I am in the bay area as well, here is a quote that I got for 1400 sqft, was told 80,000 BTUs is adequate.
(did not do a manual J calculation), we have double pane windows as well and the attic is well insulated.

* trane XV80 - 2 stage variable speed.
* remove old ductwork & haul away.
* 8 ducts/1 return
* wireflex ductwork with dampers to balance
* gas flex/shut off valve
* thermostat
* wall switch/hardwire
* 20 yr warranty on heat exchanger/5yr on factory parts
* 2yr warranty on labor
* city permits

$5200

Kanji4ever, If you need, I can send you the HVAC contractor info from whom I got the quote.

For the experts, please, I need some help.

1. Is the quote reasonable for the CA bay area?
2. Is it worth to get the extra warranty on labor
3. should the ducts be tested for leaks or it does not
matter since the ducts are going to be new.
4. contractor never mentioned anything about duct design,
what should be I asking him with regards to duct design?
5. Any other questions that I should be asking the HVAC
contractor ?

Please help & thanks in advance.

WOW, your quote is substantially lower than mine.
even if I do the Trane XV90 which one contractor said is about $1450 extra, it is still still less than $7000.

The ductings and all the installation labor are about $4500.
Which means the furnace itself is $4500 in my case?
That is a bit weird.

Yes, Please send me the contact information of your contractor, I would like to give him a call.

San Francisco Airport has a winter design temperature of 38 degrees F. If you have reasonable insulation and windows you need an 80,000 Btu furnace like an earache. The smallest Bryant 2-stage variable speed blower furnace is 40,000 Btu. That size would be my recommendation. This is the only furnace Bryant makes that is 96% AFUE. It's physically large and may not fit into all locations. Each furnace size (Btu input) has it's own efficiency rating. Ask for a Heat load calculation (Manual J) to be performed. That is the only way to size equipment. If the furnace is too large the system will short cycle and never reach the published efficiency ratings and you may not be comfortable. I cannot comment on pricing.

I live on the East Coast, our outdoor design is 11 degrees F. Most homes have R-11 walls and R-19 in the ceiling. I cover a 2000 sq' house with a, 92+% AFUE, 60,000 to 75,000 Btu furnace. Most of our housing only need 45,000 to 50,000 Btu on a cold day and will average about 75% of that number for the winter. 2-stage heating is nice way to go. The furnace will operate on low most of the time, less air noise, better air mixing, filters filter longer, humidifiers humidify longer, all the good stuff.

Bryant is Carrier with a different paint job. Trane and American Standard are the same sans paint, Rheem and Ruud sans labeling etc.

Good luck.

thota and 4ever

Bonannza is absolutely correct. Your dealers are way oversizing yawl on heating BTUs. Get a load calculation and have your new furnace sized correctly. And 4ever, your quotes are absurd while thota's is more in line. I would also include a good media cabinet for air filtration, protecting your blower and evap coil if you ever add AC.

IMO

tigerdunes,

Yes, I think the quotes are absurd. I don't know why cost so much. I thought it would be around $7k to $8k range.

I asked everyone of them are you going to do a heat loss/gain calculation.
Everyone replied yes. But all they do is measured and wa-la here is the size you need right in front of my eyes without any calculation.

I am meeting with contractor #1 today. I will ask him for the calculations. They should have the calculations right?

Thanks

kanji4ever, I sent you an email, hopefully you got it.
Stu & Dunes, thanks for the feedback, really appreciate it.

I did some initial search & follow-up on this forum, used consumer checkbook which reviews & rates local contractors & picked the ones that very high marks, so far each one has just looked at existing furnace & gave me the sizing. One of them was bad to the point that he didnt even spent 15 minutes.

I will try to get some more estimates & review the
the existing estimates with more Qs, hopefully I can
get more meaningful answers from the contractors.

thota,

got it. But they don't service in my area.

Anyhow, spoke with contractor #1 today.

installation details:
new electric connection, new gas connections, cuttings, plenum transition, removal/disposal of existing equipment, 2 stage t-stat, clean work area, new system startup, 5-yr parts and labor, labor and materials, permits, and sale tax.

still with Bryant plus 90i, 60k btu unit, with electronic air cleaner, 5 ducts with 1 return
all $9300.

with Trane XV90 $9300

seems like price is firm. darn expensive.

will meeting with 3 more contractors the next couple days and see what I get.

update:

contractor #4 came today. He offered exact same thing i.e. same model, and everything else as contractor #1.
He is 2k less than contractor #1.

This may shed a new light in terms of savings.

2 more coming on Saturday.

and
I am setting up appointments for attic insulation. (the above saving can go toward attic insulation.)

man.... the cost up run never ends......

Just wanted to chime in on sizing calculation. We had to replace the furnace on our 10 yo house, and both furnace companies that quoted told us our furnace was oversized for the house, cycled too much in winter (we're in the Midwest) and cracked the heat exchanger early because of it. We bought a smaller furnace, two stage (makes a big comfort difference) and our gas bill went down as well. good luck!

I have just started recently looking at replacing my 15 year old furnace, and at the same time, considering the replacement of the same aged A/C unit. I am looking closely at Bryant since they have the dual stage, variable and wireless remote control of the furnace/ac/humidity.

I am in Canada (few hours north of Toronto) and even then now only run a 60,000 btu unit in my 2000 sq.ft. home ,,,,, and its fine. I donÂt remember if the new furnace is that or a 80,000 btu unit.

I am shocked to see your quote that high since mine includes the AC unit as well, and tops out at $8400cdn (incl install, and $500 in tax) for the 90i. I am keeping my humidifier and electronic air cleaner from before though and save there. Canadian Federal and Provincial governments are also kicking in about $2400 in rebates right now ,,,, trying to push environmental and energy savings etc. A good time for me to change over as the exchangers on my present Heil are rusting pretty good.

KC

update two.

contractor #4,5 came this past weekend.

Contractor#4 offers Trane XV90 60k btu furnace. 5 yr labor/installation warranty.
$7900 after PG&E rebate

contractor #5 same as contractor #4 but 10 yr warranty.
$6700

As you can see the dollar amount change drastically from first three contractors. I think $7000 is about as low as it gets.

I think I will go with contractor #5 after I do some research on the company.
After all price is not what determine who gets the job. I still need a reliable company.

update:

contractor is putting the units right now.
I also purchased Aprilaire 2400 media filter together with that.

Thanks everyone for the invaluable information provided.

Will update after the unit is up and running.