I am glad to see you have been able to get an upgrade from the Carrier Base model.

You should always get a 2-stage thermostat in order to properly control a 2-stage furnace. If you don't then the low and high staging with be set by a furnace control board. Basically what will happen is when the furnace fires up it will always start in the low stage and stay there for a set period of time. It then goes to the high stage and stays there until the thermostat is satisfied. In summary you will have paid for a 2-stage furnace but really have not gotten the benefits of comfort or efficiency.

The 24ABB is a single stage condenser. I don't think the 2-stage thermostat will matter when paired with the 58CTA furnace. The blower is set to one speed for the AC at the time of installation. The thermostat has no ability to slow down the fan in order to improve the dehumidification.

In my opinion you should get the 2-stage thermostat and enjoy the comfort of the furnace. If you want better humidification (which I highly recommend for central NJ) then you need to upgrade to a variable speed furnace, or a multi-speed furnace with a 2-stage AC.

If you look, you might find a model that is 2-stage for heat and single for cooling.

Thanks again Mike, I can "see" it now the way you explained. I wish I could bump up to a 2 stage AC but it's not gonna happen. As you can see I was able to work the 2 stage furnace and now I want to maximize the setup.

I saw that my Utility provider has a promo going in RE: elec conserving with an AC unit. "Cool Customer program"
a FREE state-of ��"the-art digital display programmable thermostat with large touch screen, installed at no extra charge (a $300 value) that can be programmed to fit your personal schedule and comfort level to save energy and money; plus a one-time $50 credit on your electric bill.

Mike I think you might be JCP&L ( i feel for you ) but this incentive reads as follows:
" if summer energy demand in our service area is extremely high, your central air conditioning compressor may be cycled on and off at 15 minute intervals. Cycling helps to minimize the impact of high energy demand ..."

They actually have the ability to control this through the hook-up. Sounds a little big brother-ish but I almost don't mind that scenario since I will still be benefiting when the system is cycling down by less elec usage.

Thoughts ???

I actually have PSE&G and and am aware of the program to cycle the AC condenser during brown outs. The cycling is done be a unit that is wired into the condenser. The cycling is done by radio control and not through the thermostat. The thermostat is the incentive to sign up. It is probably a thermostat you can buy in Home Depot for $50.

I had this installed a long time ago on my old AC condensers. I have not had them re-installed on my new equipment. My only concern is if this would violate the Carrier warranty. You should check with the contractor.

Mike,

At least in my area, the device you described is not connected internally to the A/C condenser. it is installed between the 220 V power switch and the condenser and serves to remove the 220V power supplied to the unit.

similarly, the device associated with the electric hot water heater is identical in operation - it is in line with the 220V supplied to the heater and serves to remove the 220 V supply. Likewise, it has no connections internal to the unit.

YMMV

PS The available credits here are considerably more than the OPs and we have the option of agreeing to various duty-cycles as far as power off during high usage periods... the largest credit is "earned" when we let them cycle our unit off 100% of the time during these peak usage times... $80 per year plus one time $80 credit.

I did not re-sign when I installed my heat pump hot water heater and new Carrier Heat Pump and oil furnace two years ago.

Here is a link that might be useful: PEPCO Energy Rewards

This post was edited by saltidawg on Thu, Mar 14, 13 at 20:29