Once again, the installers showed up promptly at 8:00 a.m., having loaded up and driven an hour just to get here to get started. They got to work immediately in the hopes that they could have the project finished up, QC done, and have us a working system by quitting time. They jumped right in, with most of the work involving the air handler, mounting the humidifier, and completing all of the electrical connections. About noon, the breakers were switched back on. Then the system communication was establish and the system was configured at the thermostat. They updated the thermostat software, completed all testing, double checked the installation, and began cleaning up.
In the meantime, an “install coordinator” showed up (around 1 p.m.). He had the paperwork, so we took care of that and then spent the next two hours in orientation and training of the system. No stone was left unturned. He showed me all of the workings and programming of the thermostat. Then we went to the air handler and he showed me how to clean the filters and how the humidifier worked. He also showed me the cutoffs for the air handler, in case they are needed. Then we went outside and looked at the workings of the condenser unit. After that, it was Q&A for awhile, talk about the warranty and what would happen at the service visits (two years worth of semi-annual checkups were included in the package).
Everything worked great and the system had the house down to normal temp and humidity by the time they left. After they left, I programmed the thermostat to our liking, added my SD card with photos, got the system connected to my home network, registered the system, and connected the system via Nexia, for remote control.
The installers left around 3 p.m and I finished programming a couple of hours later. In all, I calculate that on-site man-hours totaled 30, with an additional 6 hours in travel time. I don’t know about staging, loading equipment, unloading and disposing of old equipment, etc., but that had to be a few hours in addition. For anyone contemplating such an installation, remember that the installation is of equal importance (if not greater importance) to the equipment selection. Your equipment is only going to be as effective as the installation. In my case, Lanz Heating & Cooling (Champaign, Illinois) did a stellar job from start to finish.
In my next posting, I’ll comment on the system itself, in case anyone else is interested in a similar system.
Here are some pics of the finished product (click on the photo for a full-size version):
This is the all-aluminum coil module inside the air handler.
This is the finished installation of the air handler with humidifier and air cleaning system.
Closeup view of the humidifier (on the left) and the filtration system.
Trane XL950 communicating thermostat, wall mounted view
Closeup of the XL950 thermostat screen
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.