x2 on tigerdunes post. you have lots of different things going on. each bid includes something the other doesn't bid 2 install condensate pump and wiring in crawls space for condensate trap required by code. Add 12x12 cold air return in closet.(are you short on return air??) Replacing return plenum and filter rack where it is loose now. Replacing breaker or box at outdoor unit. Install 4 circuit electrical box and breakers in crawl space. beware that other companies might add these items on rather than bid them upfront & increase bid. bid three: variable speed air handler only bid with vs ahu..which really helps control RH. ask for cost of varible speed air handler on each bid heat strips...what size? line set for compressor protection surge protector for the outdoor compressor pad...for compressor?? digital control, pad, and line set. As required by International Energy Conservation Code a new outdoor thermostat will be installed. IECC only requires bid #3 to do this?? while bid 1...Trane is the least expensive bid and the most expensive equipment they leave out everything but the basics. although they do tell what size heat strips. you aren't getting a real apples to apples comparism. call each back & ask about items the other company bid (without giving co names) find out what you really need. do you need condensate pump? a new pad? new electrical? who knows?? this would also be the time to ask for a load calculation. rather than the rule of thumb sizing they are all using. mastic sealing ductwork & supply boxes where they enter via the floor, mastic seal of plenums to equipment are always necessary, but in a crawlspace you don't want to be pulling dirt & humid air into the house. kudos on the media filter. putting a media filter on a well sealed (mastic sealed) duct system is a good step. once you get this information.. then get model numbers of condensors, air handler units, and size of heat strips. then you can do a comparism. as is, you don't really know much about what you need, only what they want to sell you. best of luck

"Maybe a 3T unit would allow some extra vents to get us to the point where the rest of the home is unaffected yet it adds enough heat to warm the basement OR gets it warm enough that some ba"seboard could be added and able to take the chill of relatively quickly if some one goes down there. Not sure if that is more economical than adding a zone..." In all likelihood, your basement will add little/none heat load to your house (unless you're planning a media room). As mentioned earlier, HPs should be sized for air conditioning with supplemental heat added as necessary. This would be especially important for your basement if it gets quite humid in summer time. Also, if you're looking for 'fast heat', a HP would might not be up to the job without aux heat operating. You need an accurate heat calc done to establish your exact needs. If I were in your situation, I would install baseboard electric heat w/stats in each room. Easy (fast) on; easy (fast) off. Also, look into dehumidifier for summer use. As an aside, I did not see any mention of installing returns in your options. V

The aluminum wiring is indeed another issue, but probably not related much to this because any type of additional heat you'd put in would be on its own circuit with its own wiring. Almost all houses I've seen have aluminum wiring for their service entrance wiring, and it's not a problem. Aluminum wiring is really only a problem on standard household circuits that have receptacles or switches that were not designed for aluminum, because the expansion and contraction of the aluminum wire (which is greater than that of copper) can cause connections to loosen and get hot. But if you've got receptacles rated for aluminum, or both aluminum and copper, you should not have this problem. But back to the heat pump issue, since you have no need for cooling, and you are only using 100 gallons of oil per year, I'm going to say the heat pump probably does not make sense. I think in Canada you use Imperial gallons, but I am used to thinking in U.S. gallons, so let's say you're using 120 of those to adjust for the difference in measure. At current U.S. prices that would be about US$500 in oil. Is that about right? Assuming your boiler is 70 percent efficient, you're using about the same amount of heat you could buy with about 3,500 kilowatt-hours of electric resistance heat (baseboard, fan-forced wall unit, etc.). I think in most parts of Canada your electric rates are pretty reasonable, but even at U.S. 10 cents per kwh, which might be more than what you pay, that's $350 in electricity to duplicate with electric resistance heat what you're paying $500 for with oil, resulting in a $150 savings. Baseboard heaters cost less than $50 apiece, and you have individual room control, which works well in your situation since you have alternative heat sources available and would just use the electric heat to supplement that. Possibly you could increase your savings further with electric heat by heating only the rooms you need (such as your bedroom(s) at night), whereas the boiler was heating the whole house. You might be able to do it without upgrading your service if you do not install an excessively large amount of wattage, which might be possible given your moderate climate, but you'd want to have an electrician evaluate that.

Thanks again for your input. I think we've decided on a Trane. The Carrier our friend quoted was the base model 25HBC536A with FX4DNF037T and even at $3368 it'd be a few hundred more for permit and hurricane pad, which would make it close to the cost of the company who quoted 25HCC536 and 25HBC536 models. Also with our friend, we'd need to pay it all by check. we have the funds, but Carrier is offering zero percent for a year or so - minus well use thier money for a year! Both the Carrier Comfort and Trane XR15 seem comprable in function and effeciency, so then I had to decide which one looked better to me. That's a woman for ya! :) I'm going to try to get the company who quoted the 2 Carriers and the TRANE TWR536 with TEH3F4ZB $4150 to come down a few hundred and see if he'll include the $125 for the MERV 11 1 year filter. Is it common to ask for lower price on this type of service? The only company that even asked about our windows was the One Hour AC franchise that did the only load calculation. He factored our house needs 2.5 ton unit. We had the windows in a few months before the ac broke and there was not really a significant change in our electric bill. We did go from aluminum single pane 30 year old windows to impact laminated insulated glass vinyl windows. You could feel the heat coming in on the old - the new you can barely hear any outside noise and it's got a coating that helps block the solar gains. neohioheatpump - it's always hot here in Daytona! ;) I think we're only expected to not hit 90 today because it's raining.