I am building a 4200 Sq ft 2 story house in Florida. I never thought about the AC and let my designer use one of his standard Bid Manuals for this size home hoping I would cover some of the basis by the history of others. I had noticed we called for a Trane AC Unit 3 Zones and I see 3 units also listed with a 12 seer. I can not get anybody to agree on what units are better…Trane Vs Courrier VS Rheem etc. I do have a neighbor who owns a AC company and he does not sell Trane but told me they are all similar however I need to be very careful because the Builder can purchase what he calls a “Builders Version” and I will get a stripped unit that will still meet my bid manual specs. I was told I am better to insist on a version such as a “XL” model with a high (14+) seer to make sure the rest of the components such as the coil match the unit. My builder is trying to get me to purchase some other brand that he says is a 13 Seer and that they are all the same. The budget for the Install is about $16,000 complete so I am also trying to keep in those figures to avoid a possible upgrade fee. Any advice would be greatly appreciated…If I stay with Train can I be assured I get a system that is on the same level of the house. This house with property will come in just under $900k. Thanks

Listen to your AC neighbor and get the matched set with all the extended warrantees you can get both from the installing company and the insuracne company. A unit with unmatched set has NO Seer rating and no recourse.

Thanks but the Builder is still telling me the unit can have the seer rating and still have diffrent coils and options...What do you think of Trane? I also noticed the warranty is better if I purchase it but maybe no the price!

DO NOT BELIEVE THE BUILDER! Believe a utility company if you can get rebates. A SEER rating ONLY OCCURS WITH SPECIFIC COMBINATIONS OF MATCHED COILS, UNITS AND CONTROLS. I would write this in five-foot high letters if it were possible.

Here is the rating agency: http://www.ariprimenet.org/ari-prog/direct.nsf?Open

If the builder insists otherwise, you are catching him in a LIE. A SEER rating is a result of a test, not a wish to sell individual parts at random.

I agree with HKestenholz about the mismatched coil and AC unit. It is like buying a Ford car, but putting a Mazda engine with a Honda transmission. You should not beleive your builder and insist on having a matched AC unit and coils, so everything works fine, and keeps on working longer. To give you an example, I bought a house last summer, and when the heating season started, I noticed problems with the furnace as it would not stop, even with the thermostat removed from the wall!! It turned out when they retrofitted the heat pump to the Dettson furnace, they kept the old controls for the furnace, and the relay switch in the furnace stayed energized, thus commanding the blower in the furnace to stay on. Since an HVAC contractor installed the proper Dettson controls, I have no more problems. I think you should buy a good unit yourself, even though it is more expensive. It will last you longer, so you will recover this money eventually. And like HKestenholz stated the other day, all major brands are pretty similar, so it is more the quality of the installation than the brand of the unit that will ensure you a good dependability over the years. I hope this helps!

The install is the main part. Brand is second. ARI will rate components from different companies. If ARI says it is a match, it is a match. They will tell you the SEER rating of any correctly matched combination.