Thanks, Ryan. I forgot to mention that my house, which is rectangular, is situated so the the garage corners face SE and SW and the bedroom corners face NE and NW. Helps with the sun. Except for one spot the sun never directly comes into the house due to those wide overhangs. Prior to the leak, the current system kept the house cool unless we topped 100 which happens during the summer. This summer is shaping up to be very hot and dry. I am on an averaging billing system for my gas/electric from CPS, our local utility company. In the winter, they average around $90 and during very hot summers can go as high as $125.00 The Ruud consultant/contractor has given me three bids. Bid 1 is $6946 for a complete heating and AC 16 SEER 3 ton Ultra1 2 speed condenser, 4 ton evap. coil (RCFM Hm48), and 70,000 BTU furnace (Model UGPRO7E) with a new thermostat as this unit won't work off the power company's. Bid 2 is $5206 for a complete system Ruud 14 SEER 3 ton system (don't this this has the 2 speed condenser though). Bid #3 is $4116 and is for a 14 SEER 3 ton condenser/coil and keep the present furnace which is still working. If the furnace goes out later, it can be replaced with new one. Both bids 3 & 3 leave the free power company thermostat in place. All bids include a new 3/4" plywood bas for the furnace, an E-Z filter bas , setting and leveling A/C pad, upgrade PUC Sch 40, inspection and resealing all existing air duct and adding an a AC grill & boot in my sewing/ironing room adjacent to the laundry room by tapping into the laundry room duct. I can get a Guardian Air filter with either system for an additional $626. Is it worth it? I passed on the UV light. Only the 16 SEER qualifies for the $375 Energy Star rebate from the electric company and he will match it. If I go the 14 SEER route, he has a $300 coupon in the yellow pages. Plus, he's offering zero financing for 12 months. I have the money in savings, but might just put it in a six months CD at higher interest and pay off everything on month 11. The Ruud guy said unfortunately, he finds the duct work in San Antonio to be of poor quality. So I will definitely have that checked. Are there companies that only evaluate this or should I trust the AC contractor's evaluation. The Lennox guy is coming next week. I'll call Trane and set up an appointment next week. My daughter-in-law's mother has had them for years and had very little problems.

You can still keep the Infinity interface with the Performance series outdoor units, so it will still do an adequate job with dehumidification. However, with the 2-stage units, they can run in low stage for longer periods of time, helping even temperatures and reduce humidity. In my opinion, if you're going for a higher end system with the Infinity controls, keep the Infinity outdoor units if they are a feasible option in your budget. It may be worth your while to get another estimate or two, if nothing else for comparison. I tend to recommend a more simple system myself, but your price for 2 Infinity systems installed is attractive, and for your location, I think you'd benefit from the 2-stage operation. I assume the dealer sized both units properly (that's step 1 to efficiency/comfort). The fact that they recommended an additional return is a good sign that they understand the need for adequate return air for these systems to work well.

Home warranties are not worth the paper they are printed on. Ask anyone that's tried to file a claim. Well, my mom keeps renewing her home warranty because she has filed several claims and has had good experiences. When we sold our house last year we offered a home warranty because the house was 22 years old. There was an issue with the swimming pool during inspection, and rather than deal with it at the time we extended the warrantly to include the pool. I have been notified by the warranty company that the new owners have used the warranty service at least twice. Once for the pool and once for the heating system. We went with American Home Shield, which is the company that my mom uses. If you do go with a home warranty DO make sure that the new 13 SEER units are covered. Have the seller pay for an HVAC guy come out and check it. I like the idea of heating up the inside personally. Didn't you read the posts that said that running the air conditioner in cold weather could damage the compressor?

In my experience *stop leak* for central HVAC systems does not work. These are mostly temporary things that at best slow the leak down, but do not ultimately *fix* anything. Temporary means anything from a few months to a year at best. R22 production ends this year, Dec 31. 2019. While there is ample supply currently this refrigerant will become more costly as time goes on. The cure is unfortunately replace the equipment. You can continue to use R22 as long as the leaks are fixed. In most cases this involves replacing the indoor evaporator coil. However, a 22 year old system --- it's not likely it has much life left. The risk is that you replace the E-coil to fix the leaks and a short time later the out door condenser breaks again causing you to have to replace that. In addition to that, if you go piece meal as I lay out above... this requires skill to do this kind of work. The danger is if you hire someone with less skill (cheaper price usually) the system still gives you fits a short time later. I am a licensed HVAC contractor with nearly 25 years experience that does all my own service work. (No techs or Subs) ----- I service the Katy, Texas area.