Ask me anything about HVAC heating air conditioning air quality control

[John_Hey]

I got a new Honeywell RTH8500D and programmed it.
My problem is with "Smart Response". I set the wake up at 7:30 to 22'C. (from 19 sleep time)
I know with "Smart Response" it should start the furnace before 7:30 so at 7:30 the temperature is 22.

However, it starts way before 7:30 and for example this morning i notice it is already 22'C at 6 am.
why it reaches the set temperature way before the set time? is it defective unit?
I should mention it shows "Recovery" in the display so for sure "Smart Response" is calling for heat before set time, but the problem is it calls for it a lot lot earlier it suppose to call. (2-3 hours before set time, i am guessing half an hour is enough to reach from 19 to 22)
I am going to turn this feature off for now.

[John_Hey]

I just changed my 15 years old 80% efficiency 100,000 btu Lennox with new Goodman GMVC95 %95 efficiency 70,000 btu (variable speed two stage)

When furnace is in high stage and full speed, it is much louder than my older Lennox one.
Is this normal? I was expecting this one to work quieter than old one. the noise level is somehow annoying.
Please help.

[Brrr]

I got a new Honeywell RTH8500D and programmed it.
My problem is with "Smart Response". I set the wake up at 7:30 to 22'C. (from 19 sleep time)
I know with "Smart Response" it should start the furnace before 7:30 so at 7:30 the temperature is 22.

However, it starts way before 7:30 and for example this morning i notice it is already 22'C at 6 am.
why it reaches the set temperature way before the set time? is it defective unit?
I should mention it shows "Recovery" in the display so for sure "Smart Response" is calling for heat before set time, but the problem is it calls for it a lot lot earlier it suppose to call. (2-3 hours before set time, i am guessing half an hour is enough to reach from 19 to 22)
I am going to turn this feature off for now.

I experienced the same thing with my Honeywell Prestige thermostats. Nice in theory, but the heat was coming on hours before the set time. I turned off the feature and set the heat to come on 1/2 earlier. So much for smart automation.

[Limoges_shopper]

I just changed my 15 years old 80% efficiency 100,000 btu Lennox with new Goodman GMVC95 %95 efficiency 70,000 btu (variable speed two stage)

When furnace is in high stage and full speed, it is much louder than my older Lennox one.
Is this normal? I was expecting this one to work quieter than old one. the noise level is somehow annoying.
Please help.

Here's one thing about furnaces with variable speed motors: they come set up at full speed. This is to protect against installers that don't set up the blower properly. I would contact the installer and ask them to adjust the blower settings, especially if you are getting enough air flow in the farthest rooms. Also, make sure the air conditioning settings are properly set up too.

[Rockstead]

Limoges_shopper,

Has your opinion remained the same on the American Standard Accuclean (trane clean effects)? I've been visiting a ton of forums and most Installers love it or hate it, say it works great for the first year and then complain of its efficiency or the amount of work required to keep it running efficiently, some that say thatno matter what you do, it won't work as well after the first year.

As well as direct comparisons to the Aprilaire 5000 but that requires a yearly media replacment which is expensive but based on all the forum messages ive read I can't determine which one is the better of the two but in an unscientific view i see more people recommending the Aprilaire over the accuclean, i dont see aprilaire haters where i see accuclean haters, people that sold it and then wanted nothing to do with it. There seems to be some report that came out showing the Aprileaire 5000 coming out ahead but then some people question the bias because I think Aprileaire made the report.

I haven't clue what to do, I would appreciate your advice as I'm ready to make the move to improve he air quality in my home.

[GorMac]

Hi All,

First time poster but have been reading for a while.

I'm in the process of getting estimates for a new furnace (existing one is way too big and I got my eco # in time, so wanted to take advantage of the grants).

Existing house:

• Built in 1995, 1250 sq ft two story townhouse end unit.
• Arcoaire 100,000 BTU mid eff furnace (original)
• Lennox Value 10 A/C installed in May 2000
• Flair HRV (original)
• LifeBreath flo-thru humidifier installed around 2006

I have quite a few people out for quotes (I got mostly Lennox as I wanted to go for the Costco coupon/cash cards/exec membership), and of the 8 people only 1 did the manual J calc result was 40,000 btu req'd (although even with that he came up with the same size furnace - 70,000 BTU).

So the Options are:

• Lennox SLP98V with 14ACX (or XC14)
• Lennox G61V with 14ACX (or XC14)
• Amana AMCV95 with Amana A/C (waiting for written quote)
• Carrier 59TNGA060 with 24ACC618 (not sure about models as guys writting is hard to read)
• Rheem RGRM-06 with 14AJN24 (not sure about models as guys writting is hard to read)

Questions/Opinions:

• I'm leaning towards not replacing the A/C, what is the life expectance on those? (I'm guessing another 5 or so years)
• Would the SLP98V be too much for our house?
• Do the new furnaces need the 5" filters that some want to install? (others say the 1" is fine)
• For stats, I'm guessing the iComfort would be best suited for the SLP98V & Infinity controller for the Carrier, but do the Honeywell Pro6000 controllers work well for the rest?
• Some quoted 1.5 ton a/c some 2.0 ton, why would they be different?

Thoughts & opinions would be appreciated, thanks

[Bronson Charley]

Here's one thing about furnaces with variable speed motors: they come set up at full speed. This is to protect against installers that don't set up the blower properly. I would contact the installer and ask them to adjust the blower settings, especially if you are getting enough air flow in the farthest rooms. Also, make sure the air conditioning settings are properly set up too.

Same here. Got the same Goodman, tried on the low settings and had insufficient airflow in a small bungalow, so we had to increase it to a higher setting and it is louder now than the old Trane, although it is weird, it gets very loud before it stops blowing, not all the time .....

[dgmorr]

Hello,

Anyone know off-hand the code for how close the furnace vent can be from a building opening in Ontario?

Also, is ABS pipe currently acceptable for venting a new HE furnace install? I'm drywalling the ceiling which will block access to my intake/exhaust pipes, and want to know if I should have these replaced in case I have have to replace the furnace some day.

Thanks.

[Hexavalent]

Hello,

Anyone know off-hand the code for how close the furnace vent can be from a building opening in Ontario?

Also, is ABS pipe currently acceptable for venting a new HE furnace install? I'm drywalling the ceiling which will block access to my intake/exhaust pipes, and want to know if I should have these replaced in case I have have to replace the furnace some day.

Thanks.

If your furnace is 100,000 BTUH or less you only need a clearance of 1ft. Over 100,000 BTUH and you need 3ft.

ABS is not acceptable for venting a new HE install, if you are planning to drywall and cover the current pipes up I would spend the extra now on new 636 piping and save yourself some future headaches and drywall repair.

[dgmorr]

If your furnace is 100,000 BTUH or less you only need a clearance of 1ft. Over 100,000 BTUH and you need 3ft.

ABS is not acceptable for venting a new HE install, if you are planning to drywall and cover the current pipes up I would spend the extra now on new 636 piping and save yourself some future headaches and drywall repair.

Is there also a minimum distance required from objects such as the gas meter and A/C unit? I'm also considering a reroute as the current run is long for no reason.


Thanks for the info.

[mr_yellow]

Random question for the service folks here...

What is considered a fair price to have a HVAC person come out and investigate why I can't turn on my fan without enabling heat or cool (recirculation feature)?

I had one quote from a local company which costs $90 for the service call and $60/hour rate. I was surprised and thought this was on the high end. Am I crazy expecting that to be lower (especially for the service call charge)?

Thanks,

[Hexavalent]

Is there also a minimum distance required from objects such as the gas meter and A/C unit? I'm also considering a reroute as the current run is long for no reason.


Thanks for the info.

You need to be 3ft. away from the the gas meter, more specifically 3ft. from the vent, but for you just to be safe 3ft. from the actual meter. You should be fine with any distance from an AC, personally I'd try and leave at least a foot.

[Hexavalent]

Random question for the service folks here...

What is considered a fair price to have a HVAC person come out and investigate why I can't turn on my fan without enabling heat or cool (recirculation feature)?

I had one quote from a local company which costs $90 for the service call and $60/hour rate. I was surprised and thought this was on the high end. Am I crazy expecting that to be lower (especially for the service call charge)?

Thanks,

$90 for a service call is fair...even a bit on the low side, if you are looking for lower than that you might be getting what you pay for.
Without seeing the job and based on what you've said whoever you get shouldn't be there any longer than an hour.

[Converged]

Just moved into new home build with an ERV. The builder said he has to connect the ERV (VanEE) to the furnace blower 'due to code'. So anytime I run the ventilation, the furnace blower turns on. He said I can disable this if I want (by disconnecting a wire?). Is anyone familiar with this? Is it an easy process or is it even a good idea to disconnect the two?

[1892HCO]

has anyone replace their furnance(lennox) blower bearing and motor since it is making loud noise when heat is on. Furnance model is GU43C