Lennox

Lennox

Lennox

Ruud

Ruud

The first thing any HVAC contractor must do for new construction is a heating and cooling load calculation. If they don't they are guessing on the size and will most likely oversize the equipment. You can eliminate any contractor who does not want to do a real load calculation.

If the house has natural gas, then it makes more sense to heat with a 95%+ furnace and cool with AC only condenser. Do you know the gas and electric rates? Post them and this will help determine if a heat pump makes sense or not.

Carrier equipment comes with a 10 year parts and one year of labor. The equipment has to be registered otherwise the part warranty defaults to 5 years. Labor warranty above one year is being provided by the contractor. I see a red flag if the contractor is only offering a 5 year parts warranty.

Any quote you get must have the part numbers for all equipment. If it does not then it has not a valid quote.

When you start eliminating quotes and options we can into the specifics of some the quotes. In my opinion I would rather see you put money towards a 2-stage AC than a whole house dehumidifier.

I agree with Mike for the most part. You live in an energy producing state including nat gas. I would want to see your rate for nat gas and electric. Not clear to me that 95%+ eff furnaces are necessary for your location. I would think cooling is more important than heating.

Are you inland or coastal location?

Certainly, I would want R8 ductwork insulation, R6 not acceptable. Metal galv for trunk lines both supply and return, flex OK for runs. You want multiple returns for each zone strategically located.

Var speed furnace or air handlers.

A lot more details needed in quotes especially Carrier.

IMO

Electric is currently at $0.03621/kWh
Gas is currently at $0.51391/ccf

inland

Rates posted are all inclusive rates, administrative, transportation, etc.

A total delivered price to your home? Makes a difference.

TD

This is what is being billed to the end user, so yes, all inclusive.
I've included my floor plans if you are interested in running some load calcs.....

Second floor

Your gas rate is very good. I find you electric rate hard to believe. Please check again.

Tigerdunes makes a good point that a high efficiency furnace will have a long pay back period in your climate. The problem is the number of 80% AFUE furnaces is becoming limited. The higher efficiency furnaces may also entitle you to a utility rebate that would help offset the additional costs. Get quotes on both before making the final decision.

Correction, Electric is $0.10135/kWh

If nat gas is available, I would not have a heat pump

Whether 80% or 95%+ eff nat gas furnace, I certainly would not have a heat pump.

Taking your rates and using 3 COP for heat pumps and 95% eff gas furnace, see results fuel comparison.

Cost per 100,000 btu of useable heat

Electric baseboard: $2.77
Heat pump: $1.03
Natural gas: $0.53

Nat gas rate should be rechecked.

Fuel comparison to be used as a guide only.

IMO

your hvac systems are oversized.
all bids come out to about 400 sq ft per ton.
hugely oversized for a well sealed house.

where are you putting the foam insulation?

better than filling stud cavities in walls,
using 1" foam sheathing to exterior, conventional
insulation & airtight drywall approach to interior
is a better more affordable high performance wall.

save the foam for the roofline
& make sure that
inches = R-value for your area (R-38). no "performs
like" R-38..inches = R-value.

you need a load calc, seriously.

there is a guy fairly close to you who does
load calcs, blower door & duct testing &
has ties for foam insulation company.
drop me an email & I'll share his contact
info with you.

don't pay for oversized equipment that will
run in low speed 95% of the time.
take the time now to get units sized based
on accurate inputs into load calc.

ductwork is in foam insulated unvented
semi conditioned attic correct?

paying upgrade from R-6 to R-8 isn't
much...but may be beyond what install
crew has worked with. not a huge issue,
but you'd be surprised how they whine
& moan over stupid stuff...

just fyi other posters...code for La. is
R-6...not R-8. crazy, but there it is.

and OP, take a look at Slemco's Design One
new construction guidelines.

best of luck

Foam in walls and under roof. Ductwork will be in sealed attic, correct.
Will hvac be designed similar to the insulation you suggest compared to foam?
Sending pm.

Ducts in conditioned space is excellent. Did you get my PM about a contractor in Amite? energy_rater_la is who recommended him to me. I would not doubt him if he said that he need to do a load calculation to start his day, before coffee.

If you have not been reading about efficient house designing at the LSU web site, and it is not too late, you should do so. There are excellent resources there. Maybe better, hire an energy rater to advise and then check the construction to be sure it is being done right.

Here is a link that might be useful: for starters

Is $0.28/sf reasonable for a Manual J load calc and recommendation on insulation? That's $1210.....

No, $1210 for a load calculation is not reasonable. A good contractor will do the calculation for free as part of his quote, especially when you are looking to spend $33K.

Here is a link where you can the software to do your own calculation. You can get the one time copy for $49. The unlimited professional copy costs $389. A pro who does calculations on a regular basis should be able to enter the data within 30 minutes. Your house may take longer but I can't see taking more than an hour.

I get the impression the guy you are talking to has either has no interest in doing a calculation or needs to hire someone to do it for him and doesn't understand the costs.

Here is a link that might be useful: HVAC Calc