Tigerdunes The first contractor called me back & offered a 10% reduction in price (~$1200) if I would let them start to install his system this week. I turned down the offer, as I want to improve the structure before committing to any bids. I would appreciate you input on the following. I have been sealing up the recessed pot lights, ceiling & wall recepticals & other air leaks. The R-38 ceiling fiberglass Batts are poorly installed plus wiring & cpvc pipes are compressing the batts almost flat in some areas. I would like to add loose celuose over the top of the fiberglass to fill in the cracks & cover the joists, & bring the R-value to ~49. However, I have been reading that in my high heat, high humidity climate (Tampa) that the increased mass of celuose may cause more heat to be retained in the attic, & would be over kill on the suggested R-value. What do you think? My attic has four large (4') roof vents just below the peak plus full open soffets on the gable ends, plus dozens of openings along the lower roof overhang. If this is not enough vent area, I could add a vent opening & maybe a fan, near the top of each gable end. I also plan on adding some reflective material to the inside of these two south-west facing gable ends. Another concern, in the attic, is the way the cathederal ceilings are insulated. I would like to fill the heel area with styra-foam blocks (scrap) to build it up to the level of the rest of the ceiling joists then continue the celuose over the top. I think that just adding the celuose in that area might be too heavy. What do you think? Reguarding the supply ducts, not so much their size, but the way they are hung. It would seem to make sense to have them running along the ceiling joists & have them at least partially buried or wrapped in insulation. They would be shorter, with fewers turns & would not be as flat in some places. The duct have been sealed up a few years ago, so leaks are at a minimun. The return ducts (3ea. 14") run along the joists & are not hung up with straps like the supply ducts. Why is this? code? I sure this may have something to do with moisture or mold??? If there is no down side to running them like the returns, I would like to, at least lower, straighten, & insulate them better. All windows & sliding glass doors have had tinted window film applied & several that had heavy sun exposure, have been shaded by awnings. So I do not plan on replacing them even though all but three of them are single pane. My attempt is to get the heat/cooling load down from the current total of 5 ton (3.5 & 1.5) to a lower number, maybe 4 ton. But I'm not sure how realistic that would be. Thanks for your previous suggestions.

Ryan, The old system was a 3 ton Carrier AC unit and a Carrier furnace (sorry no more details known). There had been condensation forming around the uninsulated metal boots going into the house. This lead to water accumulating in the ductwork, and required the replacement of the ductwork. Your advice a week or so ago was extremely helpful as one company was pushing a 3.5 ton Lennox and did not address the water in the ductwork. I feel the actual system is a good fit for me, it just needs the ductwork to be properly designed. I presumed that as the ductwork was being replaced, there was appropriate consideration given to making any neccessary changes. I may have presumed too much. The company seems to be more concerned with the amount of return rather than supply, but I am sure there will be additional discussions on the matter, so I appreciate being as educated as possible in a short period of time. Thanks for the confirmation that .97 static pressure is unacceptable. I may have to consider adding return and or supply floor vents to cure this problem. I will find out if the Manual J standards are being met.

I would agree with Tiger, more of an apple to apple would be the G71P and Lennox whole home powered humidifier Carrier Infinity controller is top notch. will work directly with their humidifier.

Answer to Brad: I m located in Quebec, the weather is quite cold here, also the electricity cost is very low compare to the rest of north america, so comparing to me might not be very useful. I would suggest that you compare your electricity consumption with you neighbors ( ask your neighbor) or colleagues at work, that would give a better idea how your heat pump performing, try also to find out if your your utility company has a tool in there web site where you can compare your consumption with your peers. Hydro Quebec (our only utility company) has tool that gave me how efficient my home versus similar sizes home.