I'm in a house built in 2005 with Goodman equipment. Basic A/C and propane furnace. We have leaking A-Coils, and last year spent about $600 on recharging. We have known it had a small leak and have had it recharged once a year for the last few years.

We have decided to replace the equipment in its entirety and I have two installers who I trust. One is a larger company that installs equipment in most of the homes my family builds. They deal with Lennox. The second is a friend that has been in the HVAC business in a variety of capacities. He has worked as an installer, was a sales rep for a wholesale supplier, and currently manages the HVAC work for the owner of several large income properties. He owns his own company but only does work for friends and family. He's suggesting York equipment.

I'm leaning towards the friend for a variety of reasons. Not counting all of the "extra" stuff involved, here are the three options he's suggesting.

1) 2 & 3 ton heat pumps. Single stage. 15 SEER. 96% 80K & 60K propane furnaces, 2 stage, ecm blower motor. Aluminum coils.

10 year parts & compressor, limited lifetime heat exchanger, 1 year labor warranty.


2) $1,600 more than first option. 2 & 3 ton heat pumps. 5 stage. 16 SEER. Furnace becomes variable speed. Same warranty as first.

3) $3,725 more than first option. 2 & 3 ton heat pumps. 2 stage. 18 SEER. Furnace same as second option. Warranty adds limited lifetime compressor. Qualifies for $750 rebate from electric company.


Any advice or opinions?

At 10 cents a kilowatt you save around $40 dollars a year in electricity between 15 and 18 seer.

If you consider the warranty you are paying $160/per year insurance over 15 years for the limited lifetime warranty.

If they don't weasel out of paying the claim.

Had an HVAC that the company agreed to replace the heat exchange for free but the labor made it as expensive as replacing the unit.

I had a Lennox natural gas forced air furnace and AC installed in 2018 to replace a 29 year old Trane system and it’s been great. Lennox makes good, reliable stuff.

I formerly designed AC compressors for what is now called Emerson Climate Technologies. The one thing you want for sure is a "scroll" compressor by this company. Only four moving parts. Most HVAC manufacturers source this compressor in their systems.

What would be your backup heat source for the frigid days when a heat pump will not work?

There are a myriad of benefits to multi-stage systems.

There are diminishing returns to increase SEER.

Option 2 may be your goldilocks solution.

I like option 1, then 2, then 3.

I am not sure about York. As I am not in the business. They were one of the main players years ago. So probably good to go.

I've always stated, go with the best warranty and what you can afford. As said before, the key is a professional install.

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What would be your backup heat source for the frigid days when a heat pump will not work?

I'm out in a rural area. Currently set up for propane which is why he was going to stay with the propane furnaces. I also have a pellet stove.

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At 10 cents a kilowatt you save around $40 dollars a year in electricity between 15 and 18 seer.

He says I'll see a big difference going from what I have to a heat pump. Not only in electricity, but also in propane usage.

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Option 2 may be your goldilocks solution.

This was actually his suggestion. He offered me the first option in the event I wanted to save a few dollars, and added the third at my request as that would be the point where I could qualify for the $750 rebate.

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best warranty and what you can afford. As said before, the key is a professional install.

The warranty offered by the Lennox dealer is actually better. He has a 3 year standard warranty with the option to buy it out to 5 or 10 years. He is also several thousand dollars higher at just the a/c level, not even getting to the heat pumps.

I'm familiar with work by both, and it's quality.

Will either of them be doing a load calculation?

Is the "5-stage" a typo?
I only see single, two-stage and modulating on York's site.

Personally don't see the need for a two stage furnace on a dual fuel setup. The heat pump is going to be taking care of anything above 30-35 F degrees outside. And the furnace providing heat for anything below 30-35 F outside.
A two stage furnace shines when you are using it for the whole outside temperature swing, not partial.

Option 3 would be a no-go, as in waste of money.

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Will either of them be doing a load calculation?

Both did, and both sized the furnaces the same. The Lennox dealer suggested a 3.5 ton instead of the 3 ton, but otherwise both also came to the same conclusion on the 2 ton.

One of the issues appears to be related to the ductwork in the house. It should have been sized slightly differently and its current installation makes it very difficult/costly to rectify. Both were mostly concerned about the return air not being what it should be, and both were going to adjust for that in some fashion.

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Is the "5-stage" a typo?
I only see single, two-stage and modulating on York's site.

I believe he's referring to the modulating, which according to the paperwork he left has 5 levels.

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Option 3 would be a no-go, as in waste of money.

He told me as much, but humored me as I wanted to see if the rebate would offset the expense. The rebate itself would get roughly half of the difference between 2 & 3 back, but the remainder would not be made up for in energy savings.