I have SEER confusion: Help?

[duckman06]

Again if money is not a concern install a 16 seer system. With the federal mandates that will more then licky change to 14 seer in the future you will be ahead of the game with a 16 seer.

Even if you sale the home in say 5 years. You will still have a more energy eff. System to past along to the next homeowner. Keep
Copies of electic bills as this can help you sale the home by showing the next buyer if you sale what you have been paying.

Plus depended on the system and how it registered for both limited and extended warranty it could easly be transferred to the next homeowner! This will give them extra incentive to buy your home over say your neighbors with a lesser seer system. Also you will
Benfit with good electic bills and Better control of the new system for comfort. This is along as which ever system you choose is sized and installed propely can offer you many years of savings and comfort control. Even if you sale the home you will have a edge over others in your area that are saling their homes and in my opion make your home worth more in the process.

[wahoo]

As Dan mentioned, without knowing the cost of the utilities and approximate location, we can't really give accurate advice on this request. For example in our area, at 8 cents/kw, based on 1000 hours of operation (AC), and a 3 ton unit, a 14 SEER would cost @$205 a season, while a 16 SEER will cost @$180 a season. If you are paying a grand (or more) for the different efficiencies then the rough break even would be WAY past the average lifetime of the system (@40 years). If you add this extended ROI onto the cost of repairs on an out of warranty two stage/variable speed system then the end user may not be happy with the future results. Couple all this with the HO tendency to turn the higher effiiciency unit a "little" cooler "since it's more efficient!", then you get the call in mid-summer about the "poor efficiency unit you sold me". Okay, it never has happened? Sure I believe you????

[tigerdunes]

As I understand, OP lives in DC area and this unit would serve upstairs area. The cost difference between the two models is small and relatively inconsequential with the Rheem being the higher.

For me, the decision is more about the dealer than the two different models. Who will do the best install? Plus OP will want a true two stage thermostat that controls the two stage heat or else he will be on high stage all the time whether needed or not.

IMO

[ga-hvac-tech]

When upgrading to 2 stage heat and/or cool... one really should use a nicer and more feature rich thermostat.

One can use a 2H/2C (2 stage heat and 2 stage cool) stat... they simply call the second stage if first stage is not doing the job.

One can also get a nicer stat which controls humidity (dehum in summer and adding humidity in winter). The dehum is handled by the VS blower, adding humidity in the winter requires adding humidifier to the system.

The nicer stats have lots of features which are both convenient and fun. Some of them allow you to set up a connection to the internet and verify operation, temperature, and change settings from your smart phone all over the world... A few of them will text you if your home goes out of a preset temp range.