Air Conditioning - New HVAC System - I want to do it right!!!

Hello.

I am bulding a new home (almost new, knocked down 80% of exisiting structure) in NJ and I am currently working with my GC and HVAC sub contractor to design our HVAC system for our 3200 sq ft house. A few major questions have come up;

1. Amana - any good/bad experiences?
2. I would like to build a 3 zone system off 2 HVAC units. One unit will be in my attic. This unit will be split into 2 zones to support the 3 bedrooms upstairs. The master bedroom (zone 1) is seperated from the 2 children's bedrooms (zone 2) by a large, open, 2 story space (33 X 16). The second unit will be in my basement to support the ground floor and the large open space. The question, does this setup sound bad???
3. Placement of feeds and returns - My contractor wants to place all feeds and returns in the cielings on the 2nd floor. He wants to place all feeds and returns in the floor on the ground floor. He said this is necessary because I have a very open floor plan on the 1st floor. Would you accept this?
4. Lastly, efficiency. For the AC units, should I upgrade to 16 SEER puron units from the 12 SEER units included in my contract? For the furnace, my contractor is trying to talk me out of upgrading the attic unit to HE (I've read some great posts about this). I am thinking of created an insulated, framed room in the attic with a heat feed. Does this counter the upgrade in efficiency? Lastly, would you upgrade to the most efficient units possible?

I hope my post isn't too lengthy. I look forward to your responses!

Thanks again!!!

#1 I like others much better Trane ,Rheem.

#2 I do not like or use zone controls in a home . Ok for big company buildingsand such. But not in a home. with the 2 unit you have what you need one up and one for down go that way. If you think its hard to control up there then go for 2 smaller units.

#3 That sounds how it should be done for sure . But I cant see the plans???

#4 For where you are a seer of 14 to 16 would be good.A 12 is low anymore. Now the puron thats R410a the cost of it is very high now. Where in the R22 will till be made till 2030. For the bottom heat yes a 90% in the attic Id say a 80%. Dont you have a closet up there you could use for the furnace and go with a 90% there. Sounds like the home is cut up some could be a V/S blower on the units would work out better for you there.

My .02 cents

ED ;)

#1 I like Trane Vari Speed system
#2 I like zone controls when done properly. You would not have one light switch in your house to turn on all the lights on in the house, why have just one thermostat?
#3 I cant say not having seen the plans.
#4 16 SEER sounds good. Jan. 2006 Industries Standard will be 13 SEER.

Don,t forget air filtration, air cleaning or make up air, Programmable thermostats.

Thanks guys. I decided to skip the zone controls and spend the money on upgrading the efficiency of my equipment. We are going with 2 97% eff. vari speed furnaces...the upstairs unit will be placed in a closet. The AC's will be upgraded to 14 SEER (one 2 1/2 ton and a 3 1/2 ton).

As for the electronic air cleaners and the like....can those be bolted on later?

I also forgot to ask....

Any idea how much I should pay for an upgrade from;

2 1/2 Ton Amana 12 SEER to a 2 1/2 Ton Amana 14 SEER?
3 1/2 Ton Amana 12 SEER to a 3 1/2 Ton Amana 14 SEER?

Thanks!

1. No experience with Amana. None sold around here.
2. I don't like zoned systems, period. Never seen one that worked right.
3. I would not accept this. What is going to happen is cold ankles & a hot head.
4. I would not "upgrade" to 16 SEER in N.J.

Several questions. What is living sq footage on 1st floor and 2nd floor that you plan on heating and cooling? Has a written Manual J heat/cool load calculation been provided to you? If not, you should insist on it. Is new ductwork going to be installed both for 1st and 2nd floor? Individual returns or several central returns? Why do you want to zone the 2nd floor? I am making assumption that home will be well insulated-correct?

1.I consider Amana a budget/builder model on the bottom tier of HVAC equipment and if I expected to live in this home for 10+ yrs, then I would not want Amana equipment.

Amana® is a trademark of Maytag Corporation and is used under license to
Goodman Company, L.P. All Rights reserved. Copyright© 2003 Goodman Manufacturing Company, L.P.

2.3. I see nothing wrong with your configuration but of course have not seen house or its plans.

4. I would suggest looking at energy costs in your area and plugging the numbers into a calculator for comparison.

http://www.warmair.com/html/fuel_cost_comparisons.htm

One suggestion would be a high efficient variable speed furnace with heat pump for main floor(dual fuel) and a HE heat pump with air handler for 2nd floor. With the wide/tall open area, variable speed will help with even temperatures on first floor. If going to furnace and AC split system, I would insist upon a 90+ AFUE furnace and a minimum 14 SEER AC condensing unit for first floor and perhaps just an 80 AFUE furnace with AC for 2nd floor. Something to look at and think about. I don't think refrigerant matters but I would not pay more for Puron/R-410a equipment. R-22 is fine and will be around many, many yrs. Of course, I don't know what builder has allowed in $$$ for HVAC equipment. I would also look at a good filter media cabinet for my furnace-EAC stay away from-and you may want to consider digital programmable thermostats. Obviously,you are spending a great deal of money on this renovation and if it was mine, I would want a quality HVAC system for both comfort and efficiency, not budget/builder equipment. My opinion. Good Luck!

The living space on the 1st floor is approx 2000 sq ft of which 1400 sq belong to an open kitchen/dining/foyer/family room space (the fam room and foyer are a combined 2 story space approx 16 x 33). I definitely have concerns about the heating and cooling in this 1400 sq ft of space. The second floor is approx 1250 sq ft (divided evenly by the 16 x 33 open space).

I have never heard of the Manuel J heat/cool load calculation, but I can assure you I will be asking my contractor about it in the morning :D .

The duct work is all brand new as are all of the walls in the home. The HVAC contractor has indicated that he will run ducts for feeds and returns to each room. However, he said they will all be on the floor for the first floor and in the cieling on the second floor. I am a novice, but I thought this sounded like an easy way out.

All insulation is spec'd to code...roof/cieling R30, wall r-13, floor-r19. Would you upgrade the cieling insulation?

As for the Amana, I am not sure what to do. My HVAC guy indicated that he has mainly installed Amana units for the last 5 years. Claims to have installed them in his own home. (I tend to believe them as my GC and HVAC guys are local guys I went to high school with) He mentioned the stainless steal heat exchangers, the lifetime warranty and the fact that he has not had one fail yet as reasons for going with Amana. Do you know of comparably priced units that are better? I was thinking that as long as the units were efficient and the warranty was good, I would go with Amana. I also checked consumer reports and it seems that the top 12 manufactures are all fairly close when it comes to repair history...Amana was number 7 from the top. Do you think I am selling myself into a bad unit? Any guess as to what the $$$ difference is between Amana and better equipment?

The furnaces will be variable speed as I've read here that the V/S blowers will also help to improve the SEER ratings on my AC units as well.

I've think you're right that R-22 is probably the best way to go for now.

I have not spoke to my contractor about the EAC's and filer cabinets yet...I guess you recommend putting my $$$ toward a good filter cabinet and skipping the EAC?

Thanks to everyone for all of your time. I am truly learing a lot!

Thanks!!!!

Yes, do the media filter system before EAC.. I've been taking out EAC for friends or family and put in Media.

One other thought and concern. It is crucial that you get the proper amount of CFMs into this large open area for effective heating and cooling and that the supply and returns are strategically located for good air flow. I would definitely ask your HVAC dealer his specific plans for this area. I don't think floor vents and/or vents at floor level will be adequate for open area of this size and ceiling height(what is height?). Perhaps other people reading this thread have ideas on this subject.

The 16 x 33 space has a flat 18ft cieling. I originally thought that this room should be heated and cooled using only the 1st floor zone. The walls for this room are framed using 2 x 8's so there should be plenty of room in there to get some returns up in the cieling. Is that how you would do it? Or, should I tap into the second floor zone for this space?

Being a contractor I get frustrated with the home owners that want budjet equipment then find the return for their money is not what they think it should be, that parts are hard to find, and poor manufacture support. Ask if you can reach factory support for Amana. The answer will be call this 800 # and leave a message. Then your concern or question will be un answered.

Then call Trane support and get an actual person that may have the answer to your question or better yet let you talk to an engineer that designs the equipment. True factory support.

Don't get me wrong I do install Goodman-Amana equipment and Amana did have factory support 3-4 yrs ago but not now since Goodman bought them out.

The statistics that you have may be old news.