AC installation and replacement
AC installation and replacement
Whether the old condenser has quit or the house never had central air, a new system has to fit the furnace and ducts it will share.
Adding air where there was none
Plenty of older homes have a furnace and ducts but no air conditioning. Adding it uses what is already there: a cooling coil on top of the furnace, a condenser outside, and a pair of copper lines between them. Whether the ducts and the furnace blower can carry enough air for cooling is the first question to settle.
A matched pair
The outdoor condenser and the indoor coil are rated as a set, and the published efficiency only holds when they match. Keeping an old coil with a new condenser saves money up front but can cost efficiency and shorten the new unit's life. The furnace blower also has to run at a speed that suits the coil.
How big a system
Ask how the contractor arrived at the size. A room-by-room cooling load worked out on paper or software is the answer to look for. Copying the tonnage stamped on the old unit is not, since the house may have changed since then.
Permits
Inside Fort Collins city limits, an air conditioner replacement goes through the City's heating or cooling permit, the same application furnaces and heat pumps use. Outside the city, the town or county that covers the address handles it. The towns page lists who that is for each nearby community.
Price a heat pump alongside
An outdoor heat pump looks like a condenser and cools the same way, but it also heats. When the condenser is being replaced anyway, ask for a ducted heat pump quote next to the AC quote and compare.
Lines to look for on the quote
- Model numbers for the condenser and coil, and their matched rating.
- Whether the copper line set is replaced or cleaned and reused.
- New pad, disconnect and electrical work.
- Thermostat changes.
- Permit and inspection.
- Refrigerant type and the amount charged.
- Who registers the warranty, and when.
AC questions
Can the old copper lines be reused?
Sometimes. It depends on their size, condition and what refrigerant ran through them. The contractor should explain the choice either way.
Does a new air conditioner mean a new furnace?
Not necessarily. If the furnace is sound and its blower can move the air the coil needs, it can stay. An old furnace near the end of its life is a reason to look at both together.
Cold house? Make the call.
Describe the symptoms and give your street. A heating and cooling business that covers the Fort Collins area, independent of this website, handles everything after that.