You have a contractor problem! Here is my suggestion. First, change your approach. Stop playing HVAC contractor. I understand feeling the need to based on how your contractor is responding, but stop, now. Escalate the problem to the local Carrier distributor. They have at least one dedicated technical advisor on staff to help a contractor who is struggling, and your contractor is clearly struggling. (Sidenote: You distributor will be either independant or factory owned.) Monday morning call the distributor. Calmly tell them you bought a brand new Carrier system x weeks ago from x contractor. It has never worked correctly. They have been out x times since the installation and they don't seem to know what to do. A good distibutor will jump right on it. First, he will talk with the contractor to review what has been done so far. He may suggest a course of action for the contractor to take or decide he needs to see the installation first hand. Push to have him see the installation. Also, confirm this is the distributor's dedicated technical guru you are dealing with and not the distributor's sales person who sometimes is dispatched to go out and smooth things over, ultimately hoping to explain away the problem. Be nice, but firm. Good luck. If you get any push back, and hopefully you won't, point them to the link below.

2 units will give you redundancy (should one fail) and better control over heating/cooling the house evenly (if the units are installed logically). You would also have two units to maintain, however. You could consider a 2-stage zoned system, but I prefer two units over a single unit zoned when possible--zoning one unit must be done by a competent contractor if it is to work right. I'm also not a large proponent of 2-stage units unless the homeowner wants them for one reason or another. I can imagine two units would cost more because of installation requirements. While it is the way I'd go, ultimately it is your budget and your decision. If you do get one unit, make sure they balance the ductwork throughout the home to deliver proper heating/cooling throughout the entire home and/or install more than one zone. I personally have one single unit with no zones that does a great job, so really, it's the installation that matters.

Sure addiction and alcoholic issues are abundant for those who do not actually hold the license you think they do. Doing side jobs are those that use their regular job connections to obtain the authority over you to make you think they are qualified to do the job you are hiring them to do. This is the inherent flaw in the system of licensing, because they flash you a card that appears to be a license, when in fact it's not a true license. (We have the same problem in Texas) If he runs the company, it's possible the owner that lives in Florida may be the one that holds the Master License. In Texas this would be illegal, because the license holder is required to be full time employee of one location to over see the operation. This is all speculation, but if I've heard one dire story -- it's often exactly or close to what I think it is. With that said, Aside from the 4 years and 6000 hours to obtain the Master HVAC license for your state their is continual examination of that license holder to make sure they are fit to do the job. (annually) So while a true Master HVAC license holder for Kentucky would likely not get involved in a install for a unit purchased over the internet, they are probably less likely to abuse drugs, alcohol and so on. Because they have more to lose than someone just looking to do a 'side job'. In other words if a Master HVAC license holder in your state was to get charged with something other than a normal speeding ticket, their Master HVAC license is on the line. That's the other purpose of licensing, to ensure criminals aren't running the enterprise. When ever considering things of this nature it's not about how much you think you will save it almost always comes back to how much you've thrown away. You may wind up having to start all over from scratch. Look at it in terms of a cheap education. It could have been worse as in 'total' destruction of your property.

Thanks for the replies. I have an old unit (propane). I guess if part of it is outside and part is in the attic, I have a split-system? The brand is Coleman Evcon Model No. BRCS018B, so I have a 1.5 ton unit? I couldn't find the SEER via search. I am wondering how I can lower my energy bill N. Calif (PGE) that runs high in the summer. Trying to determine how efficient the unit is, and if it's feasible to run it off solar possibly. I search and see the tonnage size helps determine the number of solar panels? So, my 1.5 ton will need how many panels? And how much per panel, is what I'm ultimately trying to determine if it's worth changing... I look forward to any helpful replies/coments