My hubby thinks its no big deal, but I do. We installed and AC to keep the house cool- now we you come upstairs its like a sauna. People have said to get 2 thermostats(one up and one down). Who knows...Good Luck. .

We installed our system via Central Heating and Cooling 8 yrs ago and have loved it. We have 2 system - upstairs in our attic for the second floor (also our attic functions as a playroom so it was neccesary) and separate one for the downstairs. My kids and husband are very sensitive to heat so this was also why we did 2 units bc heat rises, it always gets hotter upstairs. We love having it bc we don't have to deal with the loud noises of air conditioners and when you have air conditioners, they take up all your window space so you lose your view. It does help reale value. As far as customer service with Central Heating and Cooling, they have been great. We referred them to our new neighbor and by surprise, the company sent us a $50.00 Simon Mall gift card as a thank you for referring them. We had no idea about that. We have been pleased with the company if that helps.

K.,
My dad does HVAC work, and has for 40 years. YES, it will boost your resale value, and help you compete with others in your area who have it. Do you have central heat already? Then the ductwork will be the same for your AC unit. If you have radiators, they will need to add duct work for your AC. One of the easiest ways to do it on an older home is to put the unit in the attic. We did this on our 2nd floor, and my dad was able to run it all through our ceilings in each room. Be sure to get a few estimates and ask a lot of questions. It will be worth it in the end, and much more energy efficient than window units. Furnaces and AC units today are MUCH more energy efficient than the past.
A funny side story...my dad put in a new high efficiency furnace in my cousin's house (they bought an older home and the unit was dying). The gas company actually CALLED them because their gas bills went down about $200/month, and they wanted to know what had happened! When they explained that they got a new high efficiency furnace, they asked them to take a photograph of their gas meter because they didn't believe it made SUCH a difference! Crazy, huh?

Good luck,
T.
www.ReadandGrow.com

We installed a heat pump from Trane in our last home and it worked wonderfully with no problems, very even temperatures year around - it both cools and heats the house. The cost was around $7,000 (ducts were already in house, we were replacing a traditional furnace and AC Compressor). The description is here:

http://www.trane.com/Residential/Products/Heat-Pumps

When we moved, our current home has a 5-year old HVAC system - I would only recommend this if your home's design is such that no regular ducts can be used (for example, no attic or space for ducts). We've had a lot of problems with maintenance (it's very sensitive and parts keep malfunctioning) and found the high speed air being forced out to be very drafty. If you get it, make sure you get a service plan to go with it, each fix would have been $200 per part if we didn't have it. It was also very expensive to install, $15000 5 years ago.

In a competitive market, lack of central AC would be a minus - not sure though how much it adds to your resale value.