Thanks for the replies tigerdunes. • The insulation is average to good. There is about seven inches of fiberglass batt in the attic and all obvious thermal chimneys have been insulated (i.e.insulation over lighting cans, etc). We have insulation in the walls, but it would be that typical to 1960s and fair at best. We are considering adding another twelve inches of fiberglass batt to the attic but must address certain existing storage complexities. • Of the finished basement, 800sf is below grade and 400sf is at grade (400sf dedicated to a lower level garage is at grade but not included in the figures). • Electric (NStar) is $0.162/KWh unit cost (delivery and generation costs; fixed costs not included). Gas (National Grid) is $1.3463/Therm unit cost (transmission, distribution and supply costs; fixed costs not included). • The current furnace is and new furnace will be located next to the internal chimney in the front-center of the house, primarily because of front-center existing duct work but also for space considerations. • The venting of a high efficiency condensing unit would be somewhat problematic and aesthetically unappealing. If we went with a high efficiency furnace, then we would also like to install a high efficiency gas hot water heater, because it seems counterproductive to install a smaller flue liner for the existing gas fired hot water heater. Due to setback requirements and snow requirements, there may be a very tight area in proximity to the furnace where two exhausts and one intake could be installed; that area is close to the front door and would be unappealing to my wife and would require some additional carpentry work. I don't believe we have a straight shot up the existing flue because of the main floor fireplace, but I have yet to check. • We are unsure whether or not the existing furnace is short-cycling (i.e. shutting itself down for protection reasons). The cycles are certainly short, but I would guess not, only because we do reach thermostat set temperatures, although it wouldn't be a big surprise. • We have not received the Manual J; we have only been told the results from a whole house standpoint. We are requiring the receipt of the load calculations prior to installation but after a vendor has been picked. • The ductwork has been examined by the dealers. We have one large single return for the main level living zone, one large single return for the lower level zone, and a small return in each bedroom in the main level bedrooms zone; the returns are coupled as a common return prior to the furnace. The zoning, ductwork and returns are very good for the 1960s, but uninsulated and based on five inch supplies; so, the system would be undersized for today, I believe. All ducts are internal to the house, although some run through the garage; all ducts are enclosed and finished, other than those in proximity to the furnace. No modifications will be performed to the ductwork, other than any transition needed to the new furnace. • There is seven inches of fiberglass batt between the eight inch ceiling joists (R20). • The zoning control board will control the HVAC system. The new thermostats are dumb, although nicely programable and aesthetic (Aube/Honeywell TH141). In addition to a common (C), the thermostats accept 24V (Rh), heating (W), 24V (Rc), cooling (Y), and fan (G). The new thermostats do not have any second stage inputs or reversing valve input; we have five wires at our existing thermostats; the new thermostats can be battery powered. • The dealers are familiar with zoning, and with either a dumb-simple zoning control board for heating and air conditioning or a smart acculink system; they are less familiar with the combination of smart zoning control board and dumb thermostats or a dumb-sophisticated zoning control board and dumb thermostats. I am personally unimpressed with the smart thermostat systems; to much unnecessary/unused information; to expensive; to large and prominent. What are your thoughts? • The job is simple, although the air conditioning installation would be new but typical. It seems that I should have about $2500-$3000 in air condition installation cost and about $2500 in furnace installation cost and about $1000 in miscellaneous cost (including the $150 zone control board and the media filter), for $1600 in air conditioning equipment cost (2.5 Ton, 15 SEER) and $1800 in furnace cost (80K Btu, 80 AFUE). That would be $6000 to $6500 total cost. What is your experience for pricing of such a system?

You need to sit down with the contractor and go thru all of that in detail with them. There is just too much detail and unknowns in this for me to give advise here. It never hurts to get more opinions. The dampers will work if installed correctly and will help the upstairs a lot. I like that contractors proposal.

Welcome to the forum. All newbies are invited! Does the 5300 sq. feet represent the conditioned space only or are you including a basement? What are the areas of the first and second floors? What have you done about insulating the old part of the house and the windows? What is your location? FYI - general contractors know very little when it comes to HVAC. Spending money on HVAC is low priority for them. They are going to want to use the cheapest sub contractor for the work. Most people do not realize what they are getting until it is too late. It is good you are asking the questions now. I think the furnace model number is wrong. I can't find anything with that model number. The AC condenser is a Base model. This is builder's grade equipment. Carrier has good equipment as long as you stay away from the low end models. You also need to know the coil model and size and what thermostats you are getting. I would recommend getting 4 inch media filters. Your house is big, but I think 160K BTU of heating and 8 tons of cooling seem over sized even for a 100 year old structure. The first thing you need to ask is how were these sized determined. For a major renovation you should get a Manual J calculation. This is a detailed heating and cooling load calculation. If the HVAC contractor does not want to do this, then consider getting another HVAC contractor. Once the required sized are determined, then you can get to equipment selection and prices. Is the new duct work a separate quote? Are both furnaces located in the basement? The a lots of details to iron out. Take it a step at a time and start talking to your contractor.

This is my first post on TGW. I will be the first to say that my experience with Trane is very subjective and anecdotal, but the following experience is mine nonetheless. We bought an existing single story 2280 sq. ft. home in Auburn, AL in May of 2012 (15 months ago). One thing that sold me on the home was the presence of a Trane 14SEER HP with variable speed blower installed in 2007. In June, one month after purchasing the home, we had to call the local Trane company to come out for a non-cooling situation. By August, we had replaced (due to actual failures, not just "failing") the compressor, the blower motor, the blower motor circuit board. All but the circuit board were under a part warranty. However, with labor, freon recharging, etc. We shelled out over $2600 in 2012 alone. In March of 2013 we had to replace a startup capacitor, not under warranty, for $400.00. All told, since June of 2012 (this post is made in early Sep 2013) we have spent well above $3,000.00 on this Trane HVAC system. In that time, I have learned (from an independent, well respected local HVAC guy) that our system is woefully OVERsized. We have a 5 ton unit in a space that, I believe, calls for a 3.5 ton unit. We have $500 power bills in the summer months. In general, I think Trane makes a great product like BMW makes a great car. You should just know what you are getting into. The most urgent comment I would make to anyone buying a Trane is to DEFINITELY get the maximum parts and labor warranty you can get and make sure it's transferrable to a new seller. PW This post was edited by PecanWaffle on Tue, Sep 3, 13 at 10:49