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Show Central cooling systems must fit each home Don't look for a "standard price" when you go shopping for a central air-conditioning system. The Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute says there is no such thing, and anybody who offers one may well be viewed with skepticism. A central air-conditioning system, ARI says, has to be tailored to fit the needs of a particular house. The size of equipment needed, the type of system best suited, the suitability suitabil-ity of existing ducts, or the size and location of new ones if required- -all these and other things have to be determined by the contractor before he can offer a firm price. In addition, he must study the size and layout lay-out of the house, check the insulation, in-sulation, note the location of doors and windows, and find out if trees and shrubbery protect pro-tect the house against sun heat. For these reasons, according to ARI, the only firm price a home owner can get for a central cen-tral cooling system is one that is given after the contractor has made an on-the-spot inspection. in-spection. And for the same reasons, ARI points out that it can offer only broad guidelines to the cost of a central system. For example, a system for a normal-size, three-bedroom home can cost less than $1,000 if the house has adequately-sized existing ducts, and if there are no unusual problems in installing install-ing the equipment. If ducts must be installed, costs will rise. If you want a hydronic cooling system that is, ;a system which cools by circulating cir-culating chilled water through pipes be prepared to pay a substantially higher price. ARI says that you may be able to save money and get prompter service if you time your installation work in the fall or winter when contractors are less busy than they are in the spring and summer. And of course it's less expensive to have central air conditioning installed as a home is built. .There are several ways in which you can approach the job of picking a contractor, says ARI. One is to ask neighbors neigh-bors and friends for recommendations. recom-mendations. Another is to ask a contractor for the names of people for whom he has installed in-stalled equipment, then contact con-tact them to find out if they are happy with the job. Still a third way is to telephone two or three contractors and ask them if they will inspect your home and submit a written estimate. es-timate. When you have the estimates in hand, you can choose your contractor and when you are judging the estimates, esti-mates, ARI points out, it is best to note whether the contractor con-tractor plans to install equipment equip-ment certified by ARI. Ask the contractor to show you the listing for the equipment equip-ment he has specified in the ARI Certification Directory. If the' equipment is certified and displays the blue-and-white ARI Seal of Certification, you are assured that it has been manufactured in accordance with industry-wide standards of quality, and has been made available for testing of its cooling capacity and performance perform-ance under specified test conditions. con-ditions. If you get certified equipment, equip-ment, plus a skilled, competent contractor, the chances are that you'll end up with an efficient ef-ficient central air-conditioning system. Getting the right srze of equipment for a central air-conditioning system is vital, and requires the services of a qualified quali-fied engineer or contractor. |