Upgrade to variable speed furnace for $480 is well worth it in my opinion. It can enhance humidity removal (which can be an important thing for our area) and efficiency. Without variable speed you may only get around 14 SEER out of that Performance 15.

Also you may want to consider the Infinity thermostat to control the system, from Carrier. I wouldn't do the Infinity furnace without it.

Were all systems quoted from Carrier?

Heat pumps can save on the heating cost, but it depends on your gas/electric bills. I'm in Montgomery County, MD, and the electric bills have been very high, which is why I'd try to get the most efficiency you can.

swarow

you asked so here are my thoughts.

an 80% eff furnace without a matching HP is a dinosaur.

I would not purchase a new furnace without a var speed blower.

Carrier's Performance 15 whether AC or HP condenser is one of the best. you do want the "H" version mdl not the "A" mdl you have been quoted.

and you should get a Carrier thermidistat to handle your area/climate's humidity issues during the summer.

what size is existing AC and did it handle your home's cooling needs satisfactorily?

what is nat gas rate/therm? and your electric rate?

post back.

IMO

That's right. I forgot the 'C' meant 80% with Carrier. I agree that in our climate you really would want to look into high-efficiency furnaces, and even A/C for that matter with electric on the rise. Sometimes physical venting problems can be an issue (i.e., you live in a condo/apartment, have trouble running PVC pipe, etc.).

The 'H' model Tiger refers to is the heat enhanced heat pump. It doesn't apply for straight A/C, but for heat pumps it really improves the heating side of things efficiency wise.

Existing AC is 2-ton. Hard to tell if sufficient since unit was on last legs. Have 10 air ducts, total in about 1400 Sq Ft.

Last (Feb) gas bill was 25 TH at $.46 and 37 at $.30 (rounded. $98 for 387 TH. Electric rate is $.083 kWh, $67 for 375 kWh.

All quotes were Carrier (I had 5 estimates, 2 companies were lower but had terrible BBB records). The company quoting Lennox (with heat pump) and the one quoting Reem came in about $500 - $1000 higher.

Quotes with and w/o heat pump.

Quote with VS and without HP provides 15.5 SEER and 13 EER.
$$6680 (not including carpentry to put place back together after 3/8 line install):
58CVA70-1-12, 70,000 BTU - 2-Stage natural Gas Furnace
24APA524A003, 24,000 BTU 2-ton performance 15 R-410A AC
CNPVP3014ATA, 30,000 BTU 2.5 ton indoor evaporator coil
33 X 38 Polymer Base Pad
Honeywell Pro 6000 thermostat (note taken to request infinity thermostat)

Quote with HP 14.4-SEER and 8.4 HSPF - $6800 (not including carpentry to put place back together after 3/8 line install)
58CVA70-1-12, 70,000 BTU - VS natural Gas Furnace(Is this a 2-stage furnace?)
25HCB324A003, 24,000 BTU 2-ton Comfort 13 R-410A Heat Pump
CNPVP3014ATA, 30,000 BTU 2.5 ton indoor evaporator coil
33 X 33 Polymer Base Pad with 3" Snow Legs
Carrier TP-PRH-A Programmable Digital LED Hybrid Thermidistat and ODTS

Is there some reason the second one has a lower SEER rating with the same upgraded VS furnace or is the SEER for AC only Also, am I correct that the heat pump takes the place of the 24,000 Ton AC unit? Also, do I need a special outside thermostat in addition to the inside one as one of the technicians suggested? He said adding a heat pump with proper thermostats would be another $800 - $1200. This quote only added about $200 for the Heat Pump?

Really appreciate all your feedback. I am pretty clueless about all this aside from recent research and this is several months pay out of my budget.

Last System has 20 yrs heat exchanger, 10 yrs compressor and 10 year parts provided by Carrier. Didn't see anything about the heat pump. Installer will provide all parts and labor for 1st year is problems and one year free service club membership.

Sorry I missed your latest response.

Either of the above setups would be nice in my opinion. Naturally I'd lean more toward the dual fuel setup to save on utility costs if electric rates are reasonable. You may want to see about possibly looking into the Performance 15 heat pump, which would be quieter and a little more efficient, but the Comfort series units are just fine from those I've seen in person.

SEER is determined in combination of the outdoor unit and the variable speed indoor unit. You'll want to have an outdoor temperature sensor to determine when to changeover from electric to gas (I believe that's what the dealer means by ODTS).

Any more questions, feel free to ask. If you want to share the details on the other quotes, we can give you some feedback. Usually when costs vary we tend to look toward the lower-end quotes on the price scale, but there may be something the Lennox/Rheem dealers are proposing that the others are not which would improve comfort, such as ductwork improvements.

Might want to upgrade with the Infinity Hybrid heating which will get you the $1500 Tax credit for this 2009 tax yr. I have the Infinity 58MVC furnace and will tell you it is a very nice piece of equipment, the controller is also another important thing to be sure to have as without it you will not be able to take advantage of all the Infinity equipment can do such as humidity control, and the ability to communicate with the outdoor unit AC/HP if you do not have it. The ECM blower motor is another nice feature which you can leaving running in the heating season will cost you just pennies a day to run and helps to keep your ID temps thru out your house evenly by not having hot spots or cold spots. Get the either the 2 stage Infinity or the 58MVC 3 stage along with the Perfromance 15 or the Infinity HP and Infinity controller will give you long lasting comfort for the next 20+years. Be sure to also have the installing company give you a 10/10 P&L and you should also have a 4" media filter included with the furnace or you can have a Honeywell 5000 or the Carrier Infinity EAC installed will be the Catz Ass for equipment. But most importantly have them do a load cal on your home efore any equipment sizing is done and if they tell you they don't do load calc's keep looking until you find a company willing to do one, and another thing to consider is if your home is not very tight you may want to air seal your home and insulate your attic/walls and upgrade your windows if necessary before you have any equipment replaced because if you have the new equipment installed now and then a year from now you insulate, airseal, upgrade windows your new equipment that was installed the year before will now be oversized leaving your with higher utility bills, short cycling of your furnace/HP which will shorten the life of the new equipment. Also be sure to have them look over your duct work to be sure it is adaqutely sized for the proper air flow even thou the Infinity VS EcM blower is alittle forgiving regarding poor ductwork and since your upgrading it will now be the time to have that done as well and have the install company do a manual D along with the load calc will allow you to have the properly sized duct's and equipment for many years to come.