Cost for Bryant Gas Furnace Upgrade

[buckeye home]

I am building a new house in Southwest Ohio. I am very pleased with my builder and HVAC contractor. I need to decide between a Bryant Model 340MAV (90% efficiency) and Bryant Model 355MAV-The Plus 90i (96% eff with variable speed). Humidifier and and air conditioner are the same for both models. I am trying to determine what's best for me -- reliability and comfort for the cost difference -- $2300 will buy some nice wine! I will be buying two units (one for each floor). I know the manufacturer list price difference, but I would like to know the "real deal". Thanks in advance for your help.

[Edited by buckeye home on 02-06-2005 at 08:50 PM]

[fincomber]

Buckeye,, site rules say we can't discuss price here.
That var.speed furnace is really gonna give you some nice
humidity control in A/C mode. Maybe up in ohio you are not
too worried about A/C though. My experience is that the reg. 90+ will give you less service trouble but that var. speed will give you serious comfort esp. if you use the carrier/bryant thermidistat instead of a regular thermostat.

[Toolpusher]

Go with the VS units,
You'll only pay the upgrade costs once.
But you'll save money for doing so every day.

Buy the extended warranty if your affraid of the break down repair costs. Get it on everything he installs for you. From the stat to the coils, I covered everything for up to 10 yrs. And I had to get a new stat about 5 yrs ago.
$200.00 stat was free.
It's not very expensive, but well worth it when you need it.

[buckeye home]

Thanks for your points of view. I did not mean to offend anyone on "cost" issue. I should have talked "value for the money". Sounds like there are some reliability questions around variable speed systems. Is it Bryant equipment or do all variable speed systems just have more things that can go wrong, and hence they need more maintenance?

[dash]

Originally posted by fincomber
Buckeye,, site rules say we can't discuss price here.
That var.speed furnace is really gonna give you some nice
humidity control in A/C mode. Maybe up in ohio you are not
too worried about A/C though. My experience is that the reg. 90+ will give you less service trouble but that var. speed will give you serious comfort esp. if you use the carrier/bryant thermidistat instead of a regular thermostat.

Ask about the Evolution/Infinity control,you'll want to go that way with the variable speed.Far better than the Thermidistat,or any other brands control system.

[docholiday]

First off, fuel wise they are equal when it comes to efficiency. There may be some savings with electric but the real difference between a PSC motor and ECM motor is comfort. With the ECM you can control humidity in the summer which is just as important as sensible temperature if not more.

You can also be assured of constant airflow as your filter begins to collect dirt, this will prevent equipment damage from low airflow. That said it doesnt mean you can avoid changing filters. It may also adjust to the user closing a vent off here or there and will ramp up to see that the equipment has the airflow it needs. If you are going to upgrade the filter, ECM (Variable Speed) is almost a must.

Dont think your going to save enough if cost is your only concern but know that you are paying for a significant change in comfort ability.