Our Bard system lasted 27 years. But we need a new system. Any advice on low-cost units would be appreciated. Coils are rusted and leaking freon. Do we need entire new system or can parts be replaced?
I am never the lowest bidder so I can not speak to low cost equipment... I did a coil swapout for a customer this summer under warranty. It was a big bunch of work. In mho time for a new system. Mark
With tax credit availability, the difference in price between a new heat pump and the repair may be as little as $3,000. Given that you will still have a 27 year old compressor I'd go the difference. Most heat pumps are fairly close in price. Go with the best dealer (it is more important than the price you pay).
I don't know what kind of loop it has, it draws water from our well and then releases into the lake. We've gotten some quotes near $10,000 for a 30 seer unit. Would a standard 2-stage electric heat pump be less expensive even though it would have to be reworked to make everything fit?
I presume you are talking about the tranquility 30. there are less expensive units. what you'll want to rework is the drain side. You want to use two solenoids to reduce water usage in 1st stage. On a 5 ton that can save more than 100,000 gals/yr in some cases. You also want to recalculate heat load and equipment size as companies loaded heavy 27 yrs ago (oversized equipment burning more kwh on a compressor that is too big 1/24/365 vs a few kwh on auxiliary heat).
