sarosen

I don't think there is a great deal of difference between these brands(don't know enough about the York). I believe the Carrier mdl you listed is three stg (the Carrier's MVB is two stg). The other two-Trane and Lennox are all two stg, var speed blower, 94-95% AFUE efficiency and are reliable models. However Carrier's Infinity controller is the best on the residential market. With that in mind, I would have to give Carrier a solid edge.

If the York furnace is the modulating model, then it would be worthy of consideration.

What are you doing about AC condensers?

As far as indoor air quality, unless your family has allergies or other medical condition that makes indoor air quality very important, then a good pleated media cabinet MERV 8-10 is more than adequate. Be aware the EACs ( electronic air cleaners) release small amts of ozone and require routine maintenance/cleaning from the homeowner to operate correctly. The pleated media cartridge uses no electricity and depending on number of people/pets in household normally last up to one year before they have to be replaced- very easy job..

IMO

Please LOTS OF FOLKS weigh in here...........I need your input!!!

Tigerdunes, yes the carrier model is 3 stage. We already have an airconditioner (a Trane--does that matter?) When you said Carrier "infinity controller" is the "best in the residential market", what is an infinity controller and what makes it the best? What about the coating of the heat exchanger that the class action suit was about?

The variable-speed blower is just a GE ECM motor that is used in many brands, so I hope nobody's using that as a selling tactic. Lennox recently came out with a variable-capacity gas furnace (G71P), but the G61MP has been around. A media filter should be sufficient in my opinion. The electronic filters require more maintenance to clean collection cells. What York Affinity furnace? The modulating (variable-capacity) furnace? There are different levels of Affinity's, but it's a good product line from York. You're considering 4 good products. What dealer did you feel comfortable with the most? And proper sizing is a very important factor for a long lifespan and best efficiency.

You have some great choices there and i believe any of them would work fine. I would be more concerned with the company thats doing the install. Are they licenced? Members of the BBB? How long have they been in business? Just remember, you can buy awesome equipment but if the company that installed it wont answer your calls... or trys to charge you for stuff that should be under warranty.. then that awesome equipment is pretty much worthless. Get some recommendations. Get the warranty in writing. Be specific on service calls under warranty & trip charges.

EX: I was called to a job just outside of my small town here early this summer. When i got to the house, it was huge. They had (2) - 5 ton Tranes, (1)-3 ton Trane and (2)- 2 ton Tranes... all brand new (4 months old). The 2- 5 ton units were not working at all. The owner called the installing company but they said they were "Too Busy" to come out and repair them, so i was called. The owner had was plenty pissed...since he had just spent $47,000 on the A/C's. After i got the units going, i looked up in the attic and it was a huge mess. They had left the old units up in the attic, old ductbord strung everywhere, tape backing all over the place... not something you do in any job.

Just make sure who ever you use is reputable and a company that you feel comfortable with.

BTW The York Affinity is excellent equipment.
Check below link for more info.

IMO
Hope this helps

Here is a link that might be useful: York Affinity Gas Furnace

1. Everyone has their own opinion. I'm most familiar with the XV95, that's a nice furnace. Properly sized & installed, all will do well.

2. While not a Carrier fan, I wouldn't worry about the suit. All brands have had issues so the salesmen who bring it up aren't being the most professional.

3. Lennox has had variable speed blowers for many years.

4. Compare what the cleaners are. I like the 2200/2400 personally. Does a good job and don't have much maintenance or face big repair bills of the electronic cleaners.

5. All mentioned have aluminized steel primary HX and except Carrier have stainless secondary. Some brands use stainless in their primary as well, a plus.

6. York has the modulating furnace which have variable fire as well as variable blower. So does Lennox but I think York's is a better unit just in how it controls the fire. Actually I'd say Rheem's is best as a special thermostat decides how much heat you need.

thanks for the input so far. All the companies I am considering have "A" ratings on Angie's list, and have been around a long time. The estimator recommending the YORK has been the least responsive in getting back to me so that is a "minus" against them in my book. Should it be?

One of the companies (with the highest Angie's list # of ratings, almost all + and an "A" ranking), the estimator was very thorough. He suggested a solar attic fan and followed the wiring to the box and noticed that two ceiling lights had been gerry-rigged off of it, plus a rusting problem at the top of the water heater (one other estimator noticed this as well). While his suggestions (solar attic fan) and problems (electrical wiring) will cost me more $$, I was impressed. Also, this company sends out the head of the job crew that will be doing the install to do specific measurements, etc., whereas the others would be going on what the estimators did, so they were trying to estimate and measure at the same time and it seemed less thorough. Plus he was very organized about his paperwork, estimate was complete and done via computer on the spot and he followed up by phone 2 days later (when I was still trying to get the bids from two of the others). Good reasons to pick this company?

This company that I am favoring sells Carriers, so I was, in my prior posts, just trying to make sure that the things the other estimators who didn't sell Carrier said negatively about that brand weren't really problematic issues.

I had a Carrier Infinity heat pump installed around this time last year, and I am pretty happy with it. The Infinity Controller a previous poster mentioned is a fancy programmable thermostat. They call it a controller because it can do more than just cycle on and off based on temperature. It can turn on based on humidity, it can work with remote sensors, and duct zone gates (if you have them), it can detect when the filter needs to be replaced based on decreased airflow.