What is my best solution if I need to add air conditioning to a home that has only a fan forced heat furnace?

Question

I am looking to purchase an older home (built in the 40's) that currently has only fan forced furnace heat. I would like to add air conditioning. Do I buy an add on outside pad mounted unit and have it installed? Or do I replace the furnace with a new heat / cooling combo unit? I am not sure of the homes dimensions, but it is a single story 2 bedroom home. I am looking on websites such as (Carrier) and also for units on ebay, but I don't really know what i am doing. I was told by one heating and cooling company owner that I am looking at about $2500 to $3000 just to add air. Does this sound legit? He also mentioned an additional 250 to run electric. Help.....

Answer 1

   You could contact your utility company for information, usually they encourage people to replace old inefficient units  and offer extended financing. They could probably provide you with a list of approved contractors.

Answer 2

replace the furnace with a heat cooling combo, its true, and he is being cheap. my father had to pay 5000 to put the same unit at the house, maybe it was more expensive because the house is really big.

Answer 3

Assuming that you need a 2 ton unit.Indoor unit,outdoor unit,14 SEER,electric,without new ductwork will set you back 4000$-4500$

I would definitely replace the exsisting furnace.Good luck.

Answer 4

Yes, the pricing sounds about right. Generally, this is a "split" unit with the condenser on the pad outside your home and the evaporator (cooler) part of the heater ductwork.

It's a fair amount of work to install... need to run 240V electrical to the pad and also the coolant lines between the outside unit and the evaporator.

Also, if this is a condensing furnace new pipe will need to be run for the air intake and exhaust.

You might qualify for a tax credit if you're upgrading to a high-efficiency furnace. See the link below.