Hi, I'm having a weird problem with my York heat pump. I bought the system last fall and it worked fine all winter and the AC worked fine for the first couple months of this summer, but a couple weeks ago, I came home and the indoor fan was running but the outdoor unit was not, I couldn't get the outdoor unit to come on, and I couldn't get the air handler to shut off. I have a Honeywell VisionPro 8320 thermostat. The first time it happened, I tested that the outdoor unit was actually still functional by pressing the contactor on the outdoor unit, this actually seemed to fix everything for about a day, and then same thing, outdoor unit wouldn't come on, air handler wouldn't shut off. Yesterday, I removed the thermostat (the VisionPros can be temporarily removed from their base) and turned off the breaker to the outdoor unit, then turned the breaker back on and put the stat back on and everything worked again. Everything worked fine yesterday and the better part of today, but tonight, it's back to the original problem. Anyone have any ideas what might be causing the problem? I'm definitely going to call a technician to come look at it, but I'm just curious as to what might be the source of the problem.

I am looking to replace a forced-air electric furnace with an electric heat pump. Our house is a standard split level with about 2700 sq. ft. of living (heated) space. My problem is that I have had four different contractors come out, and have received four different quotes as to the size of the equipment recommended. I have been given quotes for 3.0 ton, 3.5 ton, and 4.0 ton systems. I have even had one contractor say that in order for them to install a system and warranty the work, they would have to install two new return-air ducts in the ceiling of the top floor (the house has two return-air ducts already, located at floor height in the center of each floor). We live in Seattle, so I would really only need cooling for a few weeks each year, if that. I am mostly concerned with getting the most out of my heating needs. Now I am confused with who is providing the correct equipment. Does any of this seem strange?