A complete Lennox system before Palm Coast's next hurricane season
Replacing half a system is how a new air conditioner disappoints. This page is about doing the whole thing at once, timed to the month Palm Coast homeowners start watching the tropics.
June 1 in Matanzas Woods, with a 2006 system and a forecast
The first of June is when hurricane season officially opens and when a certain kind of Palm Coast homeowner gets practical. In a 2006 house in Matanzas Woods the system has limped through two summers on a capacitor and a recharge. The owners have watched Matthew, Irma, Ian and Milton come through in eight years, they’ve seen what a week without power and air conditioning does to a closed-up house, and they don’t want to start another summer gambling on a twenty-year-old compressor.
They call for a quote on a complete system, and they’re right to use that phrase.
What “complete system” means and why halves don’t add up
A complete system is the outdoor unit, the matched indoor air handler with its coil, the thermostat or control, and the pieces that connect them: line set, drain, surge protection, pad and platform. Replacing only the condenser leaves a 2006 coil that was built for a different refrigerant and a different efficiency standard, plus a blower, a drain pan and a set of heat strips that are just as old as the compressor that failed. The new half runs below its rating, the warranty gets complicated, and the next failure is already scheduled.
We quote complete systems as the default and will price a half if you ask, with the trade-offs written down.
Our recommendation for that house
For a 2006 single-story in Matanzas Woods with the air handler in the garage and a lanai pad on the west side: a two-stage or variable-speed Lennox heat pump matched to a variable-speed air handler, heat strips sized to the house rather than the maximum, a communicating thermostat, a coated outdoor coil if the lot is within reach of salt air, a float switch and cleanout on the drain, and a surge protector at the disconnect. Efficiency chosen to clear the FPL rebate line. If the duct test shows the attic runs leaking, sealing goes on the same quote; new equipment on bad duct is money left in the attic.
The day the whole system changes over
The crew arrives early to beat the afternoon storms. Old refrigerant is recovered, both units come out, the pad is leveled and the garage platform checked. The new air handler goes in, the condenser is set, the line set is pressure-tested and evacuated, and the charge is weighed in rather than guessed. The thermostat is programmed, airflow is measured at the registers, and the drain is tested with water, not assumed. By late afternoon the house is cooling on the new system and the warranty registration is filled in and the FPL rebate line is checked against the quote.
Book a complete system estimate
The first summer with it
The first thing owners notice is quiet: a variable-speed system idling on a June afternoon barely registers over the pool pump. The second is dry air; the house that used to sit at 62 percent holds the low 50s. The FPL bill moves in July. We come back before the next cooling season for the first tune-up, and when the tropics get busy in September the owners know the system is new, the generator plan is written down, and the drain has a switch. That’s the point of doing it in June.
Complete system questions from Palm Coast
Why replace the air handler, condenser and thermostat together?
Because they were engineered as a set. The rated efficiency, the humidity performance and the warranty all assume a matched indoor coil and matching controls. A new condenser on a 2006 air handler runs at a fraction of its rating and leaves the oldest, wettest part of the system in place.
Can a new complete system run on a portable generator after a storm?
A properly sized one with a soft-start on the compressor often can, which is a real consideration after Milton and Ian. We’ll tell you the starting load of the system you’re buying so you and your electrician can size the generator and transfer switch.
What happens to my old Trane system when you take it out?
The refrigerant is recovered by law, the copper and steel are recycled, and the cabinets leave on our truck the same day. Nothing sits at the curb.
Does a complete system come with one warranty or several?
Several, usually: a compressor term, a parts term on each unit, and whatever labor coverage the dealer provides. Registering them is part of our install paperwork, and we’ll explain which term covers what before you sign.
Want the whole system done before the first named storm?
Free estimate on a matched Lennox system, scheduled around your calendar.