HVAC questions

[tullymn]

hi,

Just had the local gas company out to give me a quote for a new air conditioner and furnance. They recommended carrier. For the furnance the infinity 96 and performance series for the air conditioner. I want an electronic air filter for home, and they recommended honeywell. A couple of questions i want to validate:

1. They said heat pumps are a bad option in Minneapolis, MN and never pay off - i was looking at getting one. I thought it would work in spring/fall and in the heart of winter I'd use the furnance.
2. They recommened the Honeywell electronic air filter as he said Carrier gets the electronic air filters from Honeywell, so i'll be getting the same technology for a little cheaper.
3. I forgot to ask if the Honeywell filter is integrated with the Iinfinity thermostat.
4. He said an infinity air conditioner is not needed in MN ( I was interested in the 2-stage vs 1 stage). Do the above statemens appear avlid? The price and everything I thought was fair, but I still plan on talking with a few other carrier installers.

I apologize in adavance if I missed these questions in previous posts.

Thanks!!

[BaldLoonie]

1. They're the friggin gas company, of course they don't want you to put in a heat pump There is a lot of weather above 30 when a heat pump would be cheap heat. Your juice rates aren't that bad. Certainly something to look into.

2. I don't know that Honeywell makes Carrier's but I wouldn't have either. Personally I'd go with the Aprilaire 5000. It uses a media that you replace typically annually instead of cells you constantly have to wash.

3. nope

4. Anything above 13 SEER won't pay you back economic wise in your area, summers are way too short. If you want 2 stage just because, great. Don't buy it for the energy savings to add up to much.

Personally I would look to locally owned dealers instead of a utility. I would think you'd find much more personable service and isn't better giving your money & biz to a smaller family business instead of a huge corporation that is a monopoly as well?

[tullymn]

Thanks for the quick reply. You are right, they wouldn't want to recommend a heat pump for me - didn't think about that one.

I do plan on calling a local installer as well as that would be my preference. I try to do my business with local shops (hardware, auto repair,...) instead of the big chains whenever possible.

[diynot]

4. Anything above 13 SEER won't pay you back economic wise in your area, summers are way too short. If you want 2 stage just because, great. Don't buy it for the energy savings to add up to much.

Please, what weather zone does a two-stage furnace/AC start to make economical sense? There is a zone image here if it helps. Thanks.

[firecontrol]

Two stage equipment is mostly about comfort not economics. The two stage furnace fires at a lower input in milder cold weather and the two stage air conditioner runs at the lower capacity in mild summer temperatures. Both these functions allow for the equipment to more closely match the heat loss and gains of your home making it feel more comfortable with less temperature swings. In the infinities case you will save on the electrical usage during heating and cooling seasons because of the variable speed motors it uses.

I'd go with all carrier equipment as with any manufacturer because you can get longer warranties on the smaller items (air cleaner) on total system installs.