Where and how is the radiant barrier being installed? Where are your ducts being installed....R6 seems on the low side for a hot attic in California? Has the contractor provided any energy calculations for the system that indicate R6 is needed or the radiant barrier for that matter.......do you have any other contractors looking at it and providing you with quotes and recommendations?

And the biggest question of all..........are you having circulation problems with coverage and temperature control in your home or was this just an observation of the technician and recommendation of his based on a visual examination alone or did he do any volume (air flow) testing with temp monitoring........? How reputable is this company and have you fully vetted them? Always be leery of any service call techs who start recommending expensive whole system alterations based on simple visual observations during a seasonal maintenance / safeguard call.

ispoildogs - We're replacing the ducts because the tech told us we are essentially breathing in the attic air, which meant breathing in formaldehyde, fiber glass particles, etc. So even if we don't do this now, we'll eventually have to do it as the ducts age.

The house was built in 2000 and we purchased the home in 2011. We lived in it for 3 years before thinking we should probably get the furnace and A/C checked out. At that time, the tech told us that our ducts were not sealed together properly when they first built the house; connections were just duct taped but the person left gaps big enough to where you can stick your finger in... The duct material is also plastic (not mylar) so now after 15 years, it is breaking down and starting to have small holes and tears; the tech said eventually the plastic will break down more to the point where the it will fillet open and the insulation surrounding the duct (which was minimal/non-existent since it was the cheap plastic kind) will just fall apart and not be able to keep our air cool/warm.

We added the radiant barrier install because it's been recommended over the years they have provided service to us; the techs said it is the most cost-effective thing we can do to improve energy efficiency, which would help prolong the life of the furnace and A/C because it would work less. We did the same thing you did, and husband and I googled it and we also came across similar articles about people getting scammed by radiant barrier installs...I don't think we're being scammed since we are dealing with a large company (Service Champions Heating & Air Conditioning), but I feel we are paying a premium-premium price...

Thomas Kutch - The radiant barrier will be installed in the attic on the walls. The exact details escape me for the moment (they gave us a lot of info), but the tech mentioned that their install team will be on their backs all day long and something about the area between the roof and attic frame (the radiant barrier will not be laid down on the ground of the attic).

The tech recommended R-6 since we were also installing the radiant
barrier. He said that R-8, in combo with the radiant barrier, was not
cost-efficient since the additional energy savings will not be worth the extra cost . Maybe it's an idea to not do the radiant barrier and just upgrade to better duct material? Would that be cheaper, with similar effect?

We didn't ask for energy calculations - what is this? (I don't think the tech gave this to us, perhaps it is TMI for the typical homeowner?). We haven't had any other contractors come in for quotes or recommendations, but I am planning on calling one other contractor to at least see what they will say.

We had reduced airflow before because our unit wasn't maintained properly for years (we think probably before we even bought the house), but since we started with regular checkups this has not been an issue now. I would say we may have mild issues with temp control, but I am not sure this is because of the HVAC system. Upstairs is warmer than downstairs, but it's only natural that heat rises. Our computer room has 2 high-end gaming computers that generate a lot of heat, so on hot days (over 85F) with both comps running we have to set the A/C to 68 or lower to be comfortable.

The techs do the air flow testing and temp monitoring with a handheld device. The company is Service Champions Heating & Air Conditioning and from what we were able to find, they are pretty reputable in California. Before we went with them in 2011, we researched online and they were highly rated BBB and on Yelp.

Overall, we are getting the impression that the $6500 quote is indeed a premium price and I think what we're paying for is essentially "peace of mind":

- Fully licensed and insured company
- Lifetime warranties on all materials used (100% refund if not satisfied)
- All required permits pulled
- HERS verification testing, city and state inspection
- Techs undergo background checks, drug tests
- Install teams are in-house within company (not subcontracted out to anyone else)
- If any part of our house is damaged during install, they will repair/replace/paint for better than it was before (they had scuffed laminate floor of one customer and they replaced their entire floor with hardwood)

Sorry, not trying to be an ad for them (those are the exact items they listed when we questioned their quote). This might just come down to personal preferences, but is peace of mind worth $6500 for this type of work?

Thanks for taking the time to answer me. I suggest you get 2 more estimates for the work. Getting 3 estimates is standard practice and your tech shouldn't be offended by you doing so. Please understand, I'm not telling you to go with the cheapest estimate because I do believe you get what you pay for. The idea is to determine if all the estimates are in the same ball park and if they are not, asking for an explanation of the differences so you can make an informed decision. Good luck!

Mew....the energy calculations take into consideration all the thermal elements of your building envelope, your geographic location and all the other elements of the design parameters to design a mechanical system and the ducts that keeps you comfortable, is efficient and meets codes. They establish the system size you need (BTU's) and the air flow (CFM) required.

You indicated the system is at least 15 years old. That's getting pretty close to the anticipated service life of most equipment in residential applications. If you were one of my clients, I would recommend that you consider getting quotes from at least 3 contractors broken down into the following format: Option A) full system replacement (condenser, furnace, blower, etc., etc.), ducts, SA / RA grills for a fully functional system based on energy calculations that meet current code requirements. Option B) Is two parts...... 1. Confirmation that the existing equipment (condenser, furnace, blower) is adequately sized, that it is performing within an acceptable range based on the energy calculations per code, and 2. Provide and install a replacement (new) distribution system (SA ducts and registers, RA ducts and grills) based on the energy calculation per code.

I'm very familiar with the radiant barrier systems and still haven't been convinced that they are any more efficient than having a properly vented attic with a powered exhaust fan....I do know this, in 30+ years in the Architectural profession including 10 years General Contractor experience, I've seen more roofs ruined by improperly installed radiant barrier systems that didn't allow a means of exhausting the heat build up.........the roof deck and shingles were literally baked from below. Give me a properly ventilated attic per code with a powered exhaust fan any day.

I'm sure your contractor is on the up and up....but, without a designed layout, it almost impossible to evaluate a quote of $6500 as being reasonable or not. I do like though,that you're considering a professional group who is licensed and bonded. Maybe your contractor mentioned it and you just didn't say, but I would be surprised that they didn't recommend a full replacement based on the age of your system......15 year old residential equipment with a new distribution system (ducts) is kind of like putting new tires, new paint and new interior on a car with an engine that has 200,000 miles on it and needs a ring job...........it's just a matter of time. It's not if it goes out, it's just when it goes out.

Thanks Thomas - We're going to see if we can ask for quotes in with energy calculations and in your suggested formats (that was very helpful btw). We have one appointment scheduled for this weekend.

Husband and I are leaning towards doing just the duct replacement, since overall our system isn't exhibiting any obvious negative symptoms. One of their techs did recommend whole system replacement on one of the earlier service calls, I remember all quotes from the same company have all been in the 5-digits (included unit replacement).

They just checked our furnace last week and the tech said it has hot spots, but no cracks yet so they think it can last a little longer (no replacement at the moment). The A/C was checked last summer and at that time they said it's still hanging on there.

Will update with what we decide to go with

Mew-- Did you decide to opt out of the radiant barrier? I am in the Los Angeles area and am getting our insulation (which is ANCIENT, house built in 1958) replaced next week. Considering adding radiant barrier as well. Our HVAC is in the attic. The tech did not make claims of reducing our bill with the barrier but he did say it would keep the temp of the attic down and therefore keep the ducts cooler. We were planning to get the barrier but now after a little reading I'm not so sure.

Hi all,

Took us a while to decide on this; we had only just recently made our final decision. We ultimately decided to postpone air duct replacement to try and squeeze as much life as possible from our current ducts - both companies had said our ducts are not bad but they're not great (like a C grade).

We had gotten a second estimate and that company didn't do radiant install, just air ducts. They quoted us for $2000 for duct replacement (would be R6 ducts), which when compared to the first quote broken down (~$4000) - second company was much more reasonable.

The slight difference with the second quote was that they would upgrade just one register (to help cool down our computer room better); they found no need to replace all registers in the house like the first quote included. Second company has a flat rate of $35 per register and we have 13 total in our house. Comparing this to the first quote, it still didn't make sense to us why their quote sat at $4k...


To lfblair - We didn't look into the radiant barrier anymore really, so I'm not sure if I can help but I can share what we learned! Through my Google search, yes radiant barrier helps you save on your energy bill, but probably not by much. The key thing is that it only saves money on the portion of your bill that you use towards cooling your air. And in California, we really only use the AC a few months out of the year. I think an article estimated savings around 20%, but not off the entire bill. We decided to not pursue this since we felt our house temps are OK. This might be different for you though since your house is older. Hope that helps.

Thanks everyone!