Maybe I wasn't so fussy about slow growth when I was 9 years old in Westchester :-) But I do remember that I didn't pay any attention to the seasons when planting seeds. I remember when much of Torrance and surrounding areas were farmland. My older brother remembers Westchester being surrounded by crop land. In late 1957 we moved from Westchester to La Mirada. At that time, we had a clear view from the Santa Fe RR tracks all the way down to Long Beach! The view was mostly dairies. In fact, there was a community called Dairy Valley just southwest of us.

The independent HVAC company that deals mainly with American Standard equipment is telling me this (will send quote via e-mail later this week): 1. Need 3.5 ton unit because new refrigerant 410A is not as cold as R-22. Also, insulation in older homes in Southern California is not good, so need stronger ac unit. 2. He says that he doesn't need to do a Manual J. His 25 years of experience says to stay with 3.5 ton unit. Also, recommends replacing evap coils and furnace. 3. Noticed that existing furnace is upright/standing rather than laying flat. He's the 2nd guy to shake his head at the way it's installed. He says it's not efficient to put a furnace upright and the evap coils on the side of the upgright furnace. 4. He doesn't work with rebates, so he doesn't want to bring outside company to test energy efficiency prior and after install. He says the extra money you spend on trying to qualify for a rebate is a waste and not worth in the long run. I told him that the Costco affiliated company will do rebates and will test. He says California is going broke and probably no money for rebates. He also said that I need a 90% efficient furnace to qualify for rebates. 5. Asked if I wanted to get the permits myself. Kept saying that city is likely to ask me to move outside condenser due to its closeness to new pool. I told him I got permits 4 years ago for pool and pool equipment and city approved the location of pool and pool equipment and a/c unit was there already. 6. Says to use existing ducts and vents/registers. Will probably use same lineset since it will outlast my lifetime. 7. This guy is the actual installer. Company is so busy, they couldn't send me the salesperson. He came from finishing an install at another house. ----------------------------------------- Costco affiliated HVAC company (www.airtro.com) will also send me quote via e-mail tonight or tomorrow. Sent the salesman who says he'll be the supervisor for the job at the start. 1. Says that I can go with 3 ton a/c unit with new evap coils. Keep lineset. Says that double-pane windows help. Says Fraser-Johnson was low end unit. Says Lennox is much better. 2. Says furnace should not be upright in attic and says it's a bad installation. Recommends new furnace. 3. Permits will cost about $200 to pull. 4. Will bring a company to test ducts/energy efficiency to qualify for best possible rebate amount(probably $1500). Can't promise, but says that's his company has not been denied a rebate yet. They will do all the paperwork. 5. Recommends new ducts and a new vent/register in kitchen. Recommends dampers in ducts to evenly distribute air. Says some existing ducts are the rigid ones and might have moved/shifted over time, so he's certain that I'm losing 30% of air. $2000 to do all new ducts. 6. Problem is he only offers Lennox Merit equipment for $7000, $2000 for ducts, $200 for permits. I'm expecting a detailed quote. He says equipment is the best in the industry. 1-year labor warranty and the standard 5-year equipment warranty on the a/c unit from Lennox. I can upgrade to Lennox Elite for $2000 more, but it's a 2-stage system that I don't want. Did not recommend anything outside of the Costco price list. 7. Showed me awards from Angie's list and local newspaper, BBB certificate, insurance coverage, etc. True salesperson. My overall impression is that the American Standard independent installer seemed to say that he's been doing this for xx years and he knows what's best for me. Don't need rebates and don't need permits. That's what it felt like, but I told him I want permits. I told him I want all American Standard equipment like the Gold SI compressor, matching coils to maximize SEER, and a compatible AS furnace at 80% efficiency. The Costco affiliated company wants to charge me for a full-system (cut-in) which includes new ducts, new registers, new equipment, etc. I think that he wants to put a new register in the kitchen to justify the $2000 duct charge on the price list. I felt that this salesperson was recommending the package rather than my needs. He did have a checklist of items to go over, so it felt like we had a more complete conversation minus a technical discussion on how to ensure that all the Lennox components fit my needs and achieve the best possible SEER. I think that after reading so many posts here and getting so much advice, I was expecting more. I suppose that I'll find out more when I get the quotes via e-mail and see how detailed they are. Also, I'll see how they respond once i start making changes to the equipment based on opinions from this board.

I stumbled across this posting while learning a bit more about LowE3, and just can't walk away without a comment. First of all, I am part owner of a window company in the Seattle, Washington area. I'm not trying to drum up business, and we only do apartment and condominium buildings anyhow. For a house-package, I don't think that homeowners should be paying any more than $700 per window. That leaves more than plenty of money in the contractor's hands for a job well-done. If a sales'man' pulls out any weasel words like, 'this price is just for today.', or, 'ok, then how about this new lower price?', then tell them to 'GET the *&^% out of MY *&^% HOUSE!' These are not humans, and they are not redeemable in the context that they should be anywhere near your windows. They're crooks who'll sell out their own grandmothers if they can make a dollar. The same thing goes for anyone who stays for hours while trying to make the pitch and get you to sign a contract right then and right there. A decent contractor has respect, and an indecent one has no business being in business and should be told so at every stop. My other suggestions: Get a comprehensive list of the last ten jobsites of all non-crook companies, and go drive by them to make sure that their installation looks most-excellent. Check their insurance, bond, license info out at your state's government websites. Google their names and try to find any complaints about them. Please do your homework. Don't be too rushed to realize that you'll be living with your new windows (be they good or bad) for many years to come. -John

I don't have my resource material right now (it'll be a few days), but if you e-mail me I have a couple of names I can pass along who might be able to do it.