The Heil coil and condenser may be matched, but it is not a match to the Bryant furnace. The SEER and EER ratings are given for a specific furnace, coil, and condenser. This is what is referred as a match system. You can verify these matches on the AHRI directory web site. The Heil/Bryant combination will likely have less performance. How much less is unknown. The Bryant furnace and thermostat use a communication channel which is unique to Carrier and Bryant. The network interface module translates the Bryant communication to a standard interface. What is the price difference between the Bryant and Heil equipment? Would you use the same contractor for either equipment?

The contractor is telling me that there is no benefit from the evolution thermastat so I called Bryant and you are right. This particular a/c can't be paired with the evolution thermostat without a nim module (whatever that is...cost another $300 though). They are recommending a single stage Model 126 preferred a/c for my colonial and said it would work with the evolution thermostat. I have no idea how much difference this will be in price. Thank you so much for your advice. This has helped so much!!!

Mattson what evap coil was quoted? you do want the tin plated "T" mdl. a very nice system with excellent overall pricing taking into consideration the tax credit, Bryant and utility rebates. a suggestion. I would check into the sgl stage Preferred 15 and Preferred 17 and see how this would effect your pricing. I think for your small home, either of these mdls would be a better choice. IMO

There are not many differences between HVAC brands nowadays. They use the same pool of vendors for their components and use similar designs. Different people prefer different brands for various reasons, so you will not get a single answer. My personal favorite brand is neither Bryant nor Lennox, but I know that they will both last a long time if properly installed and maintained. Contractor preference for brand also varies greatly by area since most want the brand they get the most support from the distributor. Both those furnaces are near the bottom of the line in each brand. You need to focus on the contractor, not brand. You shouldn't think about this purchase like you would a different appliance. A good chunk of the assembly of the system is not done in a factory, it is done in the home by the contractor. The sizing in those quotes doesn't look out of line at first glance, but it depends on a ton of variables besides sq ft. Insulation, windows, location, etc. The contractor needs to do a Manual J load calculation, otherwise they are just guessing. This post was edited by hvtech42 on Wed, Nov 19, 14 at 15:22