Goodman without hesitation. I have used them for the last 8 years and I believe they are they best value in split systems.
Air Temp or any Nordyne product. Very simple systems with no fancy bells and whistles to fail. They’re very economical and use generic parts that are available everywhere and they are on the forefront of efficiency.
For us, it’s Lennox. We’ve been a Lennox dealer for over 50 years and they’ve always exceeded our expectations. When selecting contractors and/or equipment manufacturers, you should always base your judgement on the people. Lennox has some of the best people in the business and they offer unparalleled support for their products. That helps me support my clients better. I happen to think that their equipment is the best too, but any contractor is going to say that about the equipment they offer. It has to boil down to the support on all levels. Before you select a brand, Google them and see how hard it is to find their customer support number. Some manufacturers make it really hard to contact them. Hold your contractor to the same strict standards. The equipment you end up choosing is only going to perform as well as it is installed.
The brand the customer can afford that is installed properly.
Brands are rated by performance, type of applications and use of the equipment and environment.
SEER, energy star efficient, Multi stage compressor, smartphone compatible, humidity control, etc.
While most people see an AC system that cools well and is affordable to be the best, the reality is that the real work of an AC unit is not only cooling a space or home.
An AC system should be able to do more that just cool. It should be able to recirculate cold air through the space to avoid air from stager and cycling the compressor over and over, be able to send the room/space condition to determine humidity, and temperature to name a few, the ability to handle the space heat and be able to cool it in the least possible time thus making it an efficient unit.
Other aspects and conditions will affect the unit operation such as: good insulation, leaks through windows and doors, good duct work physical condition (no leak or broken connections).
As for the brand in my opinion, in order of performance and gadgets:
- Lenox Collection
- Trane
- Carrier Infinity
- Goodman*
- American Standard (this is a branded Trane unit)
- Bryant
- Amana…to name a few
Goodman is a good working brand and good for its value but it does lacks many upgrades to make it a compatible unit in today’s requirement of energy and cost reduction market.
In our trade we call this a production unit - don’t expect more out this unit besides cooling and heating a space.
thank you
I always go with Goodman unless the customer suggests what they want. Goodman may had had some bad years and a bad rep, but its all in the installation. A good installation will let any brand work best. A bad install on top name brands will cause failure.
I go with Goodman because of the cheaper parts and they are easy to find, thus saving the homeowner in the future on parts as well as the install.