Anonymous wrote:We are also looking to make improvements in our HVAC and are having a terrible time finding a reliable company to work with.

Can anyone recommend a great HVAC contractor in NOVA?

I’d rec BMC Clower, but not sure how far into NoVA they go (in DC).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My TH is 2800 sq ft. I just added a second zone. Got 3 quotes that ranged between $15-$20k.

I’m glad I did it. Next up is replacing the windows.

Do you have 1 system zoned or two HVAC systems?

2 HVAC units. The main unit controls the basement and main floor. The upstairs unit in the attic controls the bedroom level. When the installed it, they put the duct work into the bedroom ceilings from the attic.

Anonymous wrote:My TH is 2800 sq ft. I just added a second zone. Got 3 quotes that ranged between $15-$20k.

I’m glad I did it. Next up is replacing the windows.

Do you have 1 system zoned or two HVAC systems?

I have 3800 SF and we have three zones. Each costs 12-15k to replace. I strongly recommend staggering installation of whatever you do! Doing it all at once would be ridiculous.

My TH is 2800 sq ft. I just added a second zone. Got 3 quotes that ranged between $15-$20k.

I’m glad I did it. Next up is replacing the windows.

My hike is about 4500 square feet. We have two zones but are thinking of a 3rd?

I spent a lot of money (about $15K) to add a second, upstairs zone. That included cutting off the main trunk line to the upstairs, installing a heat pump in the attic and connecting it to the existing vent and intake lines. It did not help. The heat pump seems to be under-powered and cannot seem to keep up. Although the heat pump is supposedly sized for the space, my theory is that hot air rises so the heat pump has to do a lot of the cooling in the house. So now, the heat pump is on all of the time and upstairs are never below 80. The installer warned us against getting a bigger heat pump because it would supposedly run ineffficiently

We added ours as part of a renovation so I can't give you the cost, but adding the second zone worked. We'd had people come out to look at things like attic fans before and no one thought any other solution would work. Now we can sleep upstairs on hot days - in the past there were some days we'd have to move to the basement.

I can tell you who NOT to use. Falco HVAC. Incompetent. We have a 2 zone and a large difference between air temps from room to room. Our closets have huge vents and our master has 2 little ones. They could never fix it and basically gave up. We now have to close off and reopen vents from the attic to keep the house comfortable. In the winter - we have to use a space heater in the master. Like I said - they are idiots.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our house is 2800 sq feet so this might not be an option but we modified the duct work and gave the upstairs it's own thermostat. We had the same problem and that fixed it for us. I think it cost $2500? I new unit would probably be well north of 10k but for 4000sq feet it might be the better bet.

I think what they added were dampers? Basically they open to the upstairs duct work when the upstairs thermostat kicks the system on.

We have the same issue. Our house is about 2200 square feet but it gets so hot in the summer. Who did you use and was it much better now that you did this? $2500 seems so reasonable. Who did you use?

I'm in Southern VA sorry! I think the cost was low because no ducts had to be added, they were able to work with what was there and just add dampers.

We are also looking to make improvements in our HVAC and are having a terrible time finding a reliable company to work with.

Can anyone recommend a great HVAC contractor in NOVA?

Anonymous wrote:Our house is 2800 sq feet so this might not be an option but we modified the duct work and gave the upstairs it's own thermostat. We had the same problem and that fixed it for us. I think it cost $2500? I new unit would probably be well north of 10k but for 4000sq feet it might be the better bet.

I think what they added were dampers? Basically they open to the upstairs duct work when the upstairs thermostat kicks the system on.

We have the same issue. Our house is about 2200 square feet but it gets so hot in the summer. Who did you use and was it much better now that you did this? $2500 seems so reasonable. Who did you use?

We are replacing the entire system , including new duct work - and adding a new second system for the 1st floor for $26,000.

Our house is 2800 sq feet so this might not be an option but we modified the duct work and gave the upstairs it's own thermostat. We had the same problem and that fixed it for us. I think it cost $2500? I new unit would probably be well north of 10k but for 4000sq feet it might be the better bet.

I think what they added were dampers? Basically they open to the upstairs duct work when the upstairs thermostat kicks the system on.

Our house is about 4000 sq feet with only one HVAC system. It's sweltering upstairs and freezing in the basement so I'm contemplating adding a second zone. How much would this run, besides the cost of a new AC? Or is there a better solution that others have utilized?