Air source heat pumps don't make sense in areas where winter temps frequently fall below 32 degrees. Once you get below freezing, you will be running the auxillary heat a lot. If you decide to go the air source route, you will want a second stage gas fired auxillary heat. I live in the mid-atlantic region in the mountains and selected GT. That choice was coupled with a blown cellulose insulation package. My other choice was a propane heat/electric AC with a foam insulation package. Both options were roughly the same install cost. Both would have provided similar energy efficiency. At the time we selected, propane was 3.75 a gallon and rising (with no end in sight) so we went with GT. The delta cost for the GT system (above the cost for a HE propane heat and electric AC system) was $15,000 for the heat pumps and loop plumbing (including pumps) plus $17,000 for digging the pit. The pit excavation should not have cost as much as it did but it is a 12 ton system and the hole was gigantic (120' x 48' x 6'). We live on a mountain and hit a bunch of boulders that required special equipment to get out. Rocky soil also required a 1' base of stone dust to cover the loop piping. The total cost for the GT HVAC system including all ducting was $50,000 plus the pit excavation cost of 17K. It is a large investment and I would only recommend it if you plan to live in the house a very long time. My heating bills are great - maybe 300 dollars maximum a month during peak winter for an 8500 square foot home (5900 living and the rest a condiitoned but unfinished basement). Make sure that whatever equipment you choose can be maintained by more than 1 very qualified HVAC company who has many years of GT experience. In my area there is only 1 GT company who has over 20 years of experience but I am stuck with them for maintenance. There have been times when I wanted to fire them but cannot. Local competition is a good thing. Also - if you build a tight home make sure that you consider ventilation and dehumidification in the HVAC design. I wound up adding both a whole house dehumidifier and energy recovery vent after we moved in becuase we had basement moisture issues as well as stale air in the winter. Tight homes are great for energy efficiency but can create health issues too. It is easy to deal with as long as you plan for it. Good luck with the build.

That was the ideal combo I found when looking the furnace and air conditioner you spec'd. The mod is a great furnace for the best indoor comfort is sized properly, but you're right that those numbers aren't fantastic on the heat pump. Though the 8.7 HSPF is what matters in heating, and that's not too bad. I'm assuming in Canada you don't use too much A/C? What are the requirements for the rebate in your area? The Amana should be an okay system. If looking for a good system for indoor comfort abilities, I suggest you do some research online at Carrier's Infinity system. If you use another brand--and there are many good brands out there, including Rheem, Trane, Lennox, and others--I suggest the VisionPRO IAQ thermostat from Honeywell to control the dual fuel setup. Hope this helps. You have to do lots of research with HVAC to get the best system, but it's worth it in the long run.

"If they do not measure the home, door, windows etc don't waste your time with them. Move on to someone else. If they are willing to cut the corner on the most important step at this stage of the process what else will be skipped?" I recently purchased a new system, and I had 8 or 9 sales reps come out. I stuck with reputable companies who had an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, NATE certified techs, Comfort Care specialists, President's Awards, etc. Not a single one even mentioned doing a load calc, or any other type of measurement. I wouldn't rule out a dealer just because they didn't offer to do a load calc, you'll probably have to insist to get one done. In the real world it's rare to have someone come in and do a load calc, at least in my experience. As far as the heat pump, sticking with the lower end units would make most sense financially. If you look at mid-grade units, also ask about the higher end units. I found that with the 30%/$1500 Fed. tax credit that the higher end units ended up costing the same, or even less, than some of the better mid-grade units.

Where milder/less mild matters is in the heating season with a heat pump. The AC functions about the same, but if it's too cold out the heat pump BTU output may not be enough to keep up. Even if you have plenty of AC capacity in the summer. I assume you're on NG and not propane. Also, $2.1 per hundred cubic feet (ccf) would be more normal. Ours in ATL is around $1/therm (therm = ccf), and it might be $2.1 once you add on the administrative costs. It might make sense, if you're already paying the overhead on your NG account, to go with a dual fuel system. The extra use spreads that admin cost further, if your system is set up to do it when it makes sense. A dual fuel system will run the HP until it can't keep up (or the controls lock it out based on outside temperature), then kick on the gas furnace as the 2nd stage. This takes advantage of running the heat pump most of the time without needing electric heating strips as backup heat. The HP will put out about 3X as much heat as the energy it uses- that's what makes it cheaper to run than a NG furnace. But the backup heat strips are 1:1 on energy to heat, which usually isn't competitive with NG. Also, I kind of like the idea of having a standard efficiency gas water heater. Offends my drive for efficiency, but as a kid on the N end of AL, the power went out enough during hurricanes, ice storms and the like that it was nice to still have hot water (and a fireplace) when that stuff happened.