Shawn:
Not to put you on the spot, but, do you have any experience/opinions with reliability/longevity of certain brands?
Unfortunately, there are so many horror stories by users on the net with even the supposedly 'top end' brands. The impression I get is that the old gear - that is replaced by these efficient but complex, sophisticated, computer controlled systems - worked far more reliably over their life. I think that I'm going to keep it as simple as possible at perhaps some penalty to overall system efficiency.
Keeping in mind that we live in a small market on Vancouver Island, my (probable) installer recommends Trane first then Carrier.
Awaiting our estimate tomorrow with some trepidation...
Thanks
TAM