Please help, I need the advice of the trusted community!! I have six quotes on new central air (none existing) and a new furnace. I finally have drilled it down to about three different quotes and I'll leave the SEER discussion out of it since I'm definitely going with 10-12 for my climate (Cleveland, OH). My concern is the difference in: brand name, BTU rating, single vs dual stage and 80 or 90+ rating. 1st quote - Lennox 2.5ton AND anything between a 80+ single to a 90+ 2 stage, 80000btu furnace. Lennox has the good housekeeping seal of approval and could be the most costly. 2nd quote- Rheem 3 ton AND a 92.5 efficient, 2 stage 75000btu furnace or a 80+ 2 stage furnace for $300 less. 3rd quote-Comfortmaker 3 ton AND a 100,000btu furnace in single or 2 stage (80 and 90 efficiency). Did they quote a larger furnace to make sure air is pushed to the top floor. My house has four levels (Split) so naturally I'm concerned with AC getting to the top floor. Thanks in advance to any and all who participate. POWER TO THE PEOPLE

My house has 2 zone forced hot water by gas. At the end of last winter the first floor would not heat up to the thermostat setting. I turned the heat down to 64 during the day while at work. When I got home the thermostat reading would be a few degreees below 64. I would then set the thermostat at 72 to heat the place up and it would take an hour to reach 68-70. Out of curiosity I set the thermostat at 80 and it still would not go over 70. A pal who knows a little plumbing checked the thermostat and said it was ok. He pushed a lever on the furnace that he said overrode the thermostat and said the heat pump seemed ok. The baseboard pipes were warm. The house is 11 years old. I got to get this fixed before this winter. Any ideas what the problem could be? Should I call a plumber, a HVAC tech or the local gas company?