Air Conditioning Installation in Swarthmore, PA
Two very different jobs travel under this heading around Swarthmore. One is putting cooling into a house that has never had any, usually a radiator house with no ductwork to build on. The other is replacing a retrofit that went in twenty or thirty years ago, where duct exists but was never especially generous. The mistake is treating the second one as a simple swap.
Both start by looking at the building rather than at the data plate on the old unit. Estimates for installation and replacement are free, and we quote from 630 Fairview Rd #110 in Swarthmore.
Three routes into a house with no ductwork
Conventional ducted cooling needs somewhere to run a trunk and its branches, which in a tall older house usually means an attic air handler and a chase borrowed from a closet on each floor. High velocity small duct systems trade a little noise and a higher fan power for two inch flexible tubing that threads through existing framing with far less demolition. Ductless puts the equipment in the rooms themselves and touches the plaster in only a handful of places. Which one is right depends on the house, on how much disruption you will accept, and on which rooms genuinely need cooling.
Bigger is the wrong instinct
The most common error in a replacement is fitting whatever tonnage came out, or a size up because the house never felt comfortable. Pulling moisture out of the air takes run time. Equipment with more capacity than the house needs satisfies the thermostat quickly, shuts down, and never runs long enough to dehumidify, which is how you end up with rooms that are cold and clammy at once. A load calculation covering the actual construction, glazing, orientation and whatever insulation has been added over the years is what prevents it.
The parts of the job that are not the box
- ✓A load calculation on the building as it stands, not a rule of thumb per square foot
- ✓Return air capacity, which is what most retrofits are genuinely short of
- ✓Line set condition and length, and whether an existing set can honestly be reused
- ✓Condensate routing, a secondary pan and a float switch over any finished ceiling
- ✓A dedicated circuit at the correct breaker size, and whether the panel can carry it
- ✓An outdoor location with room to breathe and no noise aimed at a neighbour's window
What can be kept and what cannot
Old line sets and old duct are sometimes reusable and sometimes not. Residue left in a set that spent decades on R-22 is not always compatible with current refrigerants and oils, and duct that was marginal for the outgoing system will be worse for anything moving more air. We tell you which parts of what is already there are worth keeping and which are quietly capping the new equipment, before an order goes in rather than after the first hot week.
What happens at the estimate
We look at the electrical panel, the intended positions for indoor and outdoor equipment, the route refrigerant lines and condensate will take, the return air arrangement, and the rooms people actually complain about. Then you get a scope naming the equipment and stating what the work includes. We install all major residential brands, including Lennox, Carrier, Trane and Goodman.
Swarthmore AC Installation — Questions We Get
Can I get central air without taking the house apart?
Usually yes, though not always with conventional duct. High velocity small duct systems use two inch flexible tubing that threads through existing framing, and ductless needs only a small penetration per head. Both were developed for exactly this problem, and in a plastered older house they often finish better than a conventional retrofit would.
Do I have to give up my radiators to get cooling?
No. A cooling-only system sits alongside hydronic heat perfectly well, and for many houses here that is the sensible arrangement. The boiler carries the winter, the cooling system carries the summer, and neither has to compromise for the other.
How do you decide what size system I need?
By calculating the load for your building as it actually is, room by room, rather than by matching the old unit. Orientation, glazing, insulation and air leakage all move the answer, and in older houses that have been improved over the years the correct size is often smaller than what came out.
Can my existing line set and ductwork be reused?
Sometimes. The line set depends on its length, its condition and what refrigerant it previously carried, since old residue is not always compatible with new equipment. The duct depends on whether it can move the air the new system needs, which we measure rather than estimate. We tell you either way before you commit.
What is a high velocity system actually like to live with?
It cools evenly and dehumidifies well, because it moves a smaller volume of air at a lower temperature through many small outlets. The trade-offs are honest ones: it is not silent, and the fan uses more power than a conventional system. In a house where conventional duct would cost you closets on three floors, most people take that trade.
Is the estimate genuinely free?
For installation and replacement, yes, including the survey work behind it. What is not free is a diagnostic call on a system that has already broken down, which is a separate service and is quoted to you up front. The two visits have different purposes and we keep them separate.
Who serves Swarthmore
Swarthmore calls are handled out of our Swarthmore office at 630 Fairview Rd #110, Swarthmore, PA 19081. Call (610) 424-6275 — we answer 24 hours a day.