Brand of AC/Heat Pump

of those choices i would go with rheem

lennox is overpriced and its not justified, plus if a circuit board goes out those are just as unjustifiably overpriced as their units.

goodman is cheap garbage thats mainly a low priced builder class of a/c units

if you like the goodman guy then ask him if he can get you a name brand unit, then see if that price fits your budget

Lennox is the best unit of those three but typically high so that is to be expected but it is often too high. Here are brand reliability and owner satisfaction ratings from CR. These are based on survey responses. Of the other two, Goodman is as good and typically the least expensive. I am not sure if many of Goodman's issues are the units themselves or the fact that they are not very restrictive on who can install their units. An improper installation can significantly impact the performance and reliability of a heat pump/AC unit.

I have been very satisfied with Trane units for both price and reliability. Trane and American Standard are the same company and basically the same units so if that is more readily available, either would work for me.

I hope this is helpfull

I've had a Rheem. Paid $4000. 14 seer. Bought in 2009. Basically rebuilt it in 2012. $3k worth of parts. Alot of that was installer caused it seemed. Had to replace it in 2020.

Got quoted another Ruud. $4500. Made by Rheem. I decided against that because of what we went through already.

Bit the bullet and went with an American Standard for $7k. 15 SEER. Same tonnage. Same ductwork on both. American Standard bill is half what the Rheem was. It's paying for itself.

Coils are definitely different on the Trane/ American Standards.

Rheem

I just bought 2 Lennox Elite 4 ton units. So far so good. Sweet looking equipment

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How credible do yall believe that chart is?

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Thise charts are derived purely from feedback that CR get from members who fill out the survey. For any brand to be listed, they have to have an adequate amount of feedback to conclude anything. I do not know what that magic number is or even if it is a fixed number or a percentage. All I know is my experiences in the past have generally reflected wihat CR gets.

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Predicted Reliability & Owner Satisfaction

Results in the following chart are gathered from Consumer Reports’ 2021 and 2023 Summer Surveys of 10,158 heat pumps, owned by members who purchased a new unit between 2007 and 2023.

Our predicted brand reliability ratings are based on a statistical model that estimates problem rates for heating or cooling within the first 8 years of ownership, adjusting for extended warranty/service contract status and for the number of months per year that heat pumps are used. Higher ratings are indicative of better reliability.

Our owner satisfaction ratings are based on the proportion of members who are extremely likely to recommend their heat pump brand to friends and family.

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It seems like Trane/American Standard are very well liked.

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They are hard to beat for me for several reasons. The guy who has installed the last 2 units I have gotten is honest, reliable, has decades of experience, and we have mutual friends, I consider him a friend. The units I have gotten have been trouble-free with only minor issues related to the controller on the furnace which was in the house when I got it (not a heat pump for my current house, still a Trane unit though). And the installation quotes from him have always beaten anyone else.

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I'm about to replace mine. DIY job,

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Getting the unit may be difficult for some brands. As I understand it, many brands limit sales to certified installers. Goodman is probably the easiest to get DIY. DIY may give you some warranty issues with certain brands, as well.

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probably get a dual-fuel setup, 4 ton unit.

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Dual Fuel? Are you talking about a furnace for heat?

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Mine is almost there as well. Inside is fine because I've replaced a lot of the components. However, the compressor when out this weekend so I assume I'm better off with an entirely new system.

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yep, no doubt, the compressor is the most expensive part on it. to replace it you will spend 70% of the cost of getting a new unit.

its a no brainer to replace the whole system, since your new inside unit will use about 40% less electricity then your old unit.

Also, my 30 year old rig uses R22. That stuff is expensive as hell if you end up needing it.

30 years is a damn good run for an AC in louisiana. Mine is a cheap Goodman, DIY installed.

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Can you expand on what you mean by this? Some guys are telling me the heat pump will cut my electricity usage, some guys say this new amazing more efficient unit will not do that much. Why all the celebration of efficiency if it wont do much?

Thanks

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Any heat pump can save you quite a bit of electricity if you are currently heating with electric strips and they are being used often enough.

Outside of that, increases in efficiencies between old and new heat pumps wont save huge amounts. Maybe like $1-2k over 15 years depending on electricity prices.

As for indoor blowers, if your old blower was a PSC motor and the new would be a variable speed ECM motor, that can save a noticeable amount of electricity.

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A lot of the same identical parts are in all of them , compressor,relays,contactors etc. some make their own coils ! Look for a quality install first !

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Quality of install first! Second, availability of parts! While they do use a lot of common parts there are things that become tied to the brand. Nothing is worse than AC going out in 100 degree heat and your HVAC company can't get parts for weeks. I had this happen to my in-laws because they had to have a Trane system installed but there isn't enough Trane business around here to insure steady supply of parts to the local warehouses. They went the whole month of July in record breaking heat with no AC.