Air conditioner brands

I’ve heard some say Goodman is the very worst and some people say they have Goodman condenser and handler that are still working just fine from the late 90’s.

I really think a good installation is key to a long lasting ac system, not so much the brand.

Just buy from someone you trust will do a good job. We sold Bryant/Carrier for years, (switched due to sales/warehouse issues, not equipment issues) and now install Ruud. Pretty much nothing made nowadays will last like the old stuff. Parts are made differently and govt restrictions keep making that worse. Across brands, your minimum efficiency stuff is all the same essentially. When you get into high seer communicating stuff, there are some differences. If you get multiple quotes, post them. I’ll guide you.

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I just saw your post and almost passed out. Idk about Baton Rouge prices, but your install using either Bryant, carrier, or ruud equivalents I could have done for less than 10K in the Atlanta area.

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Good question, I haven’t a clue. FWIW, again BR, 4 years ago, Aug 2018 quote for a 14 Seer single stage Trane $8,900 and for a 16 Seer, $10,500.

The 4 companies I got quotes from were rather small firms with a good reputation, - 3 were recommended by others on this board, and the 4th by a next door neighbor, a retired engineer, who vets his contractors thoroughly.

That still sounds so high based on the tier. A 16 seer single stage is nothing but a physically larger 14 seer condenser (the most basic way to gain seer is through more condenser or evap coil surface area to promote more heat transfer) and potentially oversized evap coil. If you really want me to blow your mind I’ll screenshot my contractor pricing Lol

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I really think a good installation is key to a long lasting ac system, not so much the brand.

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The brand can play a part but the installation will be the difference between a problematic system and a long-lasting system. That being said, one of the reasons American Standard/Trane have such a good reputation is they control their availability to installers as well as any other brand. I would probably use price as somewhat of a guide.

FYI Daiken owns Daikin, Goodman, Amana and Quietflex in the AC world.

Here is a brand reliability chart from Consumer Reports. I know some people are turned off by CRs ratings, which can use some metrics that seem to be politically or socially motivated but these are simply the results of the member survey. They do not provide info for brands they do not get sufficient feedback on, so no Daiken.

We had a Goodman in Arizona - never an issue

I bought a Daikin one year ag9. 4 ton, 16 seer. Cost was 11 grand and change. No problems and cools the house with minimal run time. My electric bill has gne down on a average of 80 dollars a month. The big seller for me was the 12 year warranty on parts and labor.

Many of the brands are the same damn unit with a different label. They have multiple labels in the box that the local A/C supply house slaps on when your A/C tech orders it.

I saw this video a few months ago with this guy explaining the different manufacturers and brands.
AC brands explained