I would pay $100 for Trane's Perfect Fit Media filter Cabinet. It is very heavy duty compared to the Honeywell and sized to fit the furnace like a hand fits a glove. Less about the filters and more about the fit and quality of cabinet. I do believe the Trane takes a 5" filter, the HW a 4" filter. BTW, I have the Trane. Very easy to replace old filter. As far as thermostat, first choice would be HW VP Prestige IAQ, 2nd choice would be HW Mdl 8321 (same as Trane 803).. I like the IAQ because it is a true two stage thermostat, has dehumidify on demand feature for AC cooling, and can handle the control of an add on HW humidifier. Discuss carefully with your dealer. This is a nice system you are getting. The AHRI directory site is down for maintenance or else I would look up the matching AHRI number. I would ask dealer to give you the matching number and the performance/efficiency numbers for AC. Still believe you should get a quote on a Carrier Infinity. IMO

Tiger, my conflict is because I know I am being overcharged due to the rebate program. I resent that and just want a fair deal. I know that I am "losing" part of my rebate to the contractor who leaves me with just enough to make me think its a good deal because of the great financing. It is the financing which has made me decide to do it, that plus the attic sealing and insulation which I would probably not otherwise do. I ask a lot of questions because I like to be informed. Not really sure if heat pump will be worth it here either. They claim my energy "savings" will be an additional 5% or so, though a contractor not in the program told me they will manipulate numbers to make it work. Because the heat pump is slightly more efficient in my case I get a $1000 higher rebate, so my net cost is Actually the same. This is because the non hp option uses a more efficient hot water heater (needed for the program) that they are charging 400 more for, AND the rebate is 1000 lower. With those 2 choices the hp makes sense. It would make even more sense if the upgrade cost was not $1500. I could go tankless with non hp, get the full rebate, but cost is 500 more than hp. Figured I am more likely to see savings on the hp so not spending the extra 500. Anyway, after this heat wave i totally see the value in getting my attic done, so even though I will not be fully realizing the amazing 5000 rebate I will probably do it. My ac, in it's 16th year, had a hard time getting below 75 on these hot days, even the ones only in the low 90's. I'm sure it will be going in the next year or two. Neighbor paid 9200 beforerebates for a Lennox xc17 with an 80% furnace. I figure my higher eff furnace would cost more and so would a heat pump, but I know Amana would be cheaper than Lennox, based on that i think the 9200 is a reasonable cost to compare.... I will be spending about 11k for the Amana system, with a new power vent hwh and insulation and air sealing. I think that is reasonable (though I'd prefer a different brand ). I also think my price should be closer to 9k after rebates and that I am getting "only" 2000-2500 value of the 5000 rebate. I am also getting excellent financing. The dealer did do my audit and spend time getting my estimates together and revising them.....not 2500 worth of work. Decided to just do it if I can get the price dif between hp and not-hp lowered. I know you think I'm a pain, but what would you do? Would you accept a price you know is very high or keep asking questions? You have to,admit the price of 11800 is very high for Amana Aszc16 and Amvc95. (4 ton, 90k btu) Does any of that explain why I am conflicted? I am not normally difficult, only when I sense something is not right. Lucky for me when I buy cars there are sites to tell me what is fair and reasonable....being educated is my best option. I could just get an hvac but I don't see us ever forking out the $ for the attic work,separately, and I know it should be done. The attic must be done to get rebate so may as well do it. I hope you can see I am moving toward a decision. I don't want to bother getting more prices. I trust this co and now want to get the best deal that is reasonable from them. Just really wondering at this point how much wiggle room there might be on the Amana set up. The carrier is 2k more and I just don't see the value in it.

Thank you all for your replies. I did download the installation manual, and after mapping out all the wiring, I found out why the pump was always defrosting and corrected it, along with some other wiring mistakes, and I replaced his wires twisted around the relay terminals with proper spade connectors. I also found a dip switch on the thermostat that was causing the 2 minute delay. However, I couldn't find an exterior thermostat as ziggyhere mentioned, but the heat pump's wiring diagram shows a temperature sensor; could the old system have used that as the outdoor thermostat? If not, my parents are on a dual rate from their power company: they get a discounted rate as long as the outside temp stays above -12 degrees Celsius or around 10 degrees Fahrenheit. The power company installs a temp sensor in a housing that mounts between the meter pan and the meter itself, with 24 VAC present at the furnace when the temperature is above the setpoint of 10 degrees. Could the old system have been using the signal from the POCO sensor to shut off the heat pump and switch to oil? Also, when the temperature outside was around 16 degrees Fahrenheit, sometimes the oil burner would come on for a couple minutes (and the heat pump would shut off), and it doesn't do that anymore; could that be a feature of the old system, or could it be a feature of the heat pump itself? Also, with the old system if we raised the thermostat's setpoint even by a few degrees, the oil burner would kick in until the desired temperature is reached, but the new system doesn't do that; is it typical of dual heat systems, or was it just a feature of the old system and I shouldn't worry too much about it? Finally, I have heard and read several times that below a certain temperature, heat pumps lose their efficiency and there was indeed a chart in the heat pump cover, but after 21 years out there, it isn't legible anymore. It's an ICP 2-ton unit, if that matters. Because the system would often rely on the oil burner past the 16 degree mark, I assume that is where that particular heat pump starts losing its efficiency. Is it putting more strain on the compressor to let it run below that threshold? Thanks again for taking time to help me, and have a nice day!

I did pretty much the same thing as starplex when building my pool. I have friends in the Houston area with salt/flagstone and they have corrosion. Could be coincidence, but I didn't want to take the chance. Because there's no definite proof on the cause, I think some pool builders in the Houston area will only install suggest salt with brick or preformed copings. From what I gathered, complete submersion of flagstone is ok, but the coping is where the problems lie. I elected not to use salt, so to help get the softer water I added Endure. Have been very happy with it. Since I have natural stone coping (travertine), I choose to seal it. Mine needs to be done every year at the start of pool season, but probably could use it every 6-9 months. I just don't think about noticing it in the winter when I'm not in the pool. Regarding pool equipment - I don't think there's too much of a difference. From what I understood the PB use different equipment b/c they have a contract/bulk price break/hook up to do so. When pressed, all the pool builders claimed the customer service representatives/time to come service equipment is better with the brand that they pushed. However, when I interviewed the PB, I asked if they would be willing to install the other...and all said yes. I second the control system part. Don't quite remember why now, but if memory serves me correctly the Jandy controller that I picked out wouldn't service some function in the other brand of equipment correctly. In this day and age, you'd think that they would all be compatible...but ask before hand just to make sure.