We use natural gas for heating. For my new house it is a 5 ton Trane. Natural gas is cheaper than electricity here although last 8 years, the natrual gas price increased a lot compare with electricity. Our electricity is cheap, too due to hydro power clsoe by (the electricity company just ask for a rate increase to 10c/kwh including everything). So if we use 500kwh per month, the cost is about $50. By the way, during summer with AC on, I might hit $60 to $70. Once hydro power settlement is done for NW, the electricity rate would be drop again (15% rebate to private utility customer). But natural gas is still slightly cheaper (about 85% of electricity in same kwh energy, used to be only 50%). During winter, we do need heating on all the time. This could run the gas bill from $50 (summer time) to $170+ peak (winter time) per month. I have to live in the house for more than 10years to consider heat pump or high efficient AC. Thanks for suggestion anyway. So anyone can comment between Ruud AC and Trane XB13?

Here are two AHRI matches which has the 60,000 BTU furnace which will provide achieve a SEER of 14 (last number in the string). 4816242 Active Systems COMFORT 13 PURON AC CARRIER AIR CONDITIONING 24ABB342A50 CNPH*4321A** 59*P5A060E17**14 41500 11.50 14.00 4816334 Active Systems COMFORT 13 PURON AC CARRIER AIR CONDITIONING 24ABB342A60 CNPH*4321A** 59*P5A060E17**14 41500 11.50 14.00 The 59TP5 furnace is multi-speed and not variable speed. There are many more matches using a different coil model which will produce a SEER of 13.7. You are not going to notice a difference in your electric bills between a SEER of 13.7 and 14.0. An over sized furnace will be constantly cycling and run inefficiently. You are much better off having the proper sizes at slightly lower efficiency. I don't understand his point about the 90% furnace and venting. He is going to have to explain this to you in detail. My advice is to meet with this contractor in person and go over all the options. The first priority is properly sized and installed equipment. You can achieve a higher SEER but it is going to require a more expensive furnace and AC condenser. I get the impression this contractor does not want to spend time analyzing the furnace and AC combinations to find something that would be the best fit. Perhaps the builder is squeezing him on the price and he feels it is not worth his time and effort. I feel your frustration as I would also be very frustrated.

Heres a Link: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/saving-energy-manual-j-and-manual-d Even when they do the calculations, the results are usually wrong In his posted comment, Bailes raised an interesting point: the problem of “garbage in, garbage out” (GIGO) Manual J calculations. Several energy experts have commented on the GIGO problem, including John Proctor, Hank Rutkowski, and Allison Bailes. Hank Rutkowski, the mechanical engineer who wrote the original Manual J document, was recently interviewed for a profile posted on the Green Building Talk Web site. The piece notes, “Rutkowski estimates that only 10% of heating and cooling equipment sizing decisions are based on some type of Manual J calculation and that less than 1% of the jobs are based on an aggressive implementation of the recommended design procedures.” Rutkowski explains the GIGO problem this way: “Manual J is a good tool if you use it aggressively. Follow the rules and it will give you a reasonable margin of safety. But the average contractor says, ‘Better safe than sorry,’ so he fudges here and there. He adds 5 to 10 degrees to the summer and winter design temperatures, calls the building ‘average’ instead of ‘tight’ and doesn't take credit for shading by interior blinds and drapes. Then when he finally comes up with a load number for sizing, he throws in an extra half-ton of AC just for the heck of it.” For a high-performance home, sizing by Manual J may still result in oversizing Several years ago, I had a conversation with building scientist Joe Lstiburek about air conditioners installed in Building America homes in Las Vegas. “HVAC designers are committed to the institutional oversizing of air conditioning equipment,” Lstiburek told me. “The average system is sized at 150% to 200% of the requirements of Manual J. They oversize because they don’t know what they will get for a building envelope, and to compensate for duct leakage and inappropriate refrigerant charge. If you size according to Manual J, there is already a fudge factor built in. But most designers then add another fudge factor.” According to Lstiburek, their experience proved the high-performance Building America homes in Las Vegas could have had HVAC systems sized at about 60% of Manual J. To be conservative, his team recommended installing systems sized at 80% of Manual J. Does oversizing matter? There are strong arguments against routine oversizing of HVAC equipment. The best argument is simple: oversized equipment usually costs more than right-sized equipment. Oversized equipment suffers from short cycling. For example, an oversized furnace brings a home up to temperature quickly, and then shuts off. A few minutes later, it comes on again, only to shut off quickly. Many homeowners find the see-saw sound of a short-cycling furnace to be annoying. When air conditioners short cycle, the units don't run long enough to achieve much dehumidification ��" at least in theory. (During the first few minutes of operation, an air conditioner cools a house. But not enough moisture has collected on the cold coil or on the pan below for any water to have actually gone down the drain. When the air conditioner turns off, all of the moisture in the pan and on the coil just re-evaporates.) The conventional wisdom may be wrong, however Increasing evidence shows that energy experts have exaggerated the negative effects of equipment oversizing, however. Studies have confirmed that oversized furnaces don't use any more energy than right-sized furnaces. Moreover, newer modulating or two-speed furnaces operate efficiently under part-load conditions, solving any possible problems from furnace oversizing. Although there are ample reasons to believe that oversized air conditioners are less effective than right-sized equipment at dehumidification, at least one field study was unable to measure any performance improvements or energy savings after replacing an existing oversized air conditioner with a new right-sized unit. The bottom line The main reason to choose right-sized equipment is to avoid paying too much money for equipment you don't need. A Manual J calculation will ensure you don't spend more than necessary for your furnace, boiler, or air conditioner. Moreover, a Manual J calculation will provide room-by-room heat loss and heat-gain information that is essential to good duct design. Without good duct design, you're running the risk of comfort complaints.

Would like to see some mdl numbers both condenser and air handler. Goodman 13 SEER HPs are low end. there are three equally important components-quality HVAC, the install by dealer, and probably the most overlooked and disregarded is the ductwork system. these are my minimum specs for a new HP system. both outside and inside units should be replaced to have a properly matched system. 15 SEER, 12.5+ EER, 9 HSPF best matching VS air handler full BTUs in both cooling and heating for your rated size R-410a refrigerant(same as Puron) scroll compressor preferred electronic demand defrost preferred thermostat with "dehumidify on demand" feature staged backup heat strips new and correctly sized refrigerant line set you want a thorough inspection of your ductwork system. size, overall condition, supply and return lines, insulation qualities, leak test, etc. any hot/cold spot issues in your home should be addressed. I would only use authorized dealers for the various brands that provide quotes. see mfg websites. I would look at Trane/AmStd,Rheem/Rudd,Carrier/Bryant. Depending on your location, I would not purchase a new HP system that did not have electronic demand defrost. IMO