One of my thermostats recently died after 10yrs so I started looking for a "smart" thermostat. After browsing the web I concluded I'd try the Nest (crowd fav) and the Ecobee3 (newest model but ecobee seems to have a very good reputation online). I wanted to share some of my initial thoughts between the two since there isn't much out there yet. Before buying these stats I realized I needed the 24v common wire connected and luckily our house was wired with 6 strand wire and all I had to do was hook up the 5th wire to the C terminal. This made life easy for me. I bought the Nest from Lowe's so I had that immediately. The Ecobee3 was bought direct a week later and it was 2 day shipping. The Nest had more heft and solid feel. It felt like it was worth the $250 whereas the Ecobee3 is very lightweight plasticy cheap feeling like my existing stat was. It was a bit hard to believe it was more then the Nest. I did have some cosmetic damage on my Ecobee3 and am in the process of exchanging the unit with them. Installation was similar on both. I had 5 wires and both units started right up after I turned the power back on. Ecobee3 has more initial questions than the Nest if I remember correctly. Once setup the Ecobee3 definitely has more things configurable for your HVAC system vs the Nest. The Nest app is smoother to operate. Ecobee3 app is a little clunky but has more settings to customize. Ecobee3 doesn't show the energy savings/usage yet but it says that feature is coming soon. The one thing that really interested me was the remote sensor on the Ecobee3. This stat is on our 2nd floor. We primarily occupy 2 bedrooms and if this thing can average the two rooms to better even out the temperature that would be great. We have tried adjusting the vents but there is still quite a bit of difference. Its a bad time to review these stats right now because my HVAC system isn't really running much. Just a tad at night to keep the house warm. I've decided to keep the Ecobee3 and return the Nest based on the more configurable settings and the remote sensor with comfort in mind.

Yes, the Heritage 15 costs more money for the dealer to purchase than the Allegiance 15 because of the extra controls/components associated with a heat pump system. Since you have a gas line run upstairs already, I would stick with gas heat and air conditioning upstairs, and put the 80% furnace as tiger mentioned with the heat pump downstairs. I agree that a top-efficiency furnace in your mild climate, when paired with a heat pump, isn't worth the added cost. The 95% furnace requires PVC venting out the side of your house as well, another cost factored into the total. If you don't get a humidifier, the 803s are fine and probably thermostats the company is more familiar with. You can still get a humidifier even with the 803 thermostats, however. I don't think having a heat pump makes a humidifier any less necessary, in my opinion. Many homes have humidifiers and heat pumps. You can try without first, and if the air is really dry, one can always be added later. I agree, the upfront cost is a lot, but they are quoting you one of the most expensive models. Ask for what is called a bypass or flow-through humidifier. Aprilaire model 600 or American Standard part number AHUMD300 (same thing different look from what I gather).

I wouldn't be too peeved about the media cabinet. The Honeywell one is good (I have the F100), and you may find it easier/less expensive to find replacement filters for it over the Trane PerfectFit media (although nowadays there are plenty of generic replacements, so it may be a wash). On the thermostat: Unless something has changed recently (and I do not believe it has), with your particular set up (XL16i+XV80), you could not do dehumidify on demand (slowing furnace blower speed to remove more moisture) -- one of the capabilities of the IAQ -- anyway due to the way the XL16i is wired to the XV80 (there is a terminal that would be used to the IAQ to signal 80% blower speed; instead this terminal is used by the XL16i to control low stage airflow). On the newer air handlers this has changed so that the dehumidification terminal is available, but to my knowledge the control board on the XV80 is the same. So, in short, no real disadvantage to not having the IAQ. You would only be dehumidifying by overcooling with either one (1-3 deg as set by installer). If Comfort-R is enabled on the furnace, this set up should work quite well, especially having a 2-stage condenser. What additions do you have that you think the IAQ could control? If you have a humidifier, the IAQ can control that, which is nice to be able to have control over the entire system from a single point. So if that is the case, then replacing the 8321 with the IAQ wouldn't be a bad idea. Beyond that, I think all is good, but of course it's your system and your money. Just my 2 cents. This post was edited by ryanhughes on Wed, May 8, 13 at 19:34

Hi, I'm in the midwest and have a 5100 sq ft home. I'm looking at replacing my 17 yo furnaces, 2 Carrier Weathermaker high efficiency , with electronic filtering system , (eletroair SST), two air conditioning units, one blown and one 4 years old (got 10 years out of the blown one) with a similar set up to above. Recommended by the dealer is 1 American standard 16, 2ton communicating heat pump with a Am ST. Freedom 95 60K btu, 3 stage furnace and Acculink 900 comfort controller... AND 1 Heritage 16, 3 ton communicating heat pump with Freedom 95, 80K btu, 3 stage furnace, both with the AccuClear air cleaner system. We could keep the 4 yo air conditioner for a while, and put in the extra heat pump later. We could keep the current air cleaner (the kids, who sleep near it downstairs say it cracks and pops a bit). I'm looking at getting another quote, and from the looks of it above Carrier would be the place to get another quote and opinion. The American standard dealer made a big deal about the communication between the furnace and heat pump, calling this "geothermal above ground, at 1/3 of the price". We probably could get a couple more years out of our furnace, but has needed repair a couple of times, and were told it could become a problem, which we'd like to avoid in the middle of winter. We did consider geothermal and priced that out last year, and just felt the retrofit wasn't worth the bother. A contractor friend recommended that future high efficiency furnaces would make the geothermal unnecessary, at least for retrofitting. Any opinions out there?