Where, specifically in North Carolina do you live?

I'm near Charlotte

3 things jump out on this quote...all quality HVAC...certainly nothing special about the pricing...anything about a filter media cabinet?

1. I do not believe you need the 120 KBTU XV80 model furnace for Charlotte, NC. I would look at the 100 KBTU model TUD2C100B9V5VA...80 KBTUs plenty large enough!...

2. Why not the XV95 high eff model furnace with 95+% efficiency?

3. I don't like these single stage AC condensers for a large living space in SE high humidity location...consider the 2 stage XR17.

IMO

I also question the 5 tons of cooling. The Charlotte airport has a summer design temperature of 91 degrees. I don't see why a 3000 sq. foot house would need 5 tons of cooling unless there were big losses in the attic duct work.

Did any contractor do a load calculation?

Hi, thanks for the feedback. All great points!! I'll go back to them & see what they say. Are you open to continuing this conversation? Would really appreciate it!!

Hi Mike, I will ask for a load calculation...this is worse than buying a car!

Thanks!! I obviously need to do my homework & so thankful to this forum!!

just curious...what size furnace/efficiency and AC condenser are you replacing?

TD

I can only tell you model #'s from the stickers...both are Lennox, the furnace is G40UH-60C-110-11 and the AC is 10ACC-060-230-04. Does that help?

Yes, it helps...as far as providing heat in winter and AC in summer, how has old system performed as far as your comfort?

TD

No complaints, been cooling & heating over 10 yrs without any issues. The AC started giving us issues this yr and we had 2 companies come out & both are telling us we have a pretty big leak & it's just a matter of time...we could keep adding freon but it's too expensive, etc.

the 3000 sq ft is all above ground and does not include any other finished living area like a below grade basement?...if so, I will stick with my suggestions from my initial post above...definitely you want to be sized correctly.

1. you want media filter cabinet

2. I would want a high eff 95+% eff furnace like Trane's XV95 over the XV80

3. I would consider the 2 stage XR17 AC condenser over the sgl stage XR16.

IMO

Hi Tigerdunes, the 3000 is all above ground, no basement (I wish). I will look into the XV95 & the XR17 but I bet those may be more expensive, you think? Maybe I could ask them to throw in the filter cabinet to the deal, not sure what one would cost but maybe there is some wiggle room. Thanks for all the help!!

Considering you currently have a 5 ton and it seems to be working and not icing up that is probably why they recommended another 5 ton. Also using general climate zone info and sq foot info you fall into the 5 ton according to here. http://asm-air.com/airconditioning/what-size-central-air-conditioner-for-my-house/

What is concerning and what the folks above are talking about is it recommended for 200 sq in of return per ton and about 400 CFM supply per ton. What that means is that you need sufficient duct work to handle the 5 ton. What size is your furnace filter, that is typically where the bottleneck for return is. You would want 1000 sq in at the filter (approx. 36 x 30). You also need supply ductwork to handle 2000 CFM for distribution. You can get away with 150 sq in per ton return but the 200 sq in per ton return is the recommended sizes for HVAC noise.

If you are changing out the furnace for efficiency then you should get a 95% efficient instead of another 80% which was quoted. *Edited*

I agree, a filter cabinet would be ideal to include in the quote, there are various options/pricing.

I take issue with previous post and next to last paragraph. OP has a low end Lennox furnace. You should never purchase mismatched HVAC and OP would be limited to a 13-14 SEER AC condenser paired with the older furnace that surely only has a conventional PSC blower motor.

IMO

Hi Tigerdunes, what does "OP" stand for?

Original poster. Ill edit that out tiger, thx.

You are the OP....and this is your thread...=original poster....

LOL - gotcha!!

Tigerdunes, I'm getting closer to firming things up but something new popped up in the process. I'm now comparing quotes for a XR-16 AC & a XV-80 Furnace. Initially these units were based on 15.5 SEER with a 120K BTU but then we discovered that the 24" wide furnace would not fit up my attic stairs so they revised the quote with a 14.75 SEER & 100K BTU system. This other furnace is 21" wide & they also had to change out the evaporator coil to be narrower. I'm being told that the price would not change but that doesn't seem right to me...bottom line, I'm getting less in my opinion so why wouldn't the price be less? Can you give me some guidance, should I push for a price reduction? Below are the 2 systems. Thanks so much!!

All good equipment...you should re-check the model number of the AC condenser. Quote reads XR16 but model number listed is for XR14. I don't like the 80% furnace even for Charlotte location but that is your choice. I would also discuss evap coil choice that yields mediocre SEER and EER. I am listing below a better choice that you should mention to dealer.

9010105 ActiveSystems TRANE XR16 TRANE 4TTR6061C1 4TXCD010DS3 1360 *UD2C100B9V5 57500 13.00 16.00 1RCU-A-CB All 453 Yes

IMO

Thank you, can you break down these part #'s.

4TTR6061C1 is the Condensing Unit

4TXCD010DS31360 is the furnace

BUT WHAT IS THIS BELOW:

*UD2C100B9V55750013.0016.00 1RCU-A-CB All 453Yes

I gave you the matching AHRI system numbers that provides cooling BTUs and both SEER and EER with the bold number evap coil that you should ask your quoting dealer about.

4TXCD010DS3 alternative evap coil that gives you much better cooling efficiency numbers.

IMO

So, the 2 things I need to have addressed is the correct XR-16 model # & your suggested evap coil model #? Did I get that right?

Yes, as long as your mind is made up on the 2 stage 80% eff var speed furnace that you listed. If you are satisfied, then that's fine.

IMO

Thanks! I'm not 100% firm on the 80% eff var speed furnace...I'm going to still ask about the high eff 95+% eff furnace