Amana furnace and A/c

[kblee]

i got bids for a new furnce and AC unit and the company carries carrier and amana. i've only heard negative things about amana heating and cooling products -
i get the notion that if it's installed correctly, it should work great, but between carrier, trane and amana any things that should sway me one way or the other?

the amana furnace is a downflow model- GCS9 and the ac unit is a asc13 or asx14 (or last year's 16 seer model)00 the furnace will be going into a hall way area in an enclosed closet space so to speak. is this unit really noisy?

i'm nervous b/c every other bid i've gotten has been for one of the other major brands-

also- we live in the bay area (outside of san fran, where it actually gets hot)- it's 100 today.


thanks-

[makinmoney]

Go with the one that provides the best overall warranty....for peace of mind.

[skippedover]

Comfort is what you're seeking. In this phase of the process, you're seeking psychological comfort. You should know that you're dealing with a good, reputable company. The size of the company and years in business are not necessarily the markers needed to help you with that decision. Did they do a Manual 'J' load analysis or are they guessing or using the old unit numbers? If not Manual 'J' was done, find someone else. If the Manual 'J' was done, follow the contractor's recommendation. If they don't care which manufacturer it is, then use your own judgement or that which will give you greatest mental comfort. As for noise factor, if the duct system is properly designed and installed then I'd highly recommend a 2-stage furnace from whatever manufacturer you ultimately choose. The reason is that on low fire, with a variable speed blower motor, it should be almost silent. It'll ramp up to 2nd stage mostly a night as the shoulder season months slide into deep winter. That means that most of the time the furnace will kick up to 2nd stage in the middle of the night while you're presumably sleeping. The daytime kick-ups will happen in the deep winter but you'll likely not even notice anyway. It is possible to get 2-stage cooling as well. That can save you some money on operation and also leads to much greater comfort and quieter operation. Of course the unit will be on 2nd stage more during the day and 1st stage during the nightime. Good for sleeping comfort. See, it's all about comfort. :)

[kblee]

i received 3 bids, all from reputable companies in the area and NONE of them did a manual J or any sort of calculation. they all claim that they've done this for soooo many years that they can pretty much estimate what i need.
they all said i needed a 4 ton a/c -- in terms of the furnace is there sizing for it as well like with an a/c unit? i called the ones in my area that were recommended by friends and neighbors-- how can this be?