I think the rheem quote looks good. If its 8-grand less thats a major reason to go with that quote. 95% efficient 2 stage furnaces are plenty comfortable and efficient. A good thermostat will make it run in the low-stage most of the time. True modulating or 3 stage furnaces are more comfy but maybe its overkill. Just make sure your not oversized. Remember 95% efficient furnaces put out 15% more heat than the same size 80% efficient furnace. FYI - those rheem A/C's in the quote are plenty efficient also and RHEEM makes good quality stuff I think.

tiger and mike, the carrier guy just got back at me this morning and gave me another combination he thinks that will help me...save $$$ a little more. here are his new quote. please kindly check out if this is a good system to replace my old hvac system. A/C: 24ACC6 Performance Efficiency Up to 16.5 SEER Limited Warranty 10-year parts limited warranty when properly registered1 ENERGY STAR® Details All Carrier air conditioner products achieving system combinations of 14.5 SEER and 12 EER or higher meet the ENERGY STAR guidelines for efficiency. Proper sizing and installation of equipment is critical to achieve optimal performance. Air conditioners must be matched with appropriate indoor coil components to meet ENERGY STAR criteria. Ask your contractor for details or visit the ENERGY STAR website. Sound Quiet Level2 As low as 72 dB Features Sound suppressing compressor blanket Controls Controls Supported Edge® and Comfort™ thermostats Technology Refrigerant Environmentally-sound Puron® refrigerant Compressor Single-stage Scroll Cooling Capacity (tons) 1.5 - 5 Pressure Switches High and Low Aesthetics Protection WeatherArmor™ Construction Galvanized steel Paint Baked-on, powder coat paint Coil Guard Steel, louver Coil Guard Gas furnace: 59TP5 Performance Efficiency Up to 96.5% AFUE Inducer Motor Single-speed Gas Valve Two heating stages Limited Warranty 10-year parts limited warranty when properly registered; Lifetime limited warranty on heat exchanger1 ENERGY STAR® Details As an ENERGY STAR partner, Carrier Corporation has determined that the Performance™ 96 gas furnace meets the ENERGY STAR guidelines for energy efficiency. Controls Controls Supported All Thermostats Diagnostics On Board Technology Capacity 40,000 - 120,000 BTUH Blower Motor Multiple-speed ECM Primary Heat Exchanger Aluminized steel Secondary Heat Exchanger Fin-and-tube stainless steel Fuel Natural Gas; convertible to liquid propane (LP) Aesthetics Profile Variable-speed Multipoise Construction Galvanized steel Paint Baked-on urethane base coat and polyester top coat Evaporator coil: CNPVP Performance Limited Warranty 10-year parts limited warranty when properly registered; 10-year parts limited warranty on optional tin plated coils; 5-year parts limited warranty on copper coil1 Technology Refrigerant Puron® refrigerant Coil Configuration Cased N Features Thermostatic Expansion Valve Cooling Capacity (tons) 1.5 - 5 Installation Vertical Aesthetics Construction Heavy gauge steel cabinet Paint Taupe Metallic Thermostat: TC-NAC Performance Limited Warranty 10-year parts limited warranty when properly registered1 Technology Staging 1 Heat, 1 Cool Access On-unit Power Supply 24-volt or battery Aesthetics Display Backlit LCD non-programmable thermostat total price: $8132.00 (MD rebate of $80.00 and fed. tax credit of $500.00) net investment: $ 6832.00 gentlemen...what do you think of this system? will this work? I specifically told the carrier guy the other day that the original quote he gave me were just over my budget and needs to come up with another system that will replace my old one. thank you both! BTW: here are the exact model numbers for each: A/C: 24ACC642003 GAS FURNACE: 59TP5A100E21..20 EVAP COIL: CNPVP4821ALA THERMOSTAT/NON PROGRAMMABLE: TC-NAC01 hope this helps...

The moisture produced in a house doesn't just disappear or burn up in the furnace. Most houses that are dry in the winter are leaking heated, humid air. Better to recognize low humidity as a signal to tighten the leaks in the shell and both stabilize humidity AND conserve the energy spent heating the air. Many suggest the best first step to improve energy efficiency is to tighten the envelope by sealing leaks and cracks. We followed the advice at sites like BuildingScience.com, and tightened our house. Our winter humidity now stays around 35% just from showering, cooking, etc. If it were lower, we would first look again to improve the shell. Also, we agree that no one should take our word for it. We referenced the Lstiburek article and web site so anyone interested can read from an authoritative source and form her own opinion.

I got it working. As I said, I connected it directly to a 24VAC transformer and it ran just fine, so that eliminated the humidifier. Then I started tracing the wires. Two wires ran up to humidistat and connected directly to the humidifier. At first I thought it picked up power at the thermostat (which is mounted next to the humidistat). Nope. So I rewired it so that the humidifier picks up power off the "humidifier" terminal on the furnace board and it runs just fine. It simply wasn't getting 24 VAC. The furnace is about 10 years old and to the best of my knowledge the humidifier was installed with the furnace and it's obvious from the condition of the pad that there was water in the unit. I just have no idea how it ran.