What’s the Best Air Conditioner Brand?
While most experts agree that the quality of your air conditioner installation matters more than the brand, several brands are consistently named as the most reliable. These include Carrier, Lennox, Trane, Daikin, American Standard, Goodman, and Rheem.
Conversely, various budget brands and some higher-end manufacturers such as York appeared in our research as being consistently lower quality.
Below, we dig deeper into what brands separate themselves and why, and also what you should be looking for in both an air conditioner and an AC installation company.
What Makes a Good Air Conditioner Brand?
Reliability and energy-efficiency are lovely little buzzwords that we can throw around to talk about good AC brands, but what does that mean for you, a homeowner looking for a trustworthy brand?
It can mean a few things, some of which you’ll only be able to learn after speaking to local contractors you trust:
- General reliability ratings
- Industry awards and recognition
- Availability of parts in case of repairs
- Length and quality of warranty
On parts, as a residential homeowner, you can’t be expected to know about the availability of parts or how unique the parts are for some units. But this can affect repair pricing and timelines, and so it’s worth discussing with your HVAC contractor.
A standard warranty is 10 years, though some can be longer, shorter, or cover different types of situations and equipment repairs. It’s important to review equipment warranties with your HVAC contractor so that you know your rights in regard to any premature breakdowns or repairs.
Top Residential Air Conditioner Brands
While the list below isn’t a comprehensive list of trusted AC brands, it represents those that appear most frequently on lists trusted by actual heating and cooling specialists, and which we here at CABS can vouch for either as partnered installers or as a company that’s worked frequently with the brand.
The list is alphabetical.
American Standard
A brand owned by the same umbrella company that produces Trane equipment, while American Standard sometimes lacks the most high-end features that typify Trane’s line of air conditioners, American Standard is nevertheless consistently ranked in homeowner satisfaction and affordability.
Carrier
Carrier has won a number of recent awards for efficiency and quality, and is among the most trusted brands of review aggregators such as USA Today and Modernize’s list of air conditioning brands.
Their name is based on their founder, Willis Carrier, who developed the first modern air conditioning system.
Daikin
Daikin is often cited as the world’s largest manufacturer of HVAC equipment. They have received global recognition for their suite of heating and cooling products.
Lennox
Lennox is not only considered a reliable air conditioning brand, but their top-end models feature impressive SEER efficiency ratings of up to 23.5, a number that exceeds many brands, even reputable ones.
Goodman
While sometimes considered a budget brand, Goodman is also valued for its affordability and ease of finding affordable parts for repairs.
Some contractors also mention that the poor reviews for some Goodman equipment is from “new builds” where proper installation practices are rarely followed. These same contractors have no issues with the equipment when it’s installed by a reputable company.
Rheem
Rheem is another brand that is known for budget-friendly efficiency. Their equipment may lack some of the horsepower, so to speak, in their top models, but for a large variety of homes, the efficiency and affordability are as good as any brand.
Trane
Trane is considered by some to be a luxury HVAC brand, and it’s true that they specialize in high-end equipment that pushes current technological limits of energy efficiency. This can make Trane a great investment if you expect to stay in your home for a long time.
Energy Efficiency Ratings for ACs
SEER Rating, or Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio is a calculation of efficiency. In recent years, the calculation has been updated, and a SEER2 ratio is the number used by most contractors and manufacturers.
This relates to how energy efficient your system is, and how much in energy costs you might expect to save.
A few important notes in regard to SEER rating:
- If your current system is old, even if it was 10-SEER at installation, it’s undoubtedly operating lower.
- As a result, any upgrade to a modern system from an old air conditioner is going to be a big upgrade in efficiency.
- The highest SEER ratings reach above 20, but these are also the most expensive AC units.
- SEER is important, but isn’t everything. Staging (how many speeds your unit has) is a marker of comfort and efficiency as well, and the literal size of the unit, how quiet it runs, and whether or not it fits into your budget can be more important.
Importance of Equipment Matching in HVAC
There’s a reason a lot of contractors recommend replacing the air conditioner and furnace at the same time, and it’s not because they’re interested in an upsell.
For clarity, if you have a new furnace and only need to replace your air conditioner, there’s no problem with this. However, when both units are older, it can make sense to consider.
The reason is equipment matching. This basically means ensuring compatibility across all the features of your HVAC system.
It can matter, for instance, when you have a more powerful blower motor that has several speeds. If both your heating and cooling equipment can take advantage of this, you’ll get more efficient energy usage throughout the year, not just in the summer or winter.
It is usually much easier to equipment match when the brand is the same for all major pieces of equipment. So it’s not so much about which brand you choose, but that you’re consistent in brand selection when upgrading major HVAC equipment at the same time.
Ancillary products such as humidifiers, dehumidifiers, filters and air purifiers are not as crucial to match. While these can be extremely important to your home comfort, it’s often fine to use another trusted brand that will be compatible with your major equipment such as the air conditioner.
Air Conditioner Brand FAQs
Before we wrap up, here are some additional questions we receive in regard to air conditioner brands.
What’s the Quietest Air Conditioner?
The quietest units operate between 50-60db during operation. The difference between, say, 52db and 56db won’t be large, though, so the exact model isn’t always important.
Various brands have models that are in this noise range, including Trane, Carrier, Lennox and Daikin.
What’s the Most Efficient Air Conditioner You Can Buy?
For residential, whole-home air conditioners, the most cutting-edge units can get up to 23-24 SEER.
More generally, past about 20 SEER and sometimes even 18 SEER, you’re paying for a lot of sophistication with potentially minimal efficiency gains. Getting the absolute best AC may actually cost you more than it’s worth.
Ductless mini-splits also boast much higher SEER ratings than whole-home, central air conditioners, so they’re technically the most energy efficient on the market. Fitting an entire home with these can be cost prohibitive, though. If you have ductwork for a central air system, this will be the most cost-effective way to cool your home.
Why Do Companies Only Use 1-2 AC Brands?
This relates to economies of scale and logistics complications. Working with 10-12 manufacturers to order parts, units, storing the units in warehouses, and so on, can be time-consuming and expensive.
It’s more cost-effective for installers to work with 1-2 major brands. This allows them to keep prices as low as possible while still making enough profit to pay employees.
How Much Does a New Air Conditioner Cost?
This largely depends on the cost of living where you live, but prices can range from around $4,000 to $15,000.
Here in the Sacramento area, the cost of a new AC is generally $5,500 to $14,000 depending on a variety of factors.
What to Look For in an HVAC Contractor
Remember that we said near the top that the installation is often more important than the brand? We meant it. That’s why finding a good installation company for your air conditioner is important.
So what to look for. Here are a handful of things to consider:
- Do they run a sizing calculation on your home to determine the correct power level and size for the incoming air conditioner?
- Do they avoid upselling you and simply lay out your options, providing information on each?
- Do they have knowledge of HVAC and home comfort topics in general? Maybe you’re only getting an air conditioner right now, but who do you want repairing, tuning up or replacing other equipment?
- Are they licensed and insured?
- Do they work with local, state and federal agencies to provide tax credits and rebates for energy efficient equipment when it’s available?
- Do they have consistently high Google reviews, and are they accredited with the Better Business Bureau?
Not all contractors are created equal. Stay cool out there.
Choosing an Air Conditioner Brand
If you talk to half a dozen different HVAC installers, you might get six different responses on what the “best” HVAC brand is. The truth is, there isn’t a single answer.
However, there are brands that are known to be reliable and affordable for the quality, and several of these brands appear across the industry on lists of best AC brands.
As always, the quality of your installation matters as much or more than the brand you use. Choosing a trusted HVAC partner is the key to ensuring that no matter the brand, your home is in good hands. To get started with quotes and options, give us a call here at CABS today. We’d love to be your next – and lifelong – air conditioner company!
