Could I trouble you guys for a personal question about this?
I am right where you describe it, at this moment in the South on a very humid day but of mild temperature (everything is damp and sticky, so much so that yesterday I turned off the heat and switched to AC out of desperation) -- we are TOMORROW signing the contract to replace our aging and ineffienct home system and I would dearly love your advice, hoping to avoid the purchase of something that would instantly obsolesce or do uneeded harm, or run up our operating costs. With or without brand names is fine, but what we're looking at is a new-tech-type SEER 17.5 to 19 two-condenser heat pump with a matched variable speed air handler (using the new coolant that supposedly isn't being phased out with the bad old freon, I forget the numerical designation, 42-something?) and the superduper electronic air cleaner.

Help! It's many thousands of dollars and feeling like an enemy of the environment if we stupidly screw this up. I am very bright and I've done my online research at the various consumer websites but I'm NOT technically expert in any scientific field, least of all this one. Thanks in advance, JJ