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Have you ever saved money with a new AC?
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bigdog1962
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2016 6:09 pm    Post subject: Have you ever saved money with a new AC? Reply with quote

I'm just wondering, I needed a new AC and one of the lines that the salesperson told me was about saving money on electricity because these newer ACs (mine was 16 years old) are so much more efficient.

I didn't buy it because of that but I'm wondering if any of you guys/gals ever really saved money on your electricity bill when you started using a new AC unit.

Or is it just one of those things they try to pitch...
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skills@eurocarsplus
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2016 6:58 pm    Post subject: Re: Have you ever saved money with a new AC? Reply with quote

I think it's a pitch....

the way I see it is EVERYTHING has a f*cking LED or some "keep alive" voltage being consumed in all of the appliances today....nothing is truly "off"

I don't think anything out there is more energy efficient than what is being replaced due to this. kind of just had this conversation with my wife....take a good look around at night, and look at all the LED's lit up on appliances that are "off" let alone computers, chargers etc....
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2016 7:02 pm    Post subject: Re: Have you ever saved money with a new AC? Reply with quote

skills@eurocarsplus wrote:
I think it's a pitch....

the way I see it is EVERYTHING has a f*cking LED or some "keep alive" voltage being consumed in all of the appliances today....nothing is truly "off"

I don't think anything out there is more energy efficient than what is being replaced due to this. kind of just had this conversation with my wife....take a good look around at night, and look at all the LED's lit up on appliances that are "off" let alone computers, chargers etc....

Only way for things to be off is unplug them.
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2016 7:30 pm    Post subject: Re: Have you ever saved money with a new AC? Reply with quote

If you have a 16 year old AC unit, you bet your ass a new one is more efficient. Compare the seer ratings of old and new, simple...
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2016 7:47 pm    Post subject: Re: Have you ever saved money with a new AC? Reply with quote

I'm an hvac contractor. I sell and install a/c's for a living.
What you save in efficency you will spend on maintenance. If you have a working 16 year old system I'd say run it until a major component fails then replace it. You may get another 10-20 years out of it. The new kind of freon being used(r410a) is much more finicky than r22. It operates at twice the pressure so more prone to leaks, there's problems with tx valves etc. Most repair calls are on newer units less than 5 years old.

Salesmen are full of shit.
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2016 10:31 pm    Post subject: Re: Have you ever saved money with a new AC? Reply with quote

bigdog1962 wrote:
I'm just wondering, I needed a new AC and one of the lines that the salesperson told me was about saving money on electricity because these newer ACs (mine was 16 years old) are so much more efficient.

I didn't buy it because of that but I'm wondering if any of you guys/gals ever really saved money on your electricity bill when you started using a new AC unit.


I've replaced 15-20 year old A/C units on my last house and my current house.

I think the first house was a little less per month but I can't remember for sure.
I believe the new unit was a better unit.
It broke once in the first 1-2 years but was fixed for free.
I think it was something really small like a fried relay.

My current house - I don't think it's any cheaper but the old unit was a good one according to several HVAC people and we didn't replace it with anything more powerful or much different.
Nothing has broken on it since it was replaced 7+ years ago.

I have gotten the impression that the "You need a whole unit" thing is often a scam with HVAC people so I would go with someone with good recommendations and a reputation or multiple bids so you can trust you really do need a complete new unit.
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bigdog1962
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 20, 2016 4:42 am    Post subject: Re: Have you ever saved money with a new AC? Reply with quote

scotth17 wrote:
If you have a 16 year old AC unit, you bet your ass a new one is more efficient. Compare the seer ratings of old and new, simple...


I understand that but my bill has stayed the same over the past 6 months and there hasn't been an increase by Georgia Power.

Well, I didn't buy it to save money on electricity...it was an old, tired unit and kept developing leaks. I had a friend patch it up and keep it running as long as possible.

Just curious.
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 20, 2016 6:01 am    Post subject: Re: Have you ever saved money with a new AC? Reply with quote

Don't know squat about ac. Been doing vehicle gate operators forever. They used to use switches and relays,hard to troubleshoot but tough as nails. Started [had to ul 325] to switch to logic boards in the late 90; easy to troubleshoot, more expensive to repair, tough as wet paper towels.
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 20, 2016 7:57 am    Post subject: Re: Have you ever saved money with a new AC? Reply with quote

rusty busty wrote:
I'm an hvac contractor. I sell and install a/c's for a living.
What you save in efficiency you will spend on maintenance. If you have a working 16 year old system I'd say run it until a major component fails then replace it.


This is what I'd do. Yes, my 3-year-old unit is more efficient and my electric bills did decrease, even though because of that drop I can choose to set lower than before. But I'd wait until major repair is needed, tough to take the hit replacing something that is working and doing its job. Same why I have a 14-year-old 46-inch rear projection HDTV as my main unit; as soon as that needs a repair, then flat screen time.


rusty busty wrote:
Salesmen are full of shit.


Agree. An AC guy doing a "free" inspection at my mom's 5 years ago told her that her 11-year-old AC was old and needed replacing. She called me, I told her that was less than average life. But next day the house was hot, guy either "on-purpose" or accidentally knocked off a wire or something, and big block of ice formed on the evaporator so no air could circulate. I got them to fix that for no charge (they said wire was knocked off on the roof, where he inspected), and told her to say "no, but thanks" to any future stuff like that.
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 20, 2016 10:01 am    Post subject: Re: Have you ever saved money with a new AC? Reply with quote

You might want to check how well insulated your house is, as well. I went to double pane windows a few years back, I put fiberglass rolls in my attic (never want to do that again) and when I had to get a new roof, I had the roofers put down a 1/2" thick plywood sheathing under the shingles. It's amazing what a difference just a few changes can make. I can't speak for GA but I know in SoCal at least a lot of the older houses were not well insulated because energy was cheap 50-60 years ago. Not any more.
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 20, 2016 10:11 am    Post subject: Re: Have you ever saved money with a new AC? Reply with quote

When you figure the payback, remember some government agencies and utilities offer tax credits to help offset the installation costs for high-efficiency units.
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bigdog1962
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 20, 2016 10:13 am    Post subject: Re: Have you ever saved money with a new AC? Reply with quote

The windows are similar to the new AC - they say (and I'm sure it's true) they are better at keeping the cool/heat in/out and you can save on your electricity bill.

I'm skeptical that it would actually save me any money.
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 20, 2016 10:15 am    Post subject: Re: Have you ever saved money with a new AC? Reply with quote

If you are in a high heat area, consider an attic ventilator (turbine or electrical) to get rid of all that hot air trying to make its way through the ceiling. Or consider a whole house fan... it will ventilate the attic and draw out the hot air upstairs, and also draw in cooler air in the evening when you open downstairs windows. That will probably do more for savings than a new A/C unit.
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 20, 2016 11:00 am    Post subject: Re: Have you ever saved money with a new AC? Reply with quote

bigdog1962 wrote:
The windows are similar to the new AC - they say (and I'm sure it's true) they are better at keeping the cool/heat in/out and you can save on your electricity bill.

I'm skeptical that it would actually save me any money.


Glass is very poor thermal insulator, which is why cozy cups are handy for bottled beer. My windows not only insulate well, they have real good locks on them. I also have the fan type roof ventilators. I don't know how well opening windows in the evenings will work in GA. Here in SoCal it can work but the humidity is a fraction of what it is in the South. Don't ask me how I know. Wink
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 20, 2016 11:03 am    Post subject: Re: Have you ever saved money with a new AC? Reply with quote

I can't say that a new HVAC system will save anything but I replaced 73 single pane Windows that were in desperate need of restoration (all of the glazing had cracked & most had fallen out) with double pane vinyl windows. The replacements cost less than it would have to restore the existing windows & the gas bill went from $1100-1300 in the winter months to $500-650. VERY worthwhile, plus it was quieter & it wasn't as drafty.
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bigdog1962
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 20, 2016 2:27 pm    Post subject: Re: Have you ever saved money with a new AC? Reply with quote

KTPhil wrote:
If you are in a high heat area, consider an attic ventilator (turbine or electrical) to get rid of all that hot air trying to make its way through the ceiling. Or consider a whole house fan... it will ventilate the attic and draw out the hot air upstairs, and also draw in cooler air in the evening when you open downstairs windows. That will probably do more for savings than a new A/C unit.


While we're on the topic of heating/cooling - how about the notion of "sealing" your attic? Here in Georgia, many of the places that do insulation offer the alternative of sealing your attic and not using fans/gables/etc. They SAY it will keep the attic a lot cooler.

Something else I highly doubt.

It's 100 degrees here and high humidity. Maybe that's the problem. Very Happy
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 20, 2016 3:01 pm    Post subject: Re: Have you ever saved money with a new AC? Reply with quote

We use a whole house fan in a utility stairway to exhaust air out. We open selected windows (usually in bed rooms) to bring the outside air in. We also use ceiling fans in most rooms to keep the air circulating. And we regularly open the attic windows to let the hot air out.

We have only one a/c in one room, for when the humidity is intolerable for my wife. Otherwise, no a/c in the house, haven't had it for 30 years, our electric bill is around $70 a month in the hottest months.
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bigdog1962
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 20, 2016 5:50 pm    Post subject: Re: Have you ever saved money with a new AC? Reply with quote

$173 month, year round.
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 20, 2016 8:48 pm    Post subject: Re: Have you ever saved money with a new AC? Reply with quote

Sure, your salesman didn't BS, he just is trained like everyone else to accentuate the positives of efficiency in the hopes of little talk about initial cost/conversion. Without all the mitigating costs- lower operating costs may indeed be appreciated. Whenever I hear that line I confirm the life expectancy of the replacement unit with the salesman. They love it when you reply with, "okay, I save $5 a month, but, my cost of converting to this new thing that lasts ten years will ultimately cost me an additional $14 monthly."

Then I cave and let my emotions do the buying anyway.
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 20, 2016 11:09 pm    Post subject: Re: Have you ever saved money with a new AC? Reply with quote

hitest wrote:
Sure, your salesman didn't BS, he just is trained like everyone else to accentuate the positives of efficiency in the hopes of little talk about initial cost/conversion. Without all the mitigating costs- lower operating costs may indeed be appreciated. Whenever I hear that line I confirm the life expectancy of the replacement unit with the salesman. They love it when you reply with, "okay, I save $5 a month, but, my cost of converting to this new thing that lasts ten years will ultimately cost me an additional $14 monthly."


Off the A/C topic but this is why I don't have dual pane windows... everything I have looked at says the cost is insane for the savings you get.

Usually the real issue is air leaks and overall insulation issues rather than the windows themselves.
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