In my three years there we never once felt the need for A/C. It will take a long, long time to recoup the $9200 difference in equipment costs - particularly with low cost electricity. If you are currently not using any A/C, there will be no savings cost on A/C - and indeed if you do start to cool there will be an INCREASE. If you are paying peanuts for electricity to heat, then reducing peanuts to smaller peanuts by spending and extra $9200 will take a long time. Unless global warming has taken a toll, I'd stick with what the majority does in your area. I can't believe that a mainstream approach will hurt property values. Take the money saved and go to Alaska each summer - lol. :-) This post was edited by saltidawg on Sun, Jan 20, 13 at 17:39

So far here's what I have for estimates, there are just 2: 1) Rheem 13 SEER 2 ton heatpump model RHSL indoors and 13PJL24A01 outdoors. 10kw back up heater on the indoor unit, Honeywell Digital pro 5000 thermostat. 5 year parts warranty, 1 year labor. $3962 This would NOT qualify for a federal tax credit. I asked about the tax credit, he'd never heard of it, but gave me a price for an RHSL 15 SEER of $5200, and according the Rheem website that one doesn't qualify for the tax credit either. His lack of knowledge of the tax credit makes me nervous (nice guy though). 2) Trane 4TWXS024 2 ton 15 SEER heat pump (XL15i) and 4TEE3F31 2.5 ton variable speed air handler. BACHTR1410 10kw heater, Trane 7 day touch screen programmable thermostat. 10 year parts and labor warranty. $100 rebate from Trane. Total cost with the rebate $5625. #2 offers 6 months financing at 0%, but I'm don't think I'd use that. He was familiar with the tax credit and said he provides all the certification and ARI number that I need for it. I'm tempted to just go with #2. Do you think that sounds good, or should I get another estimate?

Heres a Link: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/saving-energy-manual-j-and-manual-d Even when they do the calculations, the results are usually wrong In his posted comment, Bailes raised an interesting point: the problem of “garbage in, garbage out” (GIGO) Manual J calculations. Several energy experts have commented on the GIGO problem, including John Proctor, Hank Rutkowski, and Allison Bailes. Hank Rutkowski, the mechanical engineer who wrote the original Manual J document, was recently interviewed for a profile posted on the Green Building Talk Web site. The piece notes, “Rutkowski estimates that only 10% of heating and cooling equipment sizing decisions are based on some type of Manual J calculation and that less than 1% of the jobs are based on an aggressive implementation of the recommended design procedures.” Rutkowski explains the GIGO problem this way: “Manual J is a good tool if you use it aggressively. Follow the rules and it will give you a reasonable margin of safety. But the average contractor says, ‘Better safe than sorry,’ so he fudges here and there. He adds 5 to 10 degrees to the summer and winter design temperatures, calls the building ‘average’ instead of ‘tight’ and doesn't take credit for shading by interior blinds and drapes. Then when he finally comes up with a load number for sizing, he throws in an extra half-ton of AC just for the heck of it.” For a high-performance home, sizing by Manual J may still result in oversizing Several years ago, I had a conversation with building scientist Joe Lstiburek about air conditioners installed in Building America homes in Las Vegas. “HVAC designers are committed to the institutional oversizing of air conditioning equipment,” Lstiburek told me. “The average system is sized at 150% to 200% of the requirements of Manual J. They oversize because they don’t know what they will get for a building envelope, and to compensate for duct leakage and inappropriate refrigerant charge. If you size according to Manual J, there is already a fudge factor built in. But most designers then add another fudge factor.” According to Lstiburek, their experience proved the high-performance Building America homes in Las Vegas could have had HVAC systems sized at about 60% of Manual J. To be conservative, his team recommended installing systems sized at 80% of Manual J. Does oversizing matter? There are strong arguments against routine oversizing of HVAC equipment. The best argument is simple: oversized equipment usually costs more than right-sized equipment. Oversized equipment suffers from short cycling. For example, an oversized furnace brings a home up to temperature quickly, and then shuts off. A few minutes later, it comes on again, only to shut off quickly. Many homeowners find the see-saw sound of a short-cycling furnace to be annoying. When air conditioners short cycle, the units don't run long enough to achieve much dehumidification ��" at least in theory. (During the first few minutes of operation, an air conditioner cools a house. But not enough moisture has collected on the cold coil or on the pan below for any water to have actually gone down the drain. When the air conditioner turns off, all of the moisture in the pan and on the coil just re-evaporates.) The conventional wisdom may be wrong, however Increasing evidence shows that energy experts have exaggerated the negative effects of equipment oversizing, however. Studies have confirmed that oversized furnaces don't use any more energy than right-sized furnaces. Moreover, newer modulating or two-speed furnaces operate efficiently under part-load conditions, solving any possible problems from furnace oversizing. Although there are ample reasons to believe that oversized air conditioners are less effective than right-sized equipment at dehumidification, at least one field study was unable to measure any performance improvements or energy savings after replacing an existing oversized air conditioner with a new right-sized unit. The bottom line The main reason to choose right-sized equipment is to avoid paying too much money for equipment you don't need. A Manual J calculation will ensure you don't spend more than necessary for your furnace, boiler, or air conditioner. Moreover, a Manual J calculation will provide room-by-room heat loss and heat-gain information that is essential to good duct design. Without good duct design, you're running the risk of comfort complaints.

I just had a similar system installed in July here in Mississippi but have the XR-15 4 ton version AHRI# 3962232. We share the same furnace. Total $6,707 before tax. Installer is an old family friend. They were able to use my existing concrete slab and line-set. Included new pan and drains, overflow switch, dryer, hard-start preventer, new entry and exit plenums, 1 year labor warranty. I provided a LUX TX9000TS programable stat from Lowes. The 4 ton XR15 compressor came with a noise blanket so am assuming your 3 ton XR15 will too?? Inside and outside fans are very quiet. You'll like the constant torque 3/4 HP ECM motor on the TUD1C080A9H4 furnace. Note that the blower speed factory default is wired for medium-low (yl/wh wire). Within a week I changed to medium-high (bu/wh wire) with the installer's blessing of course. Heat & humidity is about the same here as in FLA and so far no issues. Energy consumption is exactly half of what my old 1986 Trane unit was using so you'll like that too. Looking forward to filing for the Tax Credit.