Thank you so much for your replies! This quote is from Salesman #3. He is the grandson of the man who started this heating and cooling company in 1945. His dad and 3 brothers all still work there. They were voted "Contractor of the Year" in 2002 and won an "Ethical Business Award" in our area last year or the year before. I thought they would be the most expensive, so I had him come out last, but his quote is the best. (he said he could do gas heat with heat pump,but doesn't recommend it based on our cheap electric. He said you have to set a temp where heat pump turns off and gas kicks in, same as Salesman #2) Last question - Does it seem reasonable that in this area people haven't been spending the money for a higher SEER unit because we only need to cool for 3 months or so? (it takes too long to get back the initial added cost) He said there hasn't been the demand for these units in this area, but I wonder if the stimulus rebate changes that. The $1500 rebate is pretty new, do they just need some time to catch up? Is it worth pushing him to quote me something from Rheem that does qualify? From what I can see on the Rheem website they have a 3 ton system that qualifies, in their high-end systems. It has lots of "bells and whistles" and I can't tell how much more it will cost. This contractor has said that he prefers to "keep it simple". less areas to have problems down the line. Do you think it is worth pursuing this in light of the new rebate?

salt you have not provided enough info on the Rheem. However, here are AHRI numbers on the AmStd 1383392 Active Systems HERITAGE 15 AMERICAN STANDARD, INC. 4A6H5024A1 4TEE3F31B1 25200 13.00 15.25 24000 8.60 13900 I assume you live in a small home, condo, or TH. I would think about a 7.5KW heat strip and you want a new lineset. What stat is quoted? the 39A1 air handler would be a better choice than the 31B. better HSPF.see below. 1382159 Active Systems HERITAGE 15 AMERICAN STANDARD, INC. 4A6H5024A1 4TEE3F39A1 25000 13.00 16.00 24000 9.00 13800 IMO

Thank you both. I will look into a more updated t-stat if we decide to go forward with Rheem. It would seem they do not have a downdraft furnace in the lineup that will qualify for the Fed tax credit. Currently, I would say that Lennox is the front runner, but I'm still going back and fourth between HP or AC. Ryan, what is it about the XC 14 that makes it superior to the 13? I have read where the 15 is supposed to be very quiet and have easier diagnostic ability over the 13/14, but don't know much either way. I haven't looked into going with a lower rated furnace and a higher rated HP. That is something to consider, too. These are comparable systems in the results they deliver? What about cost? Similar pricing with either set up? Is this a 6 of 1, 1/2 dozen of another kind of thing? It does make more sense to me to go with a higher rated HP if that is going to be the primary source of heat over the furnace. But that isn't what I've asked for in the bids. I didn't realize that you could get the refund with the HP. DOH! The Lennox dealer I am working with has an A+ rating with the BBB and has top service recommendations by our local utility company. The Rheem dealer is the same business that installed our water heater so we have used them before and were happy with the work they did. They are also on the utility company's referral list, but not rated by the BBB. TIA

Hey guys finally got the HVAC plans to our builders AC guy. They ran a j-calc and did cost comparisons for the units we specified. The calc shows that we need 3.88 tons including ventilation air. first, we looked at conventional units. Between 14 and 16 seer, there is a $2200 difference in equipment cost. 14 SEER = $10893 & 16 SEER = $13,100 b/c they buy so many 15 seer trane systems, they get the 15 seer system at the same price as a 14seer. For our home, there is only a $90/year difference in operating cost between 15seer and 16seer. so the payback would be 6.7 years to go from 15 to 16 seer. we would pick the 15 seer unit in this comparisson. Air source heat pump in the same range isn't even worth looking at. it only saves an additional $10/month. Again, not a big jump from 15 seer conventional gas. however, the dealer did mention that we would probably have to install a fresh air system if we go with gas heat -- this is due to foam spray in our attic and the corners of our house. we may need to rethingk a few things if we go with gas. this is where it gets interesting. we looked at geothermal. 1. the dealer sells all types of systems and manufactureres -- geothermal, air source heat pump, conventional ac... carrier, trane, frigidaire, water furnace... etc etc. 2. he assured me that he has hundreds of units in each system type installed in the local area. 3. there are two other geothermal companies in town, so should he and their whole company get hit by a bus tomorrow, there is still knowledgable geothermal service in the area. 4. I was initially interested in a closed loop system, but we do have a potable water well on site. a/c guy swears that in over 20 years he has not had a problem with open loop geothermal units on a potable water well in our area. local water quality is very high compared to other states where they have installed them. also says that the temperature in a closed loop varies b/c ground temp changes. says open loop is his preference due to consistent water temp from ground well. 5. top of the line Envision system from Water Furnace is $21,495 but the tax rebate is $6,449. 6. geothermal costs half as much to operate. operating cost for the three units is as follows... 15 seer unit = $142/month = $1708 per year 16 seer unit = $134/month = $1610 per year Geothermal = $ 61/month = $ 732 per year 7. we then put the units into a 6.5% interest loan scenario VS the monthly savings to calculate the investment payoff. Pay off for geothermal VS 15 seer is 4.1 years. Pay off for geothermal VS 16 seer is 3.8 years. 8. an installation tech showed us the geothermal loop piping. they use an iron to fusion weld the piping to the fittings. makes for a solid and thick joint. 9. hot water biproduct from geothermal can be used for hot water in our home. all comments are welcome. please shoot holes in all of this. thanks again!!!