What is the size of your house and what is your location in Southern California? I will assume your main priority is cooling.

Are you sure the model number for the Bryant furnace is correct? I was not able to find it. This is model has a 70,000 BTU input compared to the Rheem which is 45,000 BTU. One and possibly both of these furnaces is the wrong size. The Bryant dealer may have picked this one since it can accommodate a 3 ton condenser. You should be able to find smaller furnaces which can be a proper match.

You should not be buying an ADP coil. Installers do this to save money. Buy the same brand matching coil so that is covered by a single manufacture's parts warranty.

What thermostat are you getting with these systems?

All of this equipment is the Bryant and Rheem entry level products. A single speed 80% furnace may be appropriate for Southern California. I think you should spend a little more money and purchase a better condenser if you plan to live in this house a long time.

Thanks Mike ! We are in San Diego and Yes you are right the priority is to have cooling and the home size is 1700 sqft. What the dealers having been trying to do is buy a 14 SEER system and use a better fan and coil to get 16 SEER efficiency, and have provided me with AHRI cert to prove their claim.

I brought a Nest thermostat and would be asking them to install that with the new system.

I am trying not to go with very expensive systems, dont have a very long term plan @this home.

Also I got an additional quote from Carrier dealer,

Condenser 24AAA536,

Coil CNPVP3717ALA

Furnace 58PHY070112

These folks gave me the same thing, i.e. 14 SEER with better coil/condenser to go up to 16 SEER.

Appreciate the feedback, thanks !!

My Bryant was an unmitigated disaster.

"My Bryant was an unmitigated disaster."

More likely your installer was the unmitigated disaster.

The minimum SEER rating for the southern US is 14.0. It is a bad practice to oversize the furnace so you can achieve a 15 or 16 SEER rating. The furnace will short cycle. Maybe that is not a big deal for you since you will rarely use the furnace.

It is my understanding furnace and condenser manufacturers will test their components and measure actual EER and SEER performances. Companies like ADP supposedly do simulations of the performance. I don't know how true this is, but when you think about it how could ADP test hundreds of combinations of equipment and always come up with better numbers? Is seems a little fishy.

In my opinion you will not notice a difference in savings between equipment rated 15 and 16 SEER in a real life installation.

I really think the reason why companies get into playing these games is to try to make their equipment appear more efficient at a lower price point. At the end of the day it's not going to matter all that much.

There are so many things that go into the efficiency of a HVAC system it would make your eyes spin.

OP: your biggest problem is that you are taking this costly job on when you don't plan to stay at this house for very long. So because of this your willing to sacrifice the efficiency of your HVAC system to only appear efficient on paper.

This doesn't mean it's right or wrong, just that it may wind up biting you.

A full HVAC system replacement should be viewed at a minimum as a 15 year investment. If you plan on staying at this home 5 years or less, it's unlikely you will recoup the investment even with a modest lower end system. It may help you sell the home faster, other than that no.

If you're in a high end luxury home market (home value is 350K and above) you would probably be better suited to put in higher end equipment. You can take the gimmick type approach, but the more educated the home buyer the less likely they will be duped with these kinds of shenanigans.

In a high paced fast selling real estate market HVAC system replacement won't matter all that much. Simple reason is that if you buy and install HVAC system, the warranty drops to 5 year parts after ownership of the home changes. So for that reason it's better for the new home owner to take on this job to get what they want in a home comfort solution.

I serve the Katy, Texas area.

The SEER rating game started in 2009 when the $1500 federal tax credit became available. HVAC contractors were encouraging their customers to over size the equipment in order to hit a number. People didn't care about sizes as long as they got $1500 of their tax bill.

Thank you so much for the feedback. I gather it is better to go with a 14 SEER system and manufacturer coil if budget is my constraint rather than trying to oversize it on paper. Not trying to gimmick anyone and the term of staying is really a hopeful thought, who know how things will pan out :) but just trying to understand more and stay within limits. Would you folks advise spending about $1500 more and going in with a trane system (14 SEER again)

Cooling - XR14

Furance - XB80

Coil - Trane comfort coil

Also is 35 BTU/ sq ft a good measure for furnace capacity in san diego ? At least that's what I am gathering and unfortunately the folks giving me quotes are giving numbers from 45,000 to 70,000 BTU's (using 35 it should be close to 60,000)

certainly not the low end XB80 furnace, look at the XT80...

IMO

The San Diego winter and summer outdoor design temperatures are 46F and 81F degrees. I would think a 45,000 BTU furnace at 80% efficiency will keep you toasty warm on the coldest nights in San Diego. As for summer a 3 ton AC is probably over sized unless very poor insulation and like the indoor temperature to be below 75 degrees.

The only reason you may want to buy a recognizable brand name is for resale value. Most people recognize Carrier, Trane, Lennox, and some others. Good with a brand that is popular in your area.

San Diego like most of California is an area of microclimates. Right on the coast is cooler but that changes quickly as you move inland. If this house is as little as a few miles inland, summer days will consistently be in the mid to high 80s, and then some, regularly. More than a few miles, even hotter. Go with what the contractor recommends. Your numbers, Mike, sound reasonable for very coastal locations but not otherwise. I have a family member down there less than 1 mile from the ocean as the crow flies but they're on the eastern side of a north/south hill of a few hundred feet of elevation. The difference from their house to the beach can be nearly 10 degrees.

Concerning Bryant? I had two systems replaced two years ago, A/C and natural gas furnaces, using Bryant mid-range units. It's what the contractor recommended. I couldn't be happier with the performance. And yes, which HVAC contractor does the work and how it's done probably matters a lot more so long as a decent brand and not bottom-of-line equipment is used.

You make a good point Elmer. The numbers I quoted are for the San Diego airport area which is very close to the coast. There are numbers for San Diego, Miramar which is further inland. The winter and summer design temperatures for that area is 42F and 88F degrees.

I think the OP would like to go with the HVAC professional recommendation, but the quoted furnace sizes 45K to 70K BTU. Few installers want to do a load calculation and many will recommend over sized equipment. It is a frustrating situation.

Very interesting, Mike. SD Airport is across the street from the bay and Miramar is just a few miles inland from the beach.

There are so many variables, including duct problems, that the contractor is key. I think HERS testing is now required statewide (though I'm not 100% certain about SD) and fixing duct problems in general can make a difference in efficiency and comfort. Although, the San Diego area has a very mild climate with moderate summers and winters so unless this person is far inland where desert-like temps can prevail, near the coast, there's a limit to how much of a difference tightness and efficiency can make.

In a hot real estate market you'll get bids over asking price. There won't be any discussion about brand of HVAC unit. Let alone how old it is. The more people interested in the home, the higher the bid you can attract. (supply / demand)

There are a plethora of homes with older worn out AC systems. It is not common practice to replace AC system just before you sell the home, you will never come out ahead on that deal, except maybe very high end home 350k and above, but then you're probably going to have to spend the money on a higher end system because the clientele you are selling to have completely different requirements.

Replacing HVAC system before you sell the home can help you sell it. But this typically is not going to command a higher selling price on an average real estate listing.

It's like if the homes roof is 20 years old. There will be those who won't buy it because they know the roof is a major expense and will be needed soon. But if you put on a new roof, the prospective new home owner is not going to pay you additional, just because you have a new roof.

In a fast moving real estate world, the buyer will be lucky to even get a home. As an example it took me 2 years of looking and making offers to get the home I am living in now, for entirely different reasons than what I mention here. Due to Hurricane Harvey and other factors it's probably even worse now in my area if you can imagine that. (Location, location, location --- not HVAC brand? LOL.)

The AC that was in my house when I bought it was a early 1990's dinosaur.

As far as lower end brands go, if the installation is done properly it won't matter much. Just stay away from any micro channel coil brands. While these types of systems appear to be getting better, the jury is still out as to what the future holds.