Derek Cole explains why your AC indoor and outdoor units must match: mismatched SEER ratings won't deliver the higher efficiency and can cost you more in energy bills and repairs. He also breaks down why home warranties often delay service and why manufacturers require AHRI-certified pairs.
Questions this video answers
It is technically possible but not recommended; the system will not achieve 13 SEER performance because the indoor unit limits efficiency, and mismatched components can cause future problems.
No, performance will not improve; proper matching of tonnage and SEER is required, and larger indoor coils are used only when paired with higher‑SEER outdoor units per manufacturer guidelines.
Derek explains that his company’s Direct Energy‑backed warranty provides faster, on‑the‑spot service, and he recommends focusing on customer‑first service rather than relying on slower third‑party warranties.
No; home inspectors typically do not check model/serial numbers for AHRI matching—they focus on overall home condition.
Derek says he would take his laptop/work bag, prioritizing his computer and work materials.
Chapters
Hey, on this episode I'm talking about should the units match in my house, outdoor, indoor, to get the right sear. And the personal question of the day: what would I take out of my house if it was burning? You ask your comfort and energy questions and they get answered. This is the Ask Derrick Cole Show. Hey, this is Derrick Cole. Welcome to episode 54. Hey, this is— I need like a sign up here. Hey, this is Derrick Cole. Welcome to episode 54 of the Ask Derrick Cole Show, answering your home energy and apparently lately personal questions. I guess I can help with that as well. But today we have questions from one person because it was quite a few questions, but I want to cover all of them because I think it's all good material for you to have.
Can a 13 SEER condenser be used with a 10 SEER air handler?
Do they have to match? It can be used. It is possible. I would not recommend it and we do not do it. All of our systems we install match. So if we install a 13 SEER unit, then we have a matching indoor section for the outdoor section. So it is a 13 SEER, 14 SEER, 15 SEER, 16 SEER. We put matching components together because that's the way the manufacturer has made it to happen. A 13 SEER outdoor unit with a 10 SEER indoor unit What has happened there is something happened to the outdoor unit. So instead of replacing both pieces, the individual replaced the outdoor section with a 13 SEER system and left the indoor section. So now we have an unmatched system. So it's not going to be a 13 SEER system because the capacity of the indoor section is at 10 SEER. So it's not going to get to 13 SEER. To get the 13 SEER, you have to have a number of things. One is a matching fan coil, a bigger indoor coil. And to get the 14 SEER, 15 SEER, you need to have an expansion— thermal expansion device, TXV— for that to happen. So it's never going to get to 13 SEER with that old indoor section. I mean, you could put a 16 SEER outdoor unit, but you feel okay, but it's still not going to happen. So I would— we would never do that. I would never recommend that being done because you have a mismatched system and you're asking for more trouble than to just do it right the first time. I think I might have said last episode or one before, heating and air is one of those It's one of those deals where you're either going to pay for it now or pay for it later. So if you do a quick patch or a quick fix to try to save money, you're actually going to spend more money on energy costs, repairs, because now you have a mismatched system and you're going to have trouble with that as well. So yeah, you save money by not changing out the indoor at that time, But you're causing more problems because you're not getting 13 SEER, which is what you paid for, for the outdoor unit. I would not recommend it all the way around.
Will it perform any better with a 2.5-ton condenser and a 3.5-ton air handler both being 10 SEER?
No, it would not perform any better or anything different than what you had before, if I heard that right. The reason you have in some situations— we'll take our situation. So to get to a 14 SEER at this point, we have a 14 SEER condensing unit and we have probably a half a ton bigger air handler to match to get to a 14 SEER. Bigger coil, bigger space, more efficient. So that is why that is done. There's been situations where we've had to install a— it's a 3-ton capacity system, so we had to install a 3-ton outdoor unit but a 5-ton indoor unit to get to an 18 SEER or 17 SEER, whatever we're trying to reach. It can be more efficient to have a larger indoor unit now. The capacity is still 3 tons, but it works more efficiently with that setup. So it is still a match for the manufacturer because that's what they recommend to get to that seer. You need to put this indoor unit with this outdoor unit. But she has, it sounds like, a 10 seer, 2.5-ton outdoor unit and a 3.5-ton or 3-ton? 3.5-ton indoor unit. If they're both 10 SEER, then, you know, maybe that's what they had to do to get 10 SEER at that point. I don't— I'm not sure. It does depend on horizontal, vertical, upflow, downflow, how the fan coil is sitting to get to specific efficiencies. I mean, look, it's not— it's not a commodity, okay? We're not selling boxes. I mean, anybody can put the box in. But to engineer it correctly and to actually get what you pay for takes a professional. So that is why we're here. We do what we do. We've been here 62 years for a reason. It's not by accident. We do things correctly. So yes, if we need a 3-ton 14 SEER unit and we have to install a 3.5-ton fan coil in that application to make it a 14 SEER, That's what we do. So you're just not changing out boxes. It's not a commodity. I mean, heating and air, your heating and air is one of the largest energy consumers in your house. So it's very important to get it done right and get it done correctly because these things cost quite a bit of money. So you want to make sure it's done right. You want to make sure you have somebody to stand behind it.
What should I do if my home warranty will not cover the repairs because of bad installation?
Let me tell you about home warranties. We deal with home warranties. Our parent company, Direct Energy, owns Home Warranty of America. So we offer what's called protection plans to the consumer that's backed by this, by our basically home warranty company. They will do what we ask, what we tell them needs to be done for the customer to get them right. Okay, so we have no trouble with them. Now the other cats, they won't— you get a 1-year home warranty when you buy a new house for a reason. Okay. They give it to you and then they want you to renew it. Now, so I've talked to many people and they have a home warranty. "Hey, I have a home warranty, gotta pay my $70 deductible, gotta go do this." Okay, great. They'll be there in 3 days. I said, "3 days? We can be there today. I can actually be there this afternoon. I mean, call us." "Yeah, but I have a home warranty." What's better? I mean, the To have a home warranty, I have to wait 2 or 3 days to get somebody to respond? And I'll tell you exactly why we stopped dealing with home warranties. It's because we place that phone call, "Hey, this customer, hey Megan, she needs a capacitor." So they say, "How much is the capacitor?" And we tell them, we say, "Hey." They'll say, "We can ship you a capacitor and it'll be there a couple days." That's how we approve it. And we say, no thank you. We have a capacitor on this truck. The technician is at the house. We can do it right now. The customer is without heating or air conditioning. Why would we wait 2 or 3 days to get your part to install it for you and leave the customer without heating and air for 2 or 3 days? We're right here. We can do it now. Our problem with that is that it takes you out of the equation because we're all about customer service. So that's why we can get you that day. That's why we can fix you that day. 87% of the time we can fix you the same day. Home warranties don't provide that because it costs a little bit extra. Yes, we're not Joe and the Truck, we're not Do We Cheat 'Em and How, we're not Butt Crap Mechanical. We do cost a little more money than the guy on the side,, but we provide the service the customer needs and the customer wants. Home warranty companies historically have not been that way. Now ours, our HWA, that's owned by Direct Energy, that owns 1 Hour Heating and Air, they do it because that is who we are, that is what we're about. So your home warranty will not cover because of the bad installation. I rather err on the side of the customer and have them happy and then worry about us. Because if I take care of you, you will take care of us. I want all the consumers to understand what the play is here. I mean, home warranties are a good deal for a reason. I mean, Lowe's and Home Depot are a good deal for a reason. The guy, the one-man truck operation, is a good deal Maybe for a reason. They're cheaper for a reason. I mean, it's kind of like going to the grocery store and looking at, okay, do I want the Tylenol brand or do I want the Equate? They both do the same thing. So I mean, that's kind of what we're looking at here. But you know, Tylenol has all the marketing behind it, so it's a little more expensive. It's a brand. It knows what it's doing. It's been around for a long time. You know what? When one person got sick off of their medication and they had an error, guess what Tylenol did? They wiped every Tylenol off the shelf in the world. That's the difference. Do you want the last part? Yeah.
Okay, so is this something that the home inspector should have caught? Because she's saying The home inspector just came out when they bought their home, turned it on, turned it off, said it works, didn't check serial numbers or see if anything actually matched.
No, the home inspector is not going to look up the model serial number of your indoor and your outdoor unit to make sure it is an AHRI match. They're not going to do that.
Okay, that was just her last part.
Yeah, they're not going to do that. They want to check the home, make sure everything's good to go. All right, personal question of the day. It's gonna be a lot of editing in there. Okay, if you had to evacuate your house immediately, what is one thing you would grab on the way out? We're assuming that— we're assuming my family's out of the house.
Yes, yes, everyone's present and accounted for, even Jake the dog.
Um, no matter how much you want to leave him in the house. What's one belonging I would take out of the house? Pretty much. Um, probably my computer. My laptop. I would probably grab my laptop work bag. As I, you know, just to make sure.
Okay.
That's hard. I'd probably stand there for a minute and be like, Yeah, probably I wouldn't grab like a TV or the Xbox or anything. I would probably grab my work bag right here, my 1-hour bag, and all right, we're leaving. All right, so ask your home energy, heating and air, and personal questions #AskDerekCole and we'll get them on the show. Dating advice. We're here for you.
