Ok, now have 2 more current quotes. Both recommended a gas furnace for the attic vs. the heat pump. Which I think we would prefer as our neighbor did what we are looking to do and says they are not happy with the heat upstairs. So now I have the following quoted for our upstairs unit: Company C: Bryant furnace: 353AAV036040 (37K BTU) 16SEER, 13.2 EER Bryant A/C: 126BNA024 - 2 Tons Full price (incl. electric, gas, etc) - $10,900 (less $300 rebate, less $750 BGE rebate , less $1500 tax credit) = $8350 comp D: Trane XL15i AC 4TTX5024A, 24K btu, 16SEER (shouldn't this quote tons?not btu's???) Trane XT80 gas furnace: TUD1B060A9H3 , 60K btu Price: $9875, less $350 BGE rebate (not sure why it's less than above), less $1500 tax credit = $8025 OR if we replace the furnace with the XL15i Trane heat pump ($6725 after credits) ---- re . our existing system: they did say our current unit will be oversized and they would add 3 supply vents to the basement and 1 return to compensate a bit for it... Existing furnace: 25 yr old -120 BTU. Existing A/C: 15 yr old. . - -3T Said when we go to replace these he would recommend 80 BTU and ~2.5T. Approx. total cost $5500. We are ok on the breaker panel-mentioned creating a 50amp subpanel to run existing and new system to. So.... any glaring problems?? seems the 2 companies recommended some inconsistent units re. BTUs. Still learning! Not so much concerned about a few hundred $ in quote difference. Mainly want to make sure we choose the right unit and get the proper venting/returns etc to have some comfort from both units! Thanks so much for your thoughts!

Bid: Trane 1 Trane 4TWB4024*1000*xXB14 Heat Pump 1 Trane XR Series 5 AirTite Air Handler High Eff Fan model GAM5A0B30M21SA 1 Trane TCONT802AS32DA Vision Pro Programmable Thermostat 1 10 KW Heat Strips (32800 BTUH) 1 Complete System 5 yr labor warranty 1 Copper insulated lineset (5/8 x 3/8 50 ft) 1 Trane BAYSEN02ATEMPA Outdoor temperature sensor 1 light weight concrete pad (Tom can do this instead of being billed for it) 1 PVC condensate drain 1 Ductwork and trim package 1 Venting package (bath & utility fans, dryer and range hood) 4 labor to install complete system Bid: Carrier Heat pump: Carrier 2.5 ton performance 15 series (25HPA530H) Furnace: Carrier variable speed air handler with 10 kw strip heat & coil (FV4CNF003) Thermostat: Carrier performance series Condensate: line to outside Ductwork: transitions and modifications Ductwork: supply air with registers in the floor. Insulated in unconditioned spaces at 11 locations Ductwork: Return air with filter rille. Insulated in unconditioned spaces one location. Exhaust: vent the range, dryer, bath and whole house (does not include fans or roof jacks) Warranty: 10 years parts ( when home owner registers within 90 days) 10 year compressor, 2 year labor and 2 year maintenance. We have a bid coming from the Brennan Heating & Air Conditioning. They sell the Lennox. Yes, we live in western Washington. We get snow in our area sometimes up to 3 ft. We will have all electric utilities. All bids have to have duct work installation. Also, what is your opinion on comparison of the Trane, Carrier and Lennox? I've noted what you've noted about the Trane. Isn't the Trane show a 4 ton Heat Pump? The Carrier quote has a 2.5 ton Heat Pump? Am I looking at it correctly? I want to thank you both for your input. This is my first time looking at these heating systems. I'm learning a lot. Barbara

tigerdunes - I have learned a lot from reading your postings on this forum and I appreciate your inputs. Your minimum specs list has already been very useful (though a lot of sales people really struggle to find answers about some of the items on that list), and IâÂÂm leaning now toward the XL15i instead of the $660 more expensive XL16i. I still havenâÂÂt completely ruled out Carrier and Rheem, but a neighbor has had a 4-ton Trane XL14i for over three years and I like the way it does not seem to have collected very many of the evergreen needles that are everywhere around here. I am curious though just why the XL16i has so much trouble with dehumidification, and whether that is important to our well-shaded house just outside of Seattle. We havenâÂÂt bothered to run our heat pump in cooling mode for at least the last decade, so I remain mostly concerned with heating performance and expect to use very little cooling. Also, is the XL16i any less reliable that the XL15i, or is it just (as I understand from other forum postings) that it is more complex to hook up and hence more prone to improper installation? I am also puzzled when I compare ARI heating performance of the XL15i and XL16i. At 47 degrees their ARI heat capacity and COP are identical, and at 17 degrees the 15i has only 1% more heat capacity. The 16i has the better 17 degree COP, 2.86 versus 2.82, but it falls down on HSPF to 8.50 versus 9.00 for the 15i. This seems to imply that the 16i spends more time in defrost mode, but I do not understand why. Returning of your spec list, I assume âÂÂstaged backup heat stripsâ refers to the capability to selectively turn on part instead of all of the backup heat? Our old heat pump has this feature, but I have yet to find a sales person who can tell be whether modern systems can do this. One issue is not really relevant until our new heat pump is being installed, but opinions about it are so amusingly diverse I cannot resist asking. Our power utility offers an extra rebate if we install a lockout control. What should it control? We have a lockout set at 32 degrees on our old heat pump and I understood it prevents the backup heat from coming unless the outdoor temperatures is below 32 degrees. The âÂÂenergy expertâ I talked to at our power company agreed, but said the lockout should also turn off the heat pump compressor at 32 degrees to âÂÂprevent a spike in our electric bill.â I recognize efficiency is down at that temperature, but unless there is a lot of icing up it still seems to make sense to run the compressor. Sale personnel were about evenly split whether the lockout should turn off the compressor. Is there any clear answer on this?

Thanks PC. Doesn't look too bad....we've already got an estimate from an electrician so that shock is over. :)