We are in the Philly area, so hot summers for AC and cold winters for heat.

He mentioned that the heat strips would be staged so that they can turn partially on, I guess 1,2, or 3 at a time.

The current unit is 2 ton and he recommends staying with that. It seems adequate now and he said oversizing was worse than undersizing.

How accurate a prediction is is the mega ohm test. This is the first caution reading, and we get it checked out twice a year. Will it likely live for years more?

Thanks for your help, Bruce

What exactly was tested with the mega ohm test?

I believe it is a standard test for the condenser motor. I have looked it up and apparently it indicates when the insulation is breaking down which is the primary cause of motor failure. The article I saw said below 100 M is caution and below 30 M is bad.

The mega test is for the windings in the compressor. From the start / run windings to the compressor case. Low ohm reading would indicate that the insulation on the windings is breaking down.

I wouldn't replace it.

A 16 year old heat pump is reaching its end of life. It makes sense to replace the system if you plan on living on this house for another 5 years or so. You should be able to make it through the summer and do the replacement in the fall when rebates are available and HVAC companies are not as busy.

I think $11K for a 2 ton Lennox system is high. Get quotes for Trane or American Standard dealers. I also think having the system serviced twice a year is not necessary. Once a year should be fine. Change the filter as often as needed.

I got a quote for a Trane XV18 which also comes in at 11K and the XV17 is about 1000 less, and the XV16 is another 1000 less. It all seems very expensive.

If Tigerdunes recommended the basic unit instead of the fancy modulating one. Why would someone buy the fancy one, is there a benefit?

from my first post to this thread...

just for information, you can never justify the higher SEER condensers with cost savings versus the higher purchase price.

11k for a 2 ton XV18...ridiculous...the benefit would be marginally better comfort, better efficiency, and of course to Trane and the dealer. The high end HP market is definitely trending toward these var speed condensers that operate withing a given range. I suggest the XV model is overkill for a small zone like yours.

get a price on XR15-XR16 Trane, same from AmStd Silver 15 or 16 with best matching var speed air handler...probably a 7.5 KW heat strip.

IMO

I had a guy come in and he suggested a Lenox Merit 14HPX at only about $6K. He said for our space no reason to go for the fancy units that are harder to maintain and he felt a plain 14 SEER unit would be suitable since we did not have a big enough space to get allot of savings from high efficiency. Is this more like the right track?

The 14HPX is a basic single stage heat pump. If you are happy with the features then it should be fine for your house. I think it only has a 5 year warranty on the compressor.

Do you have a detailed quote of what will be done for $6,000? That amount of money does not buy much in the Philadelphia area. Proceed carefully if the installer is providing a low ball quote.

The 14HPX Lennox HP is a low end south of the border made HP. I would not have it or recommend it. I would want a HP that has electronic demand defrost not the cheap time/temp defrost method that this Lennox model has. I have made my recommendation and am through with this thread.

IMO