[Marshmom1]

I just purchased a new house in Ann ARbor Michigan, 1,684 sq ft. full basement mirrors first first floor, has energy seal applied to cracks and such prior to dry all, has three bedrooms and most of the house windows face west and NO trees.
I have had three contractors in to give me quotes and all three gave me something different in size (2 ton, 2.5 ton and a 3 ton (amanna) with two speeds) and they offered either Amanna or Goodman?? I have read all sorts of things on forums about goodman, and I'm concerned that I should be looking at a Trane or what ever. I have done my homework on line and know a lot has to to with the installer and their reputation, so what is the recommended top units to look for in the 16 Seer high efficiency rating. (TAX Credit)
One wanted to replace my new 80% Lennox furnace with a 95 % multi stage goodman and SSX16 air conditioner. HElp, I' getting confused now. :confused:

[Joshdta]

Hi, there are many different units available. Amanna and goodman are the same unit almost. 1684 sf per floor? Or total?

1684 total= 1.68 tons

3,368 total sf= 3.48 ton
if you have any questions about any unit ask away.

[wmproop]

I don`t think anyone here will give you an answer as to the size unit needed
Has any of the contracters did a manual J calculation,, this will take every thing into consideration to determan exactly what size is needed
Don`t settle for a guess. To small a/c unit will hurt you as well as one that is to big

And like you have learned,, the installation is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing to ask for referances about

[Marshmom1]

The basement is unfinished so it would be the first floor only which is 1,684 sq feet. And yes one contractor did a computer generated J calculation from a new software program he purchased, one did the manual J calculation and the last one well he just guessed and he is out of the picture. The one contractor using the computer software for the J calculations told me a 2 ton 16 Seer Goodman with a 3 ton coil and a 95 % efficiency multi speed furnace as a package deal. The one who did the manual calculation said a 3 ton 16 Seer two stage Amanna.
So second question, are Goodman and/or Amanna's worth continuing, there have been so many bad comments about goodman but they have made changes over the last few years and appear to be competitive especially with their warranties.

[wmproop]

I myself like and prefer Goodman equipment, but I don`t care for the multi speed fans because they are very expensive to replace down the road after your warranty runs out
Also comparing the difference in the cost of 16 seer a/c and the 13-14 seer units it would take a long time to get back the extra cost because for the money the 16 seer won`t save you that much in yearly operating cost
I`m sure you will probably hear other and different opinions