Thanks for the comments tigerdunes. We've been over this quite a bit already. The pricing is average for the North East....labor rates tend to be quite high and the $600 rebate makes the price of the furnaces excellent. I obviously have two stage thermostats and the sizes of the furnaces were decided after heat loss calculations. I live in an older home in a cold climate and my calculations were within 10% of my contractor's. The calculation for my two floor unit came in at 75kBTUs. The contractor initially wanted to install a 100kBTU unit, but I talked him down to 80kBTU. The furnace for the renters below me is a bit large, but it was the smallest two stage available from American Standard. I thought about installing a 92% efficient 40kBTU single stage furnace with selectable motor speed, but as the 60kBTU two stage with variable speed motor was the same price after the rebate I went with that one.so that both furnaces essentially the same and to get the variable speed blower. I imagine having the second stage will also be nice on very cold mornings.

Your first answer confirmed that the extra run time on AC does provide some additional dehumidification but now you say it is a "gimmick" that I "fell for". Only with a 2 speed air conditioner. BUT it's still mostly a gimmick. WHY? a 2 speed air conditioner's first stage (most brands) is approximately 70% of capacity of the machine. It is more or less in dehumidification mode when the unit runs in 1st speed. (It must be a 2 speed AC condenser.) However, 1st speed turn on is not determined by humidity it is determined by temperature. Do you see the problem with that? The kick to 2nd stage is often times determined by time. Usually in the realm of 8 to 10 minutes or the temperature difference from set point to current temp of the structure (usually greater than 3 degree difference will initiate stage 2 within a few minutes). Humidity again plays no importance / no determination from ramp up or down --- it's all decided around temperature set points. How about now? Do you see a problem with that? So when in cooler seasonal temps --- the system will nearly always over cool... very much like a single stage air conditioner does all the time. PS: I'm not angry. But you should be for being 'duped', by the super slick advertising nonsense of the HVAC manufacturers. If I was angry why would I then turned around and explain things to you further so you understand the point being made here? What does 'SERVICE' mean to you? This is a service business, you will ALWAYS need service... better hope it's the kind you really want. I service the Katy, Texas area.

Two stage furnace isn't any more prone to breaking than a single stage. The difference between 2 stage and single stage? Gas valve has two different modes of operation. One is partially open, the other is full open. Both types of gas valves would have similar lifespans. There isn't anything more overly complex with a two stage gas valve. Cost to replace 2 stage gas valve out of warranty would be marginally higher, but by then you'll likely be in the market for a new one anyway. gas valves are probably one of the most reliable parts to a furnace at least in my experience. Provided of course the installation is performed properly. If you get garbage in the gas line, you can't expect the gas valve to work can you? You're in an extreme heating market (Chicago) so naturally it will seem like you're always having to do something to that furnace. The more you use something, the more it is likely to break, need maintenance etc. I doubt you will see much difference in repair cost vs a single stage furnace.

@Ray Austin, Trane freon leak in video below from a different HVAC contractor... nothing new here. I bet I could find a leak video on any brand. Nature of the business. First, the video you attached shows a unit with a refrigerant leak not a Freon leak. The nameplate on the air handler indicates it's configured for R-410a refrigerant. Freon is DuPont's registered trademark for R-22 refrigerant. It's different from R-410a. New equipment using Freon refrigerant hasn't been manufactured since 2010. You know that, right? The distinction is important, particularly on a website where homeowners are collecting information from "professionals." At least the narrator of the video referred to it as a refrigerant leak. Anything with moving parts can fail during its normal, useful life--whether its a top-rated brand or a bottom-of-the-quality-barrel brand. Suggesting all HVAC equipment is the same because they all contain foreign-made parts is like saying a Maserati and Kia are manufactured to the same quality level same because both have foreign-made parts. Many manufacturers outsource production of parts and subassemblies to manufacturers around the globe which deliver to their same quality standards as U.S. component manufacturers. Foreign vs. domestic sourced components is simply not relevant to a discussion about quality. When judging the quality of a particular brand of HVAC equipment, it's best to make assessments based on lots of data--not a single experience, and certainly not the experience of a single service contractor. To this end, houzzers will be well served to refer to Consumer Reports. 24,000 consumers is a pretty good statistical sample size for a survey about HVAC brands. To reiterate CR's assessment of Goodman equipment: In this survey, no brand earned a Poor reliability rating, but Coleman, Goodman, (emphasis added) Luxaire, and York received a subpar Fair rating. People should take this into account if they’re considering buying a central AC system from one of these brands. Source: https://www.consumerreports.org/central-air-conditioners/most-reliable-central-air-conditioning-systems/ Sorry, Ray, but suggesting all HVAC manufacturers are in the same category because they use foreign parts is simply wrong. But don't take my word on that. Take it from Consumer Reports--they're in the quality assessment business. They put Goodman HVAC equipment in a particular category-- and if it isn't at the bottom of the barrel, it's close enough to think twice before buying anything with their label on it.