No. East Cobb is unincorporated Cobb County even though the postal address says Marietta. HVAC permits go through Cobb County Community Development, not the City of Marietta. The school zone usually gives it away: Walton, Pope, Lassiter, and Wheeler attendance areas are almost always unincorporated Cobb. We confirm which one applies before pulling permits.

Almost certainly not. The classic two-story East Cobb home with upstairs-too-hot/downstairs-too-cold is a return-air and zoning problem, not an equipment capacity problem. Two-zone retrofits fix it at a fraction of the cost of a full system replacement. The retrofit adds zone dampers in the supply ductwork and a second thermostat with its own return-air pathway, which lets each floor call for cooling independently. Done right, the comfort problem clears up within 24 hours of completion.

No. Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority delivers naturally soft water at around 2.2 grains per gallon, which is well below the threshold where softening does anything useful. Any contractor pushing a softener on an East Cobb address without first showing you the test results isn't being straight with you.

Because the cool basement air is cooling the rest of the house. Older East Cobb homes were designed with single-zone, single-thermostat systems before basements were typically finished. When the basement got finished decades later, the return air pathways didn't get redesigned, which means the conditioned basement air gets pulled back through the return and recirculated, leaving the upstairs warmer. A three-zone retrofit with a dedicated basement return run usually fixes it.

For East Cobb's typical home (larger, two-story, finished basement common), variable-speed usually earns its premium over the life of the system. Three reasons: better humidity removal in this 70%+ summer humidity climate, lower noise level (which matters when the air handler is in or near a finished area), and better zoning compatibility. Single-stage systems are honest equipment, but they usually don't deliver the comfort improvement East Cobb buyers are looking for when they upgrade.

For air-source heat pumps installed in 2026 or later, no. The federal Section 25C credit expired December 31, 2025 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The real savings now come from Georgia's state programs. GEFA's Home Energy Rebates offer up to $16,000 depending on income and energy savings, and Georgia Power's HEIP program offers up to $1,250 in home comfort bundle rebates plus a $1,000 instant rebate on heat pump water heaters. Geothermal still qualifies for the 30% federal credit under Section 25D through 2032.