Hello, my 14 year old construction grade AC units are starting to get tired and have been diagnosed with a few leaks. I would also like to get them proactively replaced before they give out in the middle of the summer. I have received 3 different quotes so far, 2 of which proposed full system replacements and moving to a minimum 16 seer and thus include furnace replacement. There will be no improvement in furnace efficiency as I already have 95% down and 80% up.

The third quote recommended AC replacement only, and just installing a 13 seer unit. He also recommended the installation of heat pumps. His rationale was that a furnace can easily be fixed if it breaks in the future, and likely we will get 5-10 more years (if not longer) from the existing units. He also indicated that the installation of new furnace units later on will not be more than a few hundred dollars more than doing it with the AC now. The heat pumps he recommended for all the standard reasons.

Before speaking with the third quote, I was on board with full system replacement and moving to 16 seer, but now am questioning this as I respect the third company well.

We are located in the North Carolina piedmont and see regular summer highs of 85+ and winter lows of 20-40. Budget is not a concern given the quotes we have gotten to date.

Thank you in advance for your opinions on what makes the most sense.