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Beginning to research replacing the 20+ years old HVAC systems in my house. I have split systems of gas heat and electric AC up and downstairs. My current units are old Tranes. I not sure what brand to go with....Trane, Carrier, Lennox, Goodman, etc. I have read mixed reviews of all these brands. The couple of HVAC guys I talked to casually, seemed to push Goodman since they are cheaper and have a lifetime warranty on the compressor. I have not gotten any "official" quotes yet, but from friends who recently installed new HVAC's systems, the Goodman's were $800 per unit cheaper than Tranes.
Any recommendations or experiences of HVAC brands would be greatly appreciated.
I have installed several Tempstar Units and no problems...
The features I like are:
Variable Speed Blower... so most of the time the blower is more like a soft breeze
Two Stage Burner... Kind of like not have to drive your car with the gas pedal to the floor... the small burner is enough to maintain temperature and both burners come on to raise room temperature in a cold house.
The units I used are multi-positional... up-flow, down-flow and horizontal-flow
I'm not into the AC end of the trade, but as a heating guy, I have been very fond of Rheem units. They operate extremely well, are low maintenance, not that expensive for the quality, and put together in a maintenance friendly fashion. The latter counts a great deal to me. I have never had a callback on a Rheem unit that I installed, and I have installed quite a few in the last six years. The one make I have come to despise is Lennox. I have had nothing but grief from every one of them I ever worked on. False fault codes off the boards, purge fans going out right and left, circuit boards popping, you name it. Could be that I just have had coincidental problems, but nevertheless, they jaded my professional outlook. Top three , in my book, for the best choices are Rheem, Reznor and Trane. Those are my , personal picks. I'm sure there are many dissenting opinions. I do not deal with any one specific maker in my business, so I don't pitch one specific brand to my customers. I just try and recommend a good, trouble free, unit, that is built maintenance friendly when trouble does arise. Which it will, eventually, no matter what unit you buy. It's just a question of how long and how often one is willing to deal with said troubles.
Ultrarunner stated it best- it's not so much about brands but about features.
Whoever has the best features to suit your lifestyle is the brand to go with. I think you'll find that most carry pretty much the same warranty.
Another indicator- of the majority of HVAC contractors in your area, which brand do you see carried/advertised the most (not a true testament I know, but it does have some legitimacy too it)?
As for professional choice- My HVAC contractor (for the last 18yrs) installs/services Carrier.
I thought I'd seen some reviews of systems somewhere online but can't find them now. I remember that American Standard, Trane, and Rheem were among the best. Some people say that no matter how good your system is the really important part is how well it's installed, so you might consider that.
Last year I heard about many people with the builder grade Goodman units having them break down so if I personally were going to buy a new HVAC system (which I will in the next year probably) I would NOT get a Goodman. They're inexpensive but maybe not the best quality. On the other hand, maybe the builders simply didn't install units with the proper capabilities for the size houses they were servicing. Every system needs to be matched to the size and configuration of the home for optimum performance.
I sure wish I could find the info I saw before... Good luck!
And if you can't make up your mind between two brands, check the websites of the brands and see if one of them is offering a rebate payable after installation. The dollar amount of some rebates can be a decision-maker.
Another item of thought-
In relation to the 20+ year old systems- systems today are much more efficient than those of yesteryear. It may not be wise to replace tonnage for tonnage. Have your house re-calc'ed for tonnage.
Here's a calc formula you can use yourself (then compare with the contractor's bid):
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