Yep i've looked at forums and blogs and trying to find even a common thread of opinion amongst the pros to see if any brand kept coming up as problematic rather than looking for who thinks which brand is 'best'.
I prefer things like repair rates if such feedback can be gathered in large enough numbers to generate non-industry pseudo data such as is done by Consumer Reports (40,000 feedback is enough to reduce variance such that a most probable true answer is returned).
What i found most interesting from that data (2005-2011) was how most of the major brands had similar repair rates and only three that were significantly higher than others. If the repair issues were solely related to installation, then those brands need to be better in selecting regional reps for sales and installs, but again this is improbable that all the worst installers would happen to all sell those three brands.
The data is now 5 years old.
Of the opinions, this general overall view seems to be what i keep coming back to:
And that, as noted elsewhere in this report, is probably the bottom line: Take the time you need to find an experienced, quality installer, and just about any central air conditioner brand should provide excellent performance. What differentiates them is features, efficiency and, of course, price.http://www.consumersearch.com/central-air-conditioners/brands-vs-brandsAll that being said, I think to avoid the high price of 'premium' brands (Carrier, Lennox which to my understanding cost more;
https://www.furnaceprices.ca/posts/central-air-conditioner-prices-canada/), we are going to narrow our brand selection down to parent/sister companies typically listed as mid-level (pretty much same features, less cost):
-Bryant
-Trane (hard to get American Standard here; need to choose something easier for parts in the event of a problem)
-Armstrong
We've already done a ton of searching for local AC installers since our local guy had to bail on us for medical reasons.
We are definitely doing our homework in finding preferably a smaller company, plenty of good reviews, good BBB standing, certifications, etc. And once we have that narrowed down, i'll be peltering them with my usual questions.
We have an older R22 system which will need to be flushed for R410 or the lines replaced. The lines run through some tight spaces in a finished basement so...that's another topic i've had to research (flushing is cheaper than replacing but what is the effectiveness of flushing vs. potential for new compressor failure due to contamination?)
Otherwise most other details are set:
-3 ton unit
-SEER 16 is our preference, 13 is a standard minimum but we're a bit more energy conscious even though we know we probably won't make our money back over time on energy savings; it is just responsible to try and be more green
-75 dB nominal SPL or less
This recent necessity to replace the AC unit may affect a decision to take the LFR plunge.
Not sure yet.
