Best HVAC Air Conditioning Brands

Who makes the most reliable air conditioning and furnace systems for Concord, CA residents?

Best rated HVAC systems

Jim Jones 12-01-2020 - Stars 5/5

I will be going over many questions our customers in Concord, CA always ask us about which air conditioners are the most reliable. For example, what brand would I recommend? What is the most efficient? What is the best brand out there to get for a new air conditioner or a new furnace?

My answer always is don't get too caught up on the brand for your furnace or your air conditioner. The brand doesn't really matter because the truth is a handful of companies are parent companies who own all of the brands.

My recommendation is just to go for the best deal, whatever costs you the least amount. Most air conditioners and furnaces will last on average about the same amount of time. It's tough to say which brand is the best because many variables come into play.

For example, how big is your house? What is the layout of your house? Was the ductwork appropriately sized? In your home, do you replace the furnace filter regularly? What kind of furnace filter do you use? Do you ever do any kind of maintenance? And etc. etc. That's my opinion, but consumer reports did a survey, and over 20,000 homeowners were asked what brand of AC or furnace they have and how often they had to get it repaired? And when they did get it replaced, would they recommend that unit to a friend?

Consumer Reports results:
The top five with the lowest ratings were Coleman, Frigidaire, Luxaire, Maytag, and George. Those five apparently you should avoid because people have been having the most problems with those five brands. Then five brands got the best rating for excellence and satisfaction. Those were Lennox, American Standard, Trane, Carrier, and Bryant. Well, that's what Consumer Reports had to say about which brand is best for air conditioners and furnaces.

I just want to briefly come back to how I said that a handful of companies pretty much own all of the brands, and I want to break that down for you, so you know who makes what or who owns which companies.

United Technologies:
Those are the guys who own Carrier, Bryant, Payne, Day and Night, and they also own ICP, which stands for international comfort products. And those guys make Arco Air, Keeprite, Heil, Tap Star, and Comfortmaker.

Lennox International:
They make Lennox, Ducane, Armstrong, Concorde, Allied air, Ease, and Airflow.

Rheem:
Which also makes Ruud and those are the only two brands that they have.

Daikin Global:
Those guys own Dyke, Goodman, Amana, and Janitrol

Johnson Controls:
Those guys own York, Luxor, and Coleman.

Ingersoll Rand:
They make American Standard and Trane.

Nortek Global HVAC
They make Frigidaire and Maytag.

Wolff Steel:
They make Napoleon and Continental.

I think that kind of helps paint a picture. Hence, people understand that behind every single brand, there is not an individual company. For example, United Technologies, pretty much owns half of those brands that we just listed.

My customers will say to me, we understand all of that, we get it, but if your air conditioner or your furnace dies, which brand will you get for yourself? Yes, I do work on many units. I see which ones break more often, so personally, I would go for whatever is the best deal. If I had to choose, I would probably choose either a Carrier, Trane, or Lennox. Those to me seem like they're the most reliable out of all the units that I see.