Caution
 

I have the Mitsubishi whole house ducted system for over three years. It is an efficient unit and it is very quiet but there is an issue with it being unable to hold point it will allow the unit to run it lower speed up to 4° above Setpoint without ramping up, you have to manually increase the speed or drop the thermostat to its lowest setting to get back to set point this is a problem using the Mitsubishi thermostat if you change to the Honeywell, thermostat you go back to a two speed system and lose efficiency MS air conditioning has been unable to resolve this issue

I always thought that a heat pump system referred to the compressor reversing operation in the winter in order to extract heat out of the air.

You may want to also look at replacement parts. How easy they are to get. If it takes longer to get a replacement part for a Mitsubishi for example, how long are you willing to sit in a house with no A/C?

I also have the Mitsubishi whole house ducted system and love it! My system seems to keep the house at 2 degrees cooler than set on the thermostat and runs very quietly. Once we discovered this, easy enough to just set at a level where we are comfortable and pretty much forget it. Our rooms are way more consistent in temperature than before purchasing this system. Definitely see a reduction in electricity from old system. We also have the Mitsubishi mini split in our lanai and it also is a great system. I purchased from M&S and their techs are all very knowledgeable and personable. Couldn't be happier.

We replaced our whole house air conditioner with a unit that has a "scroll" compressor. It is cheaper to operate. The scroll compressor does not have the huge spike in amperage draw that traditional compressors have. When it was put in we were able to replace the 40 Amp. circuit breaker with a 30 Amp. circuit breaker. An ac technician had told me that the high seer ratings advertised today are not usually achieved in real world applications.

My systems are both 4-5 years old and neither have needed any replacement parts, so hasn't been a problem, but as far as I know, M&S has the contract maintaining all of the systems at Rec Centers, etc for The Villages, so I am pretty confident they have an adequate supply of parts. Plus, with overnight deliveries, etc---I'm guessing not much of an issue.

Absolutely. I consider that with everything I buy for the house. There was another thread where a guy was waiting 4 months to replace an electronic part for a fancy variable speed compressor that he bought from an out-of-town contractor. Carrier parts for a single stage compressor are readily available in The Villages.

We bought a Carrier with SEER Of 19, very efficient and quiet. Cost quite a bit more them 16 SEER Unit but the pay back is worth it IMO. WHile we are snow birds and don’t use system during the hottest part of the year, I am impressed that our typical electric bill is less then $90/month. (~1700 sq ft CYV). I would base my purchase on price, warranty, and SEER. We have a 12 year warranty (parts and labor). If the manufacturer doesn’t have faith in their product (good warranty) why should we as purchasers. So long story short, buy the best system you can afford.

Just a thought, but, if the house temperature is 2 degrees cooler than the thermostat setting, it could be that you have the humidity control setting turned on. This will overcool the house to reduce humidity when needed. I always leave the humidity setting off, unless the house will be unoccupied for a long period.

Heat Pump Conversion
 

Good morning, everyone, lots of good information regarding HVAC systems here. My situation is this. I have a typical 3-ton HVAC system with a indoor gas furnace installed in 2006. Looking to be pro-active, I have been getting estimates for a new system comparable to my existing system and also quotes for a new system using a heat pump unit outdoors for AC and heat, and just using an air handler indoors. I've been hearing pros and cons regarding each system and just wondering if there's anyone out there that went to a heat pump only system and did away with the indoor furnace. With FL temps, I would think that heat pumps are very efficient because we hardly dip below 30 degrees. The new systems using only a heat pump are about $2K higher than the conventional outdoor condenser and indoor gas furnace combo. Any comments would be greatly appreciated, thanks, Bob.

High efficiency HVAC
 

For the whole house we have a high efficiency HVAC and for the garage we have a Mitsubishi. The advantage of the high efficiency HVAC is the variable compressor and air handler. Basically, the speeds vary in accordance with demand. Inside the house the temp stays almost constant - you don’t have the on/off cold/warm feeling from traditional AC or Heat units. Our unit brand is American Standard - which Consumer rates high along with Carrier. At the time we bought it, Munns quoted almost 4k more than Chuck for the American Standard. We keep our house at 73 degrees almost year round. During this heat wave our unit ran 20 to 23 hours each day between 30% to 60%. Our electric bill is roughly $50 lower than the Carrier unit that was in place when we moved in. Basically, the same holds true for the cold weather months. Bottom line the high efficiency units keep the home at a constant temp at a lower energy cost, but there initial cost is several thousands dollars more. The Mitsubishi unit for the garage is 12,000 btu and we keep the garage at 77 degrees. It too is high efficiency and runs similar to the HVAC for the home. I did insulate the garage doors and above the garage which made a significant improvement. (Our house faces east).

A lot of houses in The Villages do not have gas available, so a heat pump is the way to go. Both systems will work fine, so I would not pay an extra $2,000 to get a heat pump. But I would shop around to see if you can reduce the cost difference, if you would prefer a heat pump.

Can someone give me some clarity, the original poster mentioned the unit costing around $1,400.
I looked up Mitsubishi and Seer and they both come in between $3,000 and $5,000 and that is without mentioning the labor to replace the existing unit.
I'm I missing something here?

The OP said the Mitsubishi unit was $1,400 more than the Carrier, not that it cost $1,400.

Parts? Service? See what kind of capacitor the Mits uses, and can you get it online at Grangers. If it is common and easily available then you are OK. If not, steer clear.