Buying an air conditioning unit?

Jesse Japak: If this is a central air unit, then call around and schedule several estimates. These should be free, never pay for an estimate. Have the contractor give you as many options as he can. For instance, he may have a 'budget' line and a 'premium' line of air conditioning units. Take in to account the size of the unit, and ask about the warranty.After talking to a couple of contractors, you will get a feel for what's important in your house. After you have the estimates, you will have a much better idea of what kinds of unanswered questions you still have. Remember, though, these guys are salesmen. Check your facts before you sign on the dotted line....Show more

Elvin Mannheimer: Efficiency,size,brand,price,what extra features you want. Start by checking out the air conditioner page at my source. When you get ready to buy check out the air conditioner ratings page to compare brands.

Jene Licausi: 1- the area,2-make sure that you can use a Window! A/C or a split , it depends on where you want to use it, the split unit is always better but more expensive.3-make sure that your power cabling can support the additional load.

Silvia Stclair: First off, shop around because you will find a big price difference. The things you need to know is how much will it cost to run. What is the proper size for your home? This is critical. Don't let somebody sell you an undersized one because the price sounds good. Make sure the installer shows you how to do basic maintenance such as the proper way to clean the evaporator and condenser coils. If you have central heating you'll have the ducts already. If not it will be quite abit costlier. Get many estimates and compare them on price, Btu estimates (Don't volunteer this to an estimater), you'll be able to weed out some contractors by this. You can search air conditioners online to see the different fomulas used to determine Btu's. If the price they give sounds overwhelming, they ! have portable a/c units you can move from room to room, but yo! u need to exhaust the heat to the outside. Sound is the other thing you need to consider....Show more

Angel Klym: It ALL depends on the installation and the installer. Goodman or another maker. $3200 is about the lowest you can spend. As far as buying a new one yourself, they won't sell to you. If they do, Goodman will not honor the warranty. I would go with your guy IF he can give me several referrals that are a couple of years old in order to see if the people are having any problems, if he's licensed, too. States have different requirement for contractors, some States are more protective of consumers than others, some States don't have any requirements....Show more