Be very careful with the proprietary smart thermostats they package with those variable speed systems. I put one in my Cary home three years ago, and the communicating thermostat has failed twice. When it fails, the whole system shuts down because standard smart thermostats cannot talk to the proprietary variable speed inverter boards.

My advice is to go with a two stage system instead of variable speed. It is much simpler, cheaper to repair, and works with standard, reliable thermostats.

A quality variable speed heat pump system in this market will run you between twelve thousand and eighteen thousand dollars fully installed. If you are switching from gas, you will also need to bring in an electrician to run a new two hundred and forty volt line to the air handler for the backup heat strips. That is another thousand dollars easily.

Do not let them sell you on savings alone, look at the comfort of constant low airflow during our humid summers.

We use a heat pump in Wake Forest, and while it does a wonderful job keeping the air dry during our humid July days, those winter mornings when the temperature drops below freezing can feel a bit drafty compared to a traditional gas furnace. We keep our woodstove ready for those cold snaps so the electric backup strips do not kick on and spike our bill.

If you make the switch, make sure you check the Wake County and federal guidelines for energy efficiency tax credits before you sign the contract. The qualifications change yearly, and the equipment must meet specific SEER2 and HSPF2 ratings to qualify.

Do not rely on the salesman's word. Go directly to the federal energy tax credit portal and the Duke Energy rebate page to verify the exact model numbers first.

We fell for the high efficiency pitch five years ago and let a company install a massive unit without doing a proper manual J load calculation on our Cary home. The system was oversized, so it cooled the house down too quickly without running long enough to pull the humidity out of the air, leaving us cold and clammy all summer.

The moral of the story is that the efficiency rating does not mean a thing if the installer does not calculate the actual heat load of your specific floor plan.

Thanks all, this helped. Getting a second opinion before I sign anything.