Tip # 7 - Who's the Best?
We get quite a bit of
e-mail asking our opinion about manufacturers of heating equipment, and do they
offer any comparison of their equipment. While this is only OUR opinion, we felt
this might help you!
No equipment manufacturer will give you a
true comparison because they will not be able to sell their own equipment.
Carrier and Lennox are the top of the line with respect to price. They use
special O.E.M. parts that make repairs expensive. In my opinion, parts and
repair costs outweigh any reliability issue.
I am not that familiar with Trane
equipment and their 80% units to give an honest answer. They are used mostly
in the South, from what I understand.
Bryant equipment is basically a second
line of Carrier (Payne and Day/Night are as well).
Heat Controller is the parent company of
Comfort-Aire (they also make Century, Rheem and Rudd). Lennox also makes
Armstrong and Air-Ease. Inter City Products makes Heil and Tempstar.
As you can see, there are not many
heating/cooling companies that are separate and as a result, I would suggest
the following:
1. Look for a lifetime warranty on
the major parts - 5-10 years on the electronics.
2. Pick a supplier/installer that has been
around for at least 10-12 years minimum.
3. Ask for a customer list and call them!
References are crucial!
4. Price should be your last
consideration.
As far as your question on how reliable is
Comfort-Aire? On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best, I would rate them at a
7-8. We sell 4 lines - Carrier, Heil, Comfort-Aire and Armstrong. We do,
however, service many others. I cannot honestly
rate them any different with respect to reliability IF they are installed
correctly and serviced properly. We do, however, prefer some lines over
another, and for us to tell you which would be unfair to the others.
Furnace
Tips
Focus
on heating systems, part 1
Focus
on your heating systems, part 2
Air-Conditioning
Tips
Vent-Free
Heating Tips
Condensation
Tips
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