Any HVAC folks out there? What to buy?

fredcohiba

Super Member
I have a 21 year old furnace and A/C unit in my home and am thinking of preventively getting a new set up just to avoid it dying at the worst time and gaining some efficiency and lowering the energy bill. My current system is a Carrier and it is an 80% efficiency furnace.
Looking at 96% efficiency Bryant, Lennox and Rheem. The more I read on furnace reviews on Google etc.., the more I am confused as the reviews are all over the place.
What 's good and what's not based on your experience.
 
I did some looking too although I haven't replaced mine yet There are a small number of companies that own all the brands now. I wish I could tell you what's good.

What about another Carrier?
 
In my experience, most furnaces are all about the same. Personally I avoid high efficiency equipment because it is very complicated, and the way I see it is that one major service call blows any fuel savings for the life of the appliance! Also they do not last as long!

Just my nickles worth!
 
You may never have heard of them but I replaced my furnace and AC with Goodman products and could not be happier. Previously had Carrier and Trane. Both were repair prone but the Goodman has done well. I went from an 80% efficiency furnace to a 96% and the bottom fell out of my gas bill-probably dropped close to about a third less. I went from a 13 SEER to a 16 on the AC and saw a modest cost reduction in my electric bill.
Research them
https://www.goodmanmfg.com/products
 
I’ve been in the HVAC business for 40 years. #1 priority over equipment is the contractor. The installation is pivotal to longevity. Keep it high efficient yet simple unless you’re really after all the bells and whistles. You can buy a 14.0 SEER A/C that when paired with a 95% furnace with a high efficiency blower motor, will get you 15.0 SEER. Again, pick a quality contractor.
 
I’ve been in the HVAC business for 40 years. #1 priority over equipment is the contractor. The installation is pivotal to longevity. Keep it high efficient yet simple unless you’re really after all the bells and whistles. You can buy a 14.0 SEER A/C that when paired with a 95% furnace with a high efficiency blower motor, will get you 15.0 SEER. Again, pick a quality contractor.

I will heed your advice. I have had a few estimates and already prefer one contractor over the other, even though his price is a bit higher. He seemed to say all the right things, acted very professional and talked about things to watch out for from other contractors (if I did not go with his firm) in terms of short cuts they might take.
 
I will heed your advice. I have had a few estimates and already prefer one contractor over the other, even though his price is a bit higher. He seemed to say all the right things, acted very professional and talked about things to watch out for from other contractors (if I did not go with his firm) in terms of short cuts they might take.

Ask about his installers. How long have they worked for him? How long have they been in the business? How old are they?.......
 
When we bought our home in '16, I was advised by the home inspector to keep the '74 Carrier furnace until the heat exchanger rusts out, the rationale being that it would be hard to justify the cost of replacement with the slightly increased effeciency of a new unit.
 
For all the years I was working in the HVAC industry, I never had a warranty repair of any of the Nordyne (Nortek Global now) equipment I sold or installed. They have a great warranty as well.

http://millerac.com/Warranty.aspx

My Coleman Presidential ll system will be going into its 40th season this year. Look into the Nortek line of products and do some price and warranty comparisons between the other brands.
 
United Technologies builds Carrier, Bryant, Day & Night, and Payne, and possibly others.

We put a Day & Night furnace and 5 ton A/C unit in this house in 1989 and have maybe spent $200 on it since then.
 
I’ve been in the HVAC business for 40 years. ....The installation is pivotal to longevity. ....
> United Technologies builds Carrier, Bryant, Day & Night, and Payne, and possibly others....

Both above are true. 5 years ago I was looking and read proper installation is key. I went with Day & night on cost. Put in a 90% efficiency heater in a 2000+ sq ft house, and I am happy with the result so far.
 
Well, at least you're in Wisconsin so presumably no one will try to talk you into a heat pump.

Natural gas heat FTW IMHO.
 
I think I have narrowed it down to a Carrier Infinity 98% efficiency furnace and a Goodman AC unit. Both units are 2nd from the top of their respected lines and highly recommended by the dealer.
As to the dealer, they are a Carrier and Goodman HVAC dealer and have been in business for the last 20+ years, have techs and installers with double digit work years at the company and have great Google reviews.
All in all their pricing came in maybe 10% more than my low bid from another dealer using another brands mid level equipment, and maybe 25% less than the highest two quotes each using their 2nd from the top level equipment.
 
I have a Goodman AC and an AirTemp furnace. Both have been doing absolutely fine the last 4 years.

We have Carrier stuff at work. Its been reliable, but it uses a lot of proprietary parts and getting them can be a chore. There is only one Carrier dealer in the area and honestly they're not awesome to deal with. I actually called them for a quote to replace my home stuff, and they came in at least double everything else, and wanted to install some very complicated system that was only marginally more efficient.
 
Bought my house new in 2000 and it has the original Goodman Furnace & AC Unit. The compressor needed replacement in '08 which was replaced under it's 10 year factory warranty ($1000 labor) and the fan was replaced around the same time for $250 and has operated flawlessly for ten years since. I'm very pleased with Goodman the AC units and they get a real workout here in Phoenix running about 6 months out of the year.

When the compressor died in '08 I had 2 estimates and both companies told me I needed to buy a new AC unit and said it could not be repaired and would cost around $6000. I said bye bye!!

My neighbors friend is an AC man found out my compressor was still under it's 10 year replacement warranty and replaced it for 1k labor and it is still running great 10 years later and my electric bills are still very low here, my unit is a 5 ton 12 Seer / 2000 sq. ft. home.
 
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One thing I do regret is not going with a heat pump setup for spring/fall use. It would make even more sense now with the solar. Much of my winter heat is from a pellet stove, the oil furnace is the backup. I do about 250 gallons of oil per year, a fair bit of that is spring and fall when its too warm to run the pellet stove. Over about 50 outside and I can't get the stove low enough to not just cook me out of the house before it won't burn correctly. Even with that, between the tank of oil and the 2 1/2-3 tons of pellets its under a grand to heat the house every year. A heat pump could have knocked that down a bit more but 20/20 hind sight. At the time the furnace and AC were replaced, we didn't have solar.

The stuff that was removed was an old Carrier AC and a Lennox furnace. The furnace was about 20 years old and in working shape when pulled. We were told they were good units until the firebox gave out, which was often about the 20-25 year mark. The AC was a 35 year old Carrier that ran but never cycled out. The electric bills were absolutely nuts with that thing but it was chugging along reliably until we pulled the plug. The AC was why we replaced both, but the thinking was that it was cheaper to do both in one go vs half now, half later.
 
My 30 year old Bryant is going strong, no central AC, just a furnace.

Leaving the pilot light burning all summer keeps the fire box from rusting out.
 
Update: The sales person from the dealer I chose also gave me information on a brand I had never really heard of until I was at the Home Show a month ago, Daikin. They are a Japanese company and the parent of Goodman and Amana. They are reportedly the largest HVAC company in the world. All their manufacturing is in TX.
The pricing vs. Carrier was perhaps 30% less in comparable equipment although the Daikin has a few more features and benefits and a greater efficiency. Warranty is 12 years labor and lifetime in heat exchanger and AC compressor. I asked for some references, and within an hour had five customers to call.
Got ahold of all of them within a day and all were very happy with the install and the equipment so far. Oldest reference had their equipment for two years.
So... Nervously, I took the plunge. Had it installed this past Tuesday. When the team of three installers arrived, they said they had one problem. I asked, "Oh, and what is that?" They said the AC I ordered was out of stock, so they would put in the top of the line model, a step up from what I wanted, at no additional cost. It is more efficient and at the time I was presented the AC options, I think it was about $500 more than the one I chose. Nice!
Well so far so good. The furnace and it operation is very quiet, I hardly know it is on. We'll have to see how the energy bills compare to my 20 year old equipment, but I am optimistic it will be a substantial reduction in energy costs.
 
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