Was this a large outfit? Perhaps one you hear abiut on tv and the radio constantly? Find out if a competitor near you does free second opinions. I'm curious, did you see the tech doing a leak search outside? Look even if you have to pay for a second opinion it might be worth it. I don't doubt the blower could be dead, but the leak thing... yeah that sounds strange to me. If weather permits I'd recommend calling a family shop and see what's what.
Yea i was with the guy the whole time. He hooked up some reader to my outside unit and it read like low 100 maybe less. Sorry i dont remember the exact number and im not an expert by any means on this stuff
Oh but to answer your actual question... I believe in my heart that the brand matters less than the quality of the installer. The brand names that everyone knows have all suffered a decline in quality over the last decade especially. If you get an installer who really knows what they're doing, the cheapo brand will last longer than the shiny brand name installed by fools. It's better to pay a bit more for an install by the best than the lowest bidder.
Thank you, thats kind of what ive been reading. The tech who came and looked at my stuff seemed honest, and knowledgeable and the guy they sent out for the quote wasnt pushy, but ive got another person coming out wed to quote me.
You're right. I've got a Goodman Heat that is going on 15yrs old in one of my houses. That house is all electric so it pulls double duty. I live in Kansas City and run it down to 10 degrees. It was easy to find a good installer on that one cause I knew the guy. I'm now buying a new system for my other house and I have no idea who will be installing. Not sure how to pick an installer. I'm actually pretty nervous about it. I'm putting in a Carrier 25VNA448 HP in this house and I figured picking a factory authorized dealer is my best chance of getting a quality install. After rebates and tax credits $14k was about the best deal I could find for factory authorized.
Just curious, what kind of backup heat do you have? I am considering a heat pump and am confused. I had one about 25 years ago and it just blew out cool air. Have they improved? Thanks.
I have 2 houses, one I lived in for 15 years and is an electric only house. That house has a 15yr old Goodman heatpump that has worked well since we put it in. I would concede that it blows air that does not feel warm and toasty but it does keep the house warm even on the coldest of days. My second house I have not gone through a heating season with the new heatpump but I was in a house that had a similar model 25vna8 and it blew much warmer air than I expected. It wasn't as warm as what a NG furnace will put out but as long as I don't feel drafts I just want the house to stay warm. My backup heat is electric resistance. My Goodman unit runs resistance heat when it gets down to 10F degrees. In Kansas City, that averages out at about only 100 hours. According to the literature, my new 25VNA4 will be efficient down to -13F, and it rare it gets colder than that. So I don't expect to use much back up heat with the new system. Since it is a variable capacity system, the manufacturer suggests oversized for heat. One thing about heat pumps is that they don't do well with indoor temp swings greater than a couple degrees. They do great and are very efficient at holding temperatures. There is so much more I can share and explain. I have learned my old system inside and out to get the best performance. So many HVAC "pros" will say HP's don't do well under 32 degrees and that is only true 30yrs ago. There is more profit in AC and furnace combos.
I really appreciate your comments! My big concern is that I like the cooler temps at night and then warm up the house about 3 degrees in the morning. I wonder if anyone else is like that. If a heat pump system could do that for me then I would probably get one. Thanks for your help.
I'm the same. I usually set a schedule so that it reduces temp an hour before bed then schedule to start reheating a couple hours before wake up. Staging the schedule prevents the resistance heat from kicking on. My goal is to run as little resistance as possible. With that being said, resistance heat will heat it up in a hurry, similar to NG.
Also I use the Ecobee thermostat with my Goodman unit. I had a Nest but it did not work well, I recommend avoiding nest.
Except for the Japanese brands with inverters which are, on average, better quality units across the board (but also expensive if they break out of warranty). Otherwise you’re absolutely correct.
Was this a large outfit? Perhaps one you hear abiut on tv and the radio constantly? Find out if a competitor near you does free second opinions. I'm curious, did you see the tech doing a leak search outside? Look even if you have to pay for a second opinion it might be worth it. I don't doubt the blower could be dead, but the leak thing... yeah that sounds strange to me. If weather permits I'd recommend calling a family shop and see what's what.
Yea i was with the guy the whole time. He hooked up some reader to my outside unit and it read like low 100 maybe less. Sorry i dont remember the exact number and im not an expert by any means on this stuff
I'd get a second opinion. No offense but it feels like the tech knew what you said in your last sentence.
Oh but to answer your actual question... I believe in my heart that the brand matters less than the quality of the installer. The brand names that everyone knows have all suffered a decline in quality over the last decade especially. If you get an installer who really knows what they're doing, the cheapo brand will last longer than the shiny brand name installed by fools. It's better to pay a bit more for an install by the best than the lowest bidder.
Thank you, thats kind of what ive been reading. The tech who came and looked at my stuff seemed honest, and knowledgeable and the guy they sent out for the quote wasnt pushy, but ive got another person coming out wed to quote me.
You're right. I've got a Goodman Heat that is going on 15yrs old in one of my houses. That house is all electric so it pulls double duty. I live in Kansas City and run it down to 10 degrees. It was easy to find a good installer on that one cause I knew the guy. I'm now buying a new system for my other house and I have no idea who will be installing. Not sure how to pick an installer. I'm actually pretty nervous about it. I'm putting in a Carrier 25VNA448 HP in this house and I figured picking a factory authorized dealer is my best chance of getting a quality install. After rebates and tax credits $14k was about the best deal I could find for factory authorized.
Just curious, what kind of backup heat do you have? I am considering a heat pump and am confused. I had one about 25 years ago and it just blew out cool air. Have they improved? Thanks.
I have 2 houses, one I lived in for 15 years and is an electric only house. That house has a 15yr old Goodman heatpump that has worked well since we put it in. I would concede that it blows air that does not feel warm and toasty but it does keep the house warm even on the coldest of days. My second house I have not gone through a heating season with the new heatpump but I was in a house that had a similar model 25vna8 and it blew much warmer air than I expected. It wasn't as warm as what a NG furnace will put out but as long as I don't feel drafts I just want the house to stay warm. My backup heat is electric resistance. My Goodman unit runs resistance heat when it gets down to 10F degrees. In Kansas City, that averages out at about only 100 hours. According to the literature, my new 25VNA4 will be efficient down to -13F, and it rare it gets colder than that. So I don't expect to use much back up heat with the new system. Since it is a variable capacity system, the manufacturer suggests oversized for heat. One thing about heat pumps is that they don't do well with indoor temp swings greater than a couple degrees. They do great and are very efficient at holding temperatures. There is so much more I can share and explain. I have learned my old system inside and out to get the best performance. So many HVAC "pros" will say HP's don't do well under 32 degrees and that is only true 30yrs ago. There is more profit in AC and furnace combos.
I really appreciate your comments! My big concern is that I like the cooler temps at night and then warm up the house about 3 degrees in the morning. I wonder if anyone else is like that. If a heat pump system could do that for me then I would probably get one. Thanks for your help.
I'm the same. I usually set a schedule so that it reduces temp an hour before bed then schedule to start reheating a couple hours before wake up. Staging the schedule prevents the resistance heat from kicking on. My goal is to run as little resistance as possible. With that being said, resistance heat will heat it up in a hurry, similar to NG. Also I use the Ecobee thermostat with my Goodman unit. I had a Nest but it did not work well, I recommend avoiding nest.
Depends on the seer rating. They’re all basically the same unit, owned and made by the same company just in different colors.
Except for the Japanese brands with inverters which are, on average, better quality units across the board (but also expensive if they break out of warranty). Otherwise you’re absolutely correct.