HVAC guy rant

[forgop]

Originally Posted by tsolomon

Went through the same thing a couple of years ago when I replaced my central air and I did ask him that same question. He said that by looking at the old unit and the size of the house, he knew what the appropriate size would be. I pursued it based on the fact that the old unit couldn't keep the house cool and he assured me that it was a cheap unit and that the new one would do the job. I can now say that he was right and the new unit not only kept the house cooler, but it also cut my summer electricity bill in half.

If I was just replacing a unit, you might be able to make that assumption. In my situation, the house was not built with a duct big enough to carry enough cfm's to heat/cool 2300 sq. ft. adequately. You can barely feel the air trickle through any vent and by the time you get it, it's no longer hot/cold air because of the distance it travels to get there. My system blows downward and then makes an immediate 90 degree turn for the supply upstairs in a duct half the size it needs to be. Therefore, I'm forced to have entirely separate systems for each floor. The problem is, for a new unit, he has no measurements of square footage or knowledge of the supplies/returns upstairs.

Can't wait to see his bid though...the guy yesterday guesstimated it would be around $5k for a 3T central air unit, a 3T air handler, and all of the other necessary work to go along with it.