Hi Guys, Wanted to get the opinion on the quotes I've received from a few local HVAC installers. The prices seem pretty high compared to the prices I've seen from sites like acwholesalers, and since almost every company says they can install the units in less than a day I don't think a lot of the price is going towards labor? We're in the Charlotte, NC area. Here's the specs: House is 3 stories and 4,058 sqft. 1st floor is just under 1,700 sqft, second just under 1,800 sqft, and third is just under 600 sqft. Installers recommended 3T for the 1st floor, a 2.5T or 3T for 2nd floor, and 1.5T or 2T for 3rd floor. Our present systems are the Trane XE1100 series and 3T, 2.5T, and 1.5T. Our electric bill is out of control in the hotter summer months ($450-$500). So looking at going to minimum 14 SEER and up to 17 SEER units to get our electrical costs under control. Our furnaces and run on propane. First year we were in the house, our highest propane bill was over $600 for one month. Since our AC units aren't also heat pumps, we were burning up money like...well, propane lol. After installing a big Century fireplace insert in place of our propane logs (which we never used), our propane bills were cut in half. [B][U]Questions[/U][/B] 1) To help more with our heating, we thought that going with a hybrid AC system would be a good idea. Some installers recommended just going w/ the AC rather than adding the heat pump. The heat pump feature would add about $1k to the cost of the units, and some installers warned that the added wear wasn't worth the costs savings due to increased maintenance costs. What would you guys recommend? New hybrid systems w/ AC + Heat Pump w/ Furnace for extremely cold nights -or- AC only w/ Furnace? 2) Prices have been all over the place. Smaller companies have been more economical. Here's some of the prices we've received (all are for Carrier units): [B][U]AC Only w/ Furnace - 3 ton, 3 ton, 2 ton[/U][/B] 14 Seer: $18.8k 16 SEER: $21.8k [B][U]AC + Heat Pump + Furnace - 3 ton, 2.5 ton, 1.5 ton: [/U][/B] 14 SEER: $23.9k 16 SEER: $25.4k 17 SEER: $34.2k [B][U]AC + Heat Pump + Furnace - 3 ton, 3 ton, 2 ton:[/U][/B] 14 Sear: $21.5k 16 SEER: $25k With ACWholesalers, I've seen the same sized units (although they were all Goodman and not Carrier units) go for $2-$4k each. Since the lines aren't being replaced, that means equipment costs should be b/w $6-12k, meaning I'm looking at over $10k in labor and miscellaneous material costs for 1 days work? I'm guessing the carrier units are more expensive than goodman...maybe a lot more expensive...but one installer actually quoted the goodman equipment in his install, and the pricing was the same as the carrier units. I was considering just buying the units myself and placing them where the old units are - then hiring some pros to come in and do the line brazing and handle the system checks, but after doing some research on Goodman - it sounds like all their products are junk. One installer even refused to install goodman b/c they won't make much on the warranty repairs - which they need pretty frequently (apparently). So...how do those prices look to you guys, and what would you do? Thanks in advance for any advice! It is really appreciated. I'd like to get this work done without having to get a home equity line of credit!!

Stumped 2yrold a/c unit- have been having attic smells so they replaced the intake which had major holes , and they put in Flex , At first seemed to solve problem, within next day - back to smelling attic smells again! What else could this come from?? Any suggestions appreciated Thanks