I own a 2500 sq ft house built in 1970, bought 3 years ago. The AC stopped working. It was diagnosed by a service tech as a dead compressor. He recomends replacing the 30 yr old GE 3.5 ton compressor with a 3.5 ton Train XR11. I asked a few questions about the coil, heat pumps, replace entire unit - AC plus gas furnance - but he stuck with recommending just replacing the compressor. OK, that doesn't sound too bad. I plan on getting two more quotes/recommendations, one from Sears, and one from a contractor recommended by a friend. After that I may go back to the original company if the newer recommendations differ to give them another chance.

I grew up and lived in NY and NE. I know a little about boilers and nothing about forced ac/heat. I've looked over some of the other posts here trying to get my bearings. This ac/heat business sure leaves the consumer in the dark!

Our use of ac/heat is minimal. We keep our windows open for as much of the year as we can. AC on when it's in the mid/high 80's, heat on when the days are in the lower 60's. We plan on keeping this house for 10-15 years.

Enough talk. Can anyone educate me? Was the service tech's recommendation good? Is there a bigger picture I should be looking at?