Central AC

[Jimmy_Russells]

Fewer cycles per hour will reduce energy use, but allow greater temperature swing.

I think my Honeywell FocusPro thermostat is set for 2 cycles per hour.

I went out to the store and got another thermostat. I just wasn’t comfortable with these 8-11 minute cycles it was doing, I don’t need the temp window that tightly controlled. It was also doing six minute cycles on my furnace the last couple months and I just never really noticed.

The new thermostat allows me to not only set minimum compressor/furnace run and off time, but also allows me to set wider temperature deltas for the heating/cooling turning on and off. I can also set it to allow it to overcool a bit if it is still trying to dehumidify when it reaches the set temp.

So all in all this should easily lead to fewer, longer cycles and I feel much more comfortable with that.

 

[PWMDMD]

5 years later the company that installed mine closed, but the trane is doing fine.

I've seen language in warranties that states the units must be serviced by the installer at least yearly to maintain the warranty - that could be an issue moving forward if you have a 10-year warranty.

 

[SHOZ]

I always figure when sizing AC/Heat is 45 minutes on per hour at the extreme you will see. So -25F and a 40 mph wind that furnace will run almost the whole hour. Same with AC and 115F with a wind. These are my extremes.

I just downsized both the furnace and AC. Furnace is seldom used and only for below 0F temps and the AC I went from 2.5 ton to 2 ton and it's still too big. It will run maybe 50% instead of 75%. But better than before.

Most tstats use a 2F degree delta. The old mechanical ones had an anticipator setting selector IIRC.

If you can only go by whole numbers and are using Celsius then you want a 1 degree delta.

 

[ZZman]

Get quotes on other brands. Think about buying own equipment and getting it installed. See if people on places like Craigslist etc do installs/side jobs.

 

[Nukeman7]

Get quotes on other brands. Think about buying own equipment and getting it installed. See if people on places like Craigslist etc do installs/side jobs.

OP Jimmy already had the new HVAC system installed in early May 2022 (see Post #49).

 

[Jimmy_Russells]

I always figure when sizing AC/Heat is 45 minutes on per hour at the extreme you will see. So -25F and a 40 mph wind that furnace will run almost the whole hour. Same with AC and 115F with a wind. These are my extremes.

I just downsized both the furnace and AC. Furnace is seldom used and only for below 0F temps and the AC I went from 2.5 ton to 2 ton and it's still too big. It will run maybe 50% instead of 75%. But better than before.

Most tstats use a 2F degree delta. The old mechanical ones had an anticipator setting selector IIRC.

If you can only go by whole numbers and are using Celsius then you want a 1 degree delta.

Yeah this Honeywell I originally bought only had a 0.3C/0.5F delta and it could not be changed. I set the new thermostat to 0.8C and also set it so it can overcool by 0.6C if it needs to in order to dehumidify more to get to 50%. So the cycles should be much longer now.

 

[Barkleymut]

I've seen language in warranties that states the units must be serviced by the installer at least yearly to maintain the warranty - that could be an issue moving forward if you have a 10-year warranty.

I never get mine serviced, last week I got a clog in the drain line that allowed water to trip the sensor thingy (I am not an HVAC guy! )

Went outside and hooked up a shop vac to the drain line, sucked out some nasty looking white gunk...a bunch of water followed. I consider the unit serviced and ready to go for another 3 years. All of this is said sarcastically of course, but I seriously just consider my heatpumps big machines that really don't need service. If they do need service, youtube is just a few clicks away.

 

[PWMDMD]

I never get mine serviced, last week I got a clog in the drain line that allowed water to trip the sensor thingy (I am not an HVAC guy! )

Went outside and hooked up a shop vac to the drain line, sucked out some nasty looking white gunk...a bunch of water followed. I consider the unit serviced and ready to go for another 3 years. All of this is said sarcastically of course, but I seriously just consider my heatpumps big machines that really don't need service. If they do need service, youtube is just a few clicks away.

Mine came with a ten-year parts warranty and to maintain that it needs to be serviced at least yearly. They come out in the spring and clean the coils, condenser, blow out the drain line, and charge me about $100. No big deal...

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I never get mine serviced, last week I got a clog in the drain line that allowed water to trip the sensor thingy (I am not an HVAC guy! )

Went outside and hooked up a shop vac to the drain line, sucked out some nasty looking white gunk...a bunch of water followed. I consider the unit serviced and ready to go for another 3 years. All of this is said sarcastically of course, but I seriously just consider my heatpumps big machines that really don't need service. If they do need service, youtube is just a few clicks away.

I was going to service mine then when I went to pull the cover I saw little snakes.

Nope. It can wait.

 

[Oily_Thing]

I just got four quotes for a new furnace and new 36,000 but air conditioner system. Lennox was the cheapest.