Question:

Don; Have an old stone home (1835), with a furnace about nine years old. Would like to install air conditioning. Have had two fellows give us estimates and would be ready to go ahead with an AC unit (2 and 1/2 ton with an 11 seer). We wanted a third estimate and this gentleman said our furnace was too small to accomodate a 2 ton AC unit and some of the pipes would have to be placed further away from the furnace and enlarged. He sounded like he knew what he was talking about, but now we wonder who is right. Do I get another estimate and see if this fellow tells us we need to change things, or go with one of the first estimates? Thanks, Liz

Answer:

1 ton of cooling requires approx. 400 cfm of air flow a 2 ton would be 800 cfm. Most furnces should be able to produce this, depending on furnace design and proper size of duckwork. There are tests after installation to make sure the unit ir running at peak efficiency. There is no sense in buying an 11 SEER unit if this is not done. Make sure your supplier is qualified, even if he charges more, it is worth every penny.

Answered By: Don Peters

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