At 22 years old the AC is beyond its expected life time. The furnace at 15 years could last a few more years, or you may encounter an expensive repair some time soon.

You have the luxury of shopping around for new equipment. This will allow you time to select a good contractor who can address your concerns.

I have the Carrier Infinity furnace and condensers. Included with my installation is a 10 year parts and labor warranty from Carrier. In anything breaks down it is covered at no cost. If you have concerns about reliability, then choose a good installer with one of the major brands (Carrier, Trane, Rheem, Lennox). If the installation is done correctly you will be good to go for many years.

I would definitely consider replacing your A/C. Thats old and in-efficient.

A 92% furnace is efficieint. If its loud its possible the blower setting can be lowered a bit. That certainly can help.

When you do replace your A/C consider upgrading to a heatpump. They don't cost alot more. Then you will have dual fuel. This is a very efficient way of heating your home and can protect you against price spikes in-case gas gets expensive again. Heatpumps produce cheap and comfy heat when its say '30' and above. Its not dry or too hot. Its warm so the cycles are longer and you have even heat. Its nice to have the natural gas backup for when the weather is snow or sleet or extra cold.

Its up to you regarding replacing the gas furnace. Gas furnaces can last a long time sometimes. I didn't replace my gas furnace when I upgraded my central Air to a heatpump. A new gas-furnace air-handler might be a little quieter though.

Since your not in a big hurry, I would consider waiting until after the weather gets mild and HVAC people slow-down. You will probably be able to get a better price.

Sounds like good advice from the both of you.

Do you think hvac is made as good as it was 20 years ago? Hate to be so cynical but that is something we are thinking about.

I honestly do. Things are enginnered to be simpler and better these days. Not to mention more efficient. Lot more technology today then in the past. This helps to make things done better and smarter. Better designs.

You should not have a problem if you stay away from the builder's grade furnace. For example Carrier makes four lines of furnaces (Infinity, Performance, Comfort, Base). The Base models are the least expensive. The least expensive components are used. It keeps the cost down, but reliability will be compromised.

When you say your furnace is "loud" what exactly is loud?

The air in the ducts, the sound of it running, or the sound it makes turning on?

Be sure to let your dealers that quote to you HEAR what it is you don't like, so that can be addressed.

Also, you will likely have some significant energy savings, especially running your AC, which is certainly a benefit to upgrading.

mn-houses:

I agree that equipment has come a long way in terms of function and technology, though I'm not sure I agree that it's built any better than it was in the 80s. If anything probably cheaper. Customers want lower prices and manufacturers want lower overhead so that they can provide equipment at lower prices.

The Lennox and Trane units from the 80s were built like tanks. Many still in operation today. Not sure if today's equipment is built with that level of quality in mind any more.

plinko, I just replaced a 30 year old Seer 8 GE AC unit. I live in NC and probably used my AC a lot more than you do, and the only reason I replaced it was because it failed and I knew that I shouldn't put a single penny into repairing it. I can assure you that the materials used to build that unit were of higher quality than what was used in my new Carrier heat pump, so I can understand your position. I would get a reputable contractor to come out and discuss the temperature issue you have with your furnace and see what the repair options are. You could probably keep the systems for a few more years if its a simple fan speed change or addressing some ductwork issues. It's nice to have a new system, but it's also nice to take care of what you have and just use it to the fullest.

Julie, I'd say the loudness is probably 80% from air going through the ducts. We are mostly in the living room and the furnace is right below us. Contractors tell us the ducts are good.

Tmgeorgo, we actually had the same company who installed the 15 year old furnace and no mention by them of workaround solutions. Maybe I should mention it again and just replace the a/c.

All: the temp diff upstairs is not that big of a deal for us and I suppose some more work on insulation could help.

Appreciate the perspectives on older vs newer equipment.

I think we ruled out a new furnace. Economically speaking, the biggest savings we are going to have is going to come from riding out this furnace as long as we can.