4 Great Air Conditioning Brands

We usually don't understand the luxury of air conditioning until we go a day or two without it. If you live in a hot muggy climate, air conditioning is is a luxury you cannot go without. With the popularity of air conditioning, the manufacturers have spent a great deal of time and money into making their products more energy efficient than ever. Luckily for us, air conditioners have become more affordable as well. Buying a new air conditioner can be a tough decision with so many choices in brands, sizes, and types of ac units.

There are many great air conditioning brands to choose from, I think these three are some of the best on the market for residential units:

1.) Trane Air Conditioners: This company is more than 100 years old, includes the American Standard and General Electric brands and has revolutionized the way heating and air conditioning has been used in the United States. On their website, they claim "our systems and services have leading positions in premium commercial, residential, institutional and industrial markets; a reputation for reliability, high quality and product innovation; and a powerful distribution network." From my experience in the HVAC industry, I would say this holds to be true. They offer great products that are very reliable.

Trane offers four different efficiency units; Ultra, Super, High and Standard efficiency. The units offered by Trane have a 13 to 20 SEER rating. The more efficient the more expensive the unit but more you will save down the road on utilities. They have focused a lot on indoor air quality and noise reduction with their machines. Trane is a reliable brand name that will be at the top of the HVAC industry for a long time.

2.) Carrier Air Conditioners: This company has also been around for over 100 years and claims to have been the first to engineer the first air conditioner in 1902. On their website they say "Through our market-leading products and solutions, we are constantly striving to help people live more comfortable, healthy and productive lives" which I believe to hold true as they are in 170 different countries and have one of the largest HVAC product lines.

Like Trane, they have four main types of units: Infinity, Performance, Comfort and Base units. The four are separated by efficiency levels which can be directly measured by their SEER rating ranging from 15 to 21. Carrier focuses and tests their units for sound, durability and air quality. As Carrier says, they invented the air conditioner and I believe you can count on their units.

3.) Goodman Air Conditioner: This company has been around for over 60 years and focuses mainly on residential and commercial units. Unlike the two companies above, they have not expanded into refrigeration equipment. Goodman says "We remain focused on providing high-quality products at an affordable price, and protecting them with what we believe to be some of the best warranties in the industry" on their website. They are right, they sell more units in the US because of their affordability and warranties than another other HVAC manufacturer.

Unlike Trane and Carrier, Goodman doesn't break down their units by efficiency. They have seven main residential units, all with different SEER ratings ranging from 13 to 18. They focus mainly on their units affordability, durability, and optimum cooling comfort. All of their units have at least a five year warranty and some even have a lifetime compressor warranty. Goodman is a great brand for residential and commercial ac units, you cannot go wrong buying one.

4.) York Air Conditioner: This company was purchased by Johnson controls in 2005 making them the largest global provider of integrated products, systems and services in the buildings market. Although the York brand hasn't been around as long as the other three manufacturers listed above, they make a very durable and energy efficient product.

York breaks their units down by three main types; Affinity, LX and Latitude models ranging from 13 to 18 SEER. York has concentrated on building quality residential machines that you can count on for quiet, trouble-free service and economical operation. York may not have the number of years in the industry as the other three brands mentioned here but when you buy a York air conditioner, you know you will have a machine that will last as long as any unit on the market.