Ah CT - here we spent $90 last month for 4000 sq feet - with just ASHP.... but that was mostly A/C (and lights etc). Are you still heating in CT? To respond to the previous poster. Geothermal works great in the South (just like the North) - its just that it is overkill most of the time. My audit suggested I'd save $300 a year with geothermal but that was based on a reference house - it was down to about $100 compared to HE ASHP. Try to get $100 a year to ever payback - sure it saves money but you could save more clipping a coupon a week without the $20k upfront cost. How is this thread still alive? The savings of geothermal compared to oil in the North is amazing. Compared to ASHP in the South - it is pennies. There is an ad line that says installing geo is like taking 2 cars off the road. They must be some pretty efficient cars.... Unless you are comparing to oil in the North. The average car driving 12,000 miles a year costs about $2000 in energy (20 mpg at $3 a gallon). The average house uses less than that for HVAC. Cost is not the only concern but there is nothing clean about gas in a car - at least electricity can be clean.... CONC: Insulate and use geothermal if you can do horizontal loop or live in the North and your alternative is not NG. And drive a hybrid and/or right sized car. And don't use incandescent bulbs for lights on frequently.

its been running ON for 3 hours now, and its 68 degrees in my apartment, its 58 outside.' the maintenance guy just came by with it still running, and put his hand to the register, and said "yea, thats not very warm, but it taks a while for things to warm up.. I told him it has been running for 3 hours and he just shrugged his shoulders..' i told him that the last guy (the other maintenance guy, there are 2 of them) didnt use any gauges when he "topped off" the refrigerant.. and asked "cant you overcharge the system?" he told me flatly NO.. after sitting there and feeling the heat he went and got a thermometer out of his truck and stuck it in the regester and ot read 90 degrees.. he said "shoot, 90 degrees coming out of there, thats great!" im no expert, but 90 degrees after running for 3 hours on EMERGENCY heat, doesent strike me as "great" then, he tells me "come monday, ill put you in a new thermostat.. HOW THE HELL does that help!! I put a brand new one on (which he doesnt believe has emergency heat despite me showing him the wiring and everything) and it had this problem, i put the original back on and it does the same exact thing.. IT IS NOT THE THERMOSTAT! even i can see that.

Ryan, thank you so much for the feedback. This is such an great informative forum and I'm glad I found this site. Yes, they have to over-size the furnace to just be qualified for the tax rebate. Blame on Trane for their current lineup I guess. Not best situation to be an honest Trane dealer if you have to either over size something or use a third party products to take advantage for the tax rebase. The load calc says "Total Heating Load = 61506" so 120-140k BTUH sounds way too much. Plus, I'm concerned now you pointed out the furnace will likely need to move much more air than your current ductwork can handle. What's my alternatives if I want to stay with Trane 3 ton Heap pump either XL15i or XR15? Regarding the IAQ may not be used to trigger to slow down the blower when combining with zoning. Where do I check to be sure? Also, does the triggering even possible with XR15 like it does with XL15i? I think the reason I try to go with a Hybrid system (duel-fuel) is that over here in central NC it does get pretty chilly during Jan and Feb with temprature down to single digits at night for a few weeks. It seems to me it will be prudent to have some sort of back-up heating during this periold. And if adfing a heap-strip with Heat pump/Air handler, I think I have to add a circuit break or something. At least that what I had been told. To other folks on the forum, do you have your advice on choosing a dual-fuel hybrid system vs just heap pump + heap strip? Specifically, anyone in the same area that has done this before? Today the Bryant dealer came and spent only 15 min looking at my attic. He took away my drawing of the 2nd/3rd floor plan with window and room sizing and said he would run it over the weekend through a load calc program to see what's the corect size and propose some setups for me. I guess I won't know any details for a few days. Again, thanks for the feedback. If I don't get to talk to you again here, have a very nice weekend Ryan!

I too am looking at the Rheem RPQL-JEZ and variable air handler. As a second home at the beach, does not qualify for $1500. Older home was enlarged fron 1700 to 1900 sq. ft, tin roof, bad ductwork and currently has equiv. of 10 seer unit which is still running but overworking at an ave. summer cost of $500/month. It is time to replace. Current quote from long time reputable local Rheem dealer is $8425 which includes, RPQL 3.5 ton 15 seer HP and RHKL Variable AH with all new ductwork. Includes 1 yr. svc contract, prog. tstat,all new R-8 insulated ductwork sealed w/mastic, new return air plenum sealed w/ mastic, drain pan, zinc ball, flushing drain lines, electrical and permits and taxes. Haven't asked him to break quote down into new ducts and ductwork labor, HVAC labor and equipment. I have found same Rheem unit online $3265 with no labor, ductwork, permits, etc. Another was $2695 but was the RHLL air handler...shipping is included with each of these. Also looking at $300 charge for Microguard www.adsil.com to help with rust and corrosion. Any suggestions on ways to get cost dow?