Umm, do you think maybe you've been been spending too much time trying to pick a dishwasher? A bit more research will tell you that Bosch specs the 500 series dishwashers at 46 dbA and that some of the 300 series are rated at 48 dbA and others at 50 dbA. If that seems reassuring, you may be afflicted by spec fatigue. These differences are measurable but minor. Maybe if you were planning to have them in a bedroom next to your bed and wanting them to run while you slept next to them, then sound levels might be noticceable. But really, for most folks, the noise is not a disruptive kind of sound and not very noticceable when you are not down ot the floor with your ears next to the door trying to suss out differences. Also, except for the short final draining, Bosch dw noise is all pretty much unobtrusive white noise. I can tell that my new 46 dbA 500 series dw is a bit quiter than the 15 year-old 52 dbA Bosch that was replaced. But the old onw was hardly obtrusively noisy. I did not replace the old one because of noise but because the timer/controller died and I could not readily find a replacement part. That was a month ago, What I remember from that shopping episode was that the significant difference between the 500 series and 300 series came down this one thing for me: the tubs for the 500 series are entirely stainless steel while the 300 series tubs have polypropylene plastic bottoms with the rest being stainless steel. As I recall, there were three other differencees that I can recall: the 500 series dishwashers have a small electronic display window (countdown of minutes left in the run), they have a delay start function, and their outside dimensions are, maybe, 7/8-inch less deep. Some folks might find these important. For me, these three were trivial. If those differences are not important to you, and if you are okay with a polypro tub bottom, save yourself $90 and get a 300 series with a panel door. A month ago, when I bought my new dishwasher, the 500 series were only about $90 more than their analogues in the 300 series line.

Sam Goh, Most dealers would be happy to sell to you even if they are hours away. But how much are you saving for that hassle? The local dealer is less likely to help you out with any problems if you left the area to make your purchase. That one small change you want to make after the fact might be $200 from your local dealer, but $800 if the other dealer has to make the drive to you. Same with Home Depot-do you think HD is going to help you at all if you need help later? If it's an appliance that will wear out in 5 yr anyway, that's one thing. When it's a part of your house that will be there for decades, I'd be glad to pay even a few thousand more from a reputable dealer that will be there for the minor problems. If you have ~60 windows, just keep in mind that it will be exponentially more expensive for you if you have to change them all out in 5-10 yr because they're junk... Just my $0.02, hope you can find a good solution that works well for you.

chaos, don't worry about it - you'll love your new fridge and you can use your savings on some other splurge. We finally got our 632S installed and the water filter was so easy to install - we got one that uses copper tubing vice plastic - the fittings are right in the front and we can change it in about 2 minutes. The whole unit is on wheels and slides out very easily anyway if you need to get to the back for anything. What do you need an air filter for anyway? Is that to replace a box of baking soda?

>A heat pump has to operate in the winter and summer. Each year is has more hours of >operation compared to an AC. That leads to a shorter life span and more repairs. I would think >a heat pump will be less reliable compared to an AC of the same brand and equivalent model. A heat pump gets more run time than an AC, so based on run time makes some people think that it's life will be shorter. mike_home is a home owner in New Jersey. Pretty sure he's got gas heat over there. He doesn't run service calls, doesn't do HVAC in any capacity other than talk about it here. An AC can last as little as a little over 5 years? yes and no. (heat pump? yes and no) You (as a home owner "same as mike_home btw") are presented options when failure occurs. How bad that failure is often determines whether you decide to replace the unit AC or Heatpump. Every unit breaks and not every break down is related to "run time" of the unit. In my area Katy, Texas we operate AC's for 10 months of the year. A heat pump (in heating mode) would see very little use here. You think that little bit of use is going to matter in the grand scheme of things? Uh, no. There's more parts to break on a heat pump? yes but nothing really more significantly than many AC unit brethren. If the unit is properly installed / properly maintained the typical life span remains the same from a national average stand point of 15 years. -Yes. So why then did I say that an AC unit or Heat pump could last as little as just over 5 years? This stems from part warranties that have ended for the unit in question and major failure, throw in refrigerant phase outs. (R22 & R410a are going away, R410a is in beginning phase) Both AC or Heat pump need refrigerant and the proper kind, proper amount to work properly. In California this part warranty fiasco is mostly done away with, but the refrigerant fiasco may have legs. 2030 may clear things up or it may get pushed back if voters change their minds. So for Texas and other parts of the country: if the AC unit or heat pump is not registered the warranty of the unit is only given a base warranty of 5 years parts. (The part is free, the labor and refrigerant, testing etc. is not free. The manufacturer requires a licensed HVAC contractor to exchange the part(s)) Typically new home builds are the most common for having a unit go out where replacing that some times young unit (just over 5 years and out of warranty) replacement options. This situation is now more complicated due to refrigerant costs / changes / phase outs etc. The new refrigerants are mildly flammable which will require mitigation controls or liability goes up with the slim possibility of burning someone's house down. Right now AFAIK, older Evaporator coil (indoor coil) can not be retrofitted to use R32 or R454b. It appears the manufacturers are going to force everyone to replace that Coil again to make the switch to the newer refrigerants. The primary reason Evap coils fail is due to: Freon leaks. (refrigerant). ---- So to just say blanket statements of why someone thinks this or that? It's rarely ever that accurate. The demise of a heat pump or an AC is more often than not linked back to issues that developed how they were or were not cared for, ignored or whatever. To that end a heat pump that breaks in the winter is more trouble to fix. Not that it can't be fixed. Why? issues with refrigerant (too much or too little) as the heat pump every brand requires refrigerant charging in cooling mode. Why is that a problem? It's a rabbit hole of tech related jargon that we'll save for later if someone chimes in here that can't lower himself to buy refrigerant yet make claims that "it's not rocket science". ================= Variable speed AC / Heat pump There is really no comparison once you go to this level. However, in Carrier realm of equipment the limit this operation to 5 speeds. Some inverter driven units only do 3 speeds. (Rheem / Ruud) The better approach is 1% steps up and down with zero proprietary controls needed to operate it. (The Bosch BOVA 20 SEER (19 SEER2 if you prefer) Another issue with Carrier Inverter is odd hissing noises when it cycles off. With all that being said: if you have natural gas available a gas furnace is the better choice for colder climate. Even in my market while a heat pump option works really well for my climate it's more common to see gas heat via a furnace. Due to long AC season here, some people choose the Bosch Inverter because it lowers energy use and installed properly reduces humidity in the home, much more so than a traditional on or off AC and even a 2 speed. Essentially the Bosch inverter has over 60 speeds of compressor operation. 1% capacity up and down. This explains more why my electric bill is lower in many instances. As the Bosch delivers more in run time rather than cycles. I service the Katy, Texas area.