Is He Right about Infinity Control?

18 years ago

Hi All,

I live in Northern Virginia and am looking to replace my 20 years old gas furnace/A/C system. I've had a 5 HVAC companies come out to give an estimate. 1 Trane & 1 Carrier guy measured all the windows, the Trane guy did some calculation on paper and decided I need a 90,000btu gas furnace and 3ton AC. The Carrier guy left and send me the quote by mail and also quoted a 90K btu furnace and 3 ton A/C. A second Carrier contractor came out and measured my existing unit and looked around all the duct work on both 3 levels and asked me the hot and cold spots about the house, then decided I need a 90K btu furnace as well. The remaining 2 contractors basically just measured the current unit and gave quotes according to it which is a 100Kbtu gas furnace. All of them quoted me a 3 ton A/C.

The 2nd Carrier rep's quote is as follows:

1. 58CVA090 (80% AFUE/90,000btu)Infinity Series 2 stage variable speed gas furnace.

24ACA336 (13 SEER/36,000btu) Comfort Series A/C with Puron R410-A

Evaporator coil CNPVP3617ATA

TSTATCCNAC01 Non-programmable thermostat

Install liquid line filter drier, all new lines and add return duct & grill to basement.

Warranty : 1 year parts & labor from his company

10 years limited compressor warranty from Carrier

20 years limited heat exchanger warranty

Carrier's 2 thru 10 year parts and labor (Customer Protection Plan)

Total installed price: $6,650.

2. Switch out the Comfort series A/C with a Performance Series A/C 24APA536(15 SEER)

Everything else is the same including warranty.

Total Installed : $6950.

3. Switch to Infinity Series A/C 24ANA736 (16SEER) with Infinity Control.

Everything else is the same including warranty.

Total installed : $8,530. ($1,000 Cool Cash rebate from Carrier after installation)

4. Switch to Infinity Series Hybrid Heat Pump 25HNA636 (15.5 SEER) with Infinity Control.

Everything else including warranty is the same.

Total Installed : $9,270. ($1,100 cash rebate from Carrier).

In all of the above quotes, no Air Handler is quoted, do the above systems need an Air Handler?

From some of the postings I read here, I have the impression that the Infinity Control can be used with the Performance series A/C or Heat Pump. I asked him to quote Option#2 with an Infinity Control, he said the Infinity Control can only work with Infinity Series Hybrid Heat Pump but not with any other combination.

Is he right about that?

I'm quite interested in getting the Hybrid system because of the price of gas here.

Can anyone help me out with the above quotes?

Thank in advance for any inputs!

Haadpan

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Comments (6)

ryanhughes
18 years ago
No air handler is needed since the blower is in the furnace. The Infinity control is supported by the Carrier Performance series a/c or heat pump. I would go for it since you already have the Infinity furnace. It's a nice control. The two-speed a/c or heat pump would be nice for more humidity control and comfort but isn't necessary.
veesubotee
18 years ago
Are you in Fairfax Cnty or vicinity? Near the ocean?

I'm curious what your square footage is. 90K @ 80% will put out 72K. Your old (20 yr old) furnace was probably in the range of 60 - 65K output. Might not need that much heat.

You didn't say what size your current a/c is. If 3 ton, did it do an adequate job? Might need a little more.

My 2500 SF house in Philadelphia area needs 60,000 BTUH heat; 3 1/2 - 4 tons a/c.

Consider doing your own heat calc. I did, to eliminate all of the 'opinions' received from multiple contractors.

(http://hvaccalc.com/)

V
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haadpan1
Original Author
18 years ago
Ryan,

So if I get the Performance heat pump with the Infinity Control, it will work like a hybrid system, using heat pump for heat above certain temperature and will switch to gas heat when the temperature drops lower than the preset temperature, am I right? Do you know what model of the Performance heat pump will pair well with the Infinity gas furnace quoted?
Can you also comment on the combination of Performance A/C with the Infinity gas furnace?
I really value your advice!

V,
I live in Fairfax County.
The Carrier guy mentioned that my old furnace is probably working at about 60-70% efficiency, and said I don't need 100Kbtu with a new variable speed furnace, that's why he's quoting to replace it with 90K btu.
Not including the basement, my house is about 2,000 sq. ft.
The first floor gets cold really fast when the a/c is on, but the second floor where all the bedrooms are located does not get cold that fast because the a/c turns off very quickly after the first floor is cooled to the set temperature. All of the contractors said 3 tons is enough for our house and that with the variable speed blower, this situation should improve.

Can anyone tell me if the price quoted seems fair?
flir67
18 years ago
I live in central nc and got a carrier system installed

got the infinity 80 with the 90,000btu's
ac 3.5 ton with puron and puron coils.

item #'s a/c 24aca342a
furance 58cva090
coils cnpvp4221ata

make sure the installers don't do a reduction in the coil pipe from the a/c to furance. same size pipe to both with a small air trap built into the pipe

the humidity control is amazing on its own.

price 6500.00 installed.
ryanhughes
18 years ago
Sorry haadpan1, I must've missed your follow up. I'm not sure if it matters anymore, but I'll answer the questions:

1. You are correct about how a hybrid system typically works.
2. The 25HPA5 is a good choice (Performance 15). In your case, the 25HPA536.
3. The Performance outdoor unit with the Infinity indoor unit is a good combination when used with the Infinity controller. The only major difference is the lack of two-stage cooling and heating from the heat pump.
sarosen
18 years ago
I'm not sure if you've already made your decision, but we have the same problem with a differential between our two floors. The folks I trusted most (well, actually even the ones I didn't) said that the only ways to really solve the problem were to increase the size of the ducting to the second floor (we will do this with an upcoming remodel when the walls are torn out already)and a return air upstairs. One installer also suggested a solar fan in the attic, which I am going to do.

Also, I have a 2500 square foot house, with basement, half of which needs to be heated, and the recommendations of those I trusted were for a 100000 btu furance. We already have the 3 1/2 ton AC. We are in Portland OR