Heat Pump

[Snipe Hunter]

I was told you can't get R22 after this year.

yep 1/1/2000

[daddo]

I haven't bought R22 in a long time anyway. I've changed systems over to R438 or 407c. It's a shame- R22 was the best refrigerant out there and could handle a wide range of uses and it wasn't unheard of for systems to last 20-30 years. Now that we have doubled the pressures with R410a, we are having problems. R410a is a great refrigerant for heat pumps effectiveness, but along with it has come a few problems and system life is typically 10-15 years. This is how we save resources and money. ?  
 I used to say find a good contractor and it doesn't matter what brand you buy, but now I realize you not only need a good contractor, but you need a good brand, because a good contractor can't make a bad brand good. Buy cheap tires and no matter who installs them, you got cheap tires.  It's a coin toss.
 In my opinion, Goodman is made for occasional use like in a shop or a house on the lake if your out to save money- you will need the warranty!
Ameristar is about the same. There are several other brands I wouldn't have.
The better brands in my opinion might be Trane, American Standard, Lennox, Bryant, and the upper lines of Carrier. Ruud makes a very good outdoor unit, but I drop them because the indoor air handlers and coils aren't so good- you'll need the warranty.
Don't be fooled by Lifetime warranties. They won't cover materials or labor, and paying at or near a thousand for a new compressor for example is not a savings when it's already 12-15 years old. You'll buy a new system anyway.

 I do load calculations on all homes getting a new system. I have found in some newer homes, the system was over or undersized. Update insulation, and/or windows and so on if you will, and this can save you a lot in the long run, and possibly require a smaller system which is less costly to buy and operate. Check the ducting too. The difference between old leaky R4 duct and the new R8 sealed ducting systems can be phenomenal!

 The last system I installed- updated insulation, had windows and ext doors sealed, reduced the tonnage from 4 to 3 ton, sealed R6 duct and a seer 15 system took her mid summer $340.00 elect bill down to $120.00. And she keeps it at a comfortable 74* instead of 78*. And it has that nice April Air 2210 filter system.  Life is good.