Considering 3 options - reasons to go for higher end?

Our current central air system is quite old - a mix of components from the ~15 year-old Bryant Furnace, 18-year-old Carrier coil, and 27 year-old Payne Condenser. After blowing a cap in the condenser last month, now the condenser has started to randomly fail to start (or shut off while running - not sure) once every couple days. Time to replace it. We've already done ducting (had the asbestos ducting abated a few years ago, and new ducting put in with an air-mixing plenum).

After getting some estimates, my wife and I have chosen one particular company to go with, for multiple reasons - their experience, size, Angieslist+Yelp ratings, years in business, labor warranty (2 years, can purchase extension to 10), and they were very open and thorough in describing their processes (including use of nitrogen when brazing the coolant line).

They proposed 3 different 3-Ton systems, all Carrier:

• "Good" Carrier ~$6000: 'Comfort' Condenser (24AAA5), Furnace (58DLX)
• "Better" Carrier ~$8000: 'Performance' Condenser (24ACB7), Furnace (58CTY)
• "Best" Carrier ~$9500: 'Infinity' Condenser (24VNA9), Furnace (59TN6); includes Infinity controller

For comparison, other companies proposed entry-level ICP-built systems, around the $7k range; one tried to sell me an American Standard system for $18k.

I am in Southern California. Part of my issue with making the decision is that I have solar PV, which provides enough electricity throughout the year for me to offset our entire electric bill, even with our old system (we guess it's probably equivalent to SEER 8 or 9). This means that I will probably never make up the price difference in electric bill savings.

My biggest concern is reliability and ease of repair - simple single-stage compressors seem easier to fix if something goes wrong, with fewer things to fail.

My second biggest concern is noise - the unit will sit just outside a living room window. For an extra fee we can get the Comfort unit's compressor wrapped in a blanket. I hear the Infinity is supposed to be the quietest. But, I'm also guessing modern systems are probably not louder than nearly-3-decade-old units, which isn't loud enough to disrupt watching TV.

My least concern is efficiency (because of reasons outlined above).

My wife and I LIKE the idea of the Infinity system - the Cadillac of home AC, as we have heard. I'm concerned about the system's complexity (more to break, harder to fix), and not sure the extra cost really benefits us. A SEER 19 over a 14 doesn't really save us any more money; a 96% furnace might save us $40/year on the gas bill. We can afford it, but it's also money we could put towards other improvements we want to do.

So, we're mainly considering the Comfort or Performance - unless someone makes a solid argument for the Infinity. Is there any solid reason, in the situation I've outlined, to go with the Performance over a Comfort (assuming we get the Comfort's compressor blanket-wrapped)?

And, thank you for reading this far!

(Edit for formatting issues)

submitted by /u/MaineQat
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