6 HVAC Buying MISTAKES! 

1) Reliability 2) 24 /7 service on call 3) u.s. made and parts availability 4) #1 rating in efficiency 5) great customer service and u.s. wide franchise These are my reasons for buying a new system. Problem. Live in a small town where nobody wants to pay for a lennox. Companies want to carry the cheapest brands because they get a better price for the units. Not enough experienced staff to handle issues on repairs. In a town when surfs up nobody works. Sad but true !

Thanks for sharing so many important points with us

We got a new Bryant. We had a 13 or so year old Goodman. It was always problematic. Unfortunately, we had a humidity issue with the Bryant at first and they came to figure it out. The air handler fan speed was too high. He adjusted that and our vents and that day it improved. I am very happy. It seems a nicely made system. I hope it has years of no issues. They thought there was a leak in the Copper freon line but they never found it so we took the risk when the system finally broke. Hopefully, it was in the units and not in the copper line inside the wall in our townhome. I enjoy your channel and have watched for a while for advice! Thank you.

From my experience, in addition to all the good advice in the video, if you aren't lucky enough to get experienced trained installation and maintenance technicians who are trustworthy and explain the work they will do and how they will do it, then that may negate all the other positives you so wisely chose. It pays to learn about refrigeration systems and how they work so you can understand and communicate directly with the technicians more than just relying on their shop managers. When you've got a good technician, ask for him or her when you schedule service.

Thank you, literally going through this right now. Had a company come in today and one last week. I have 5 more to go. Completely different quotes so far (not quotes but where to put the indoor units and the outdoor, what btu's etc) Here in Canada there is a rebate program and a 10 year interest free federal loan promo.... part of it is you have to get a home energy assessment and then quotes, all mini split models must be on the federal approved list.. So that is good. All of these companies coming in are on the provincial partner list (somewhat vetted) so that is good. First company stayed for an hour, measuring, explaining, talking btu science, really thorough. The guy that came today took 15 minutes, not impressed

I overheard a contractor talking about having to replace an entire 2014 system because the compressor failed. What happens to the units that get pulled for stuff like that? Do they get sold for scrap?

A large local HVAC company was offering free extended warranties to all its customers. Six months later, I went on a service call to replace a bad capacitor on a condensing unit. The customer told me that he supposedly had an extended warranty but the company that installed his equipment went out of business. My boss later told me that the owner went insane. Crazy stuff.

spot on

Thanks, good information. I have a lot of questions before I buy. I'm going to look at the estimate I received and then get another as you suggested. I'm in sothern Virginia so you do not service my area.

Hey great vids, you helping us as the consumer, I'm in process to buy a furnace, not sure what to do, my house is a small 1 floor and half basement, Any suggestions what size, any info helps and I'm on a fix income so very scared making this purchase.

Hey First I would want a company/Individual that has good knowledge of how to do HVAC system sizing. System and ducting concerns. Sometimes I would like the house WARMER in winter and colder in a HOT summer. Then trying not to have any cold areas in my house during winter. Yes my house was all redone with insulation & new windows. This is an excellent video tutorial and more people should ask the questions.

What is your take on the York heating and air conditioning??

When replace my furnace and coil, is it recommended that I change the AC if it is not bad.

Do you have a video in air source heat a/c pump

I contacted a local Goodman dealer, who was listed on the Goodman website. Their sales guy said Goodman was junk and we should should buy a different brand. Sounded like a bait and switch scam. I replaced it with another Goodman system, from someone else, and it has been working great for the past 10 years.

Check this out. We live in a condo building that was built in 2017. Our aC unit Rheem 2.0 gave out. Warranty expired in 5 years. The condo is about 1600 square feet. Some rooms didn’t cool right and before I knew it, it didn’t cool at all. Now we have to buy a new unit. Also even our furnace in some spot started rusting. Horrible horrible mess.

I had 4 companies Quote me $20k+, and 1 company quote $8k. Same brand: 4ton 16 seer 2 stage. I am totally confused, the 4x high quotes mentioned how nice my cars & house are. The 4 also offered a 15 year financing. North Texas.

Thank you for your openness on this. AC units isnt typically at the top of the normal persons conversation list. I have a few questions Im hoping you can answer. 1. My air handler is in a closet at one end of my hallway if i want the main duct line re routed to a different closet down the hall is that an easy move? My air handler is only 2 years old so Im not eager to replace it; but its in the closet next to my super small kitchen so if moving it is an option how would that process go?

This time I went with the contractor I liked the most who has a good reputation. They weren't the cheapest and I would have preferred other brands. But, it was more important to me that I could contact a company with whom I liked to work if any issues or problems occurred.

I replaced cap because while it was blowing was only blowing warm air . Also washed outside coils on condenser unit with spray can from the inside out but also from outside and changed indoor filter . It's blowing fairly good but is having soome trouble keeping it to set temp of 78 degrees during the verrry hot day of south Texas . What else can I try ? Will get to set temp at night

Tip of the line Lennox system was quoted at 21k 😮 is that a normal price?

I am looking for an HRV system for a 640 square foot tiny home....any recommendations? I am in Canada so the winter is cold and damp

How do you about taking care of rooms in you home being too cold in the winter and too warm in the summer?

I just had my AC system replaced. The old one was burnt up. But I didn’t have much time to get multiple quotes. And I only found 1 company that would even do a free quote. Everyone else charged for the privilege. Anyways, this company came out 45 mins after I called. They told me they could fix replace the old motor for 1500. But that there would be at least a 50/50 chance it would fail within a year. They recommended replacing. So they installed a 3 ton Amana 15.3 seer, and a new coil. They claimed the unit was sold to me at cost ($4,400) and the coil was $2500. The total price of the project was $9400. I never got an itemized receipt, only a total. And the unit does have a lifetime full unit replacement warranty for what that’s worth. It’s a 1050 sq ft house in a really hot climate. I have no knowledge of hvac so I have no idea if this price was actually reasonable. The Google searches all show I paid about 2-4K too much. But then again I’m told by other people it was a great price. Would love to hear from another expert.

I'm replacing my 2013 Rheem 3-ton unit SEER 13 heat pump with a more efficient one. Please, in your opinion, which quotes received makes the most sense (they are all from experienced companies) since I'm not sure about the quality of the product or the fairness of the offers (all include the thermostat of my preference, two surge protectors, and UV light: Gree 4 tons split system Flexx SEER 18: $10k with 10 yrs parts & 1 yr labor warranty or $11k with 10 yrs both parts & labor + optional $0.75 sq ft of blown-in insulation R30 for the attic $1,399.50. Bosch 2.0 4 tons BOVA SEER 20: $10,540 with 10 yrs both parts and labor warranty. York 3 Ton 17 Seer York LX Series Heat Pump Split System: $9,384 with 10 yrs parts & 5 yrs labor plus $300 rebate. Bryan 3 tons 226ANA paired with FV4CNF005L00 SEER 16: $10,180 with 1 yrs labor & 10 yrs parts and compressor - includes Aprilaire 2210 whole house annual air filter.

What is a heat low calculation

Does anyone have an opinion about Mr Cool's whole house systems, I live in NJ and only need cooling for about 4 months each season. The new 4th Gen 4/5 ton (switchable via dip switches) really appeals to me as I have the duct work sufficient to run the 5t on the hottest summer days, yet the 4t setting would be best 90% of the time. I know of no other manufacturer offering a unit that does that. The downside IMO is unit is hyper-sensitive to voltage irregularities so I would def install a protective breaker to mitigate that risk.

Is Lennox HVAC system has issue of leaking water? I am seeing online. I am looking for new AC and Heating and I am living into Texas. I have signle story house with 2000 sqft. Is 2 stage system of Trane good enough to cool the house?

Here is a ULTRA CRAPPY policy I found that HVAC company did, or maybe many HVAC companies do this. Someone buys an HVAC system, sells the home and the new home owner now doesn't get the benefit of the warranty, even if normally it still has time left on the warranty. Say it is a 5 year warranty or 10 years, now a new owner finds 'oh that does not transfer ownership. WTF, no, that is completely not right. That system was paid for, and now suddenly it won't be honored. Really, well guess what HVAC companies that do that FU. That is a giant middle finger to new homeowners, and a big giant downgrade in that HVAC companies credibility as a 'trusted name'. If you run a company and have that policy, by all means please post your response, but keep firmly in mind that YOUR company is NOT one we will be going with, so you created a policy that locks you out of doing business so your ultimately costing yourself business and money. Right so you buy that warranty, and it is great for the original buyer, but homes get sold, and/or flipped and that flipper spends REAL MONEY to buy the infrastructure of the house, including those key appliances and systems like HVAC. So, it is UTTERLY unreasonable NOT to transfer ownership of the paid for warranty with the house. Air Comfort Solutions is one of those companies with that policy, and as a new homeowner who found that out, and even trying this company out, due to that and other legitimate reasons I realized that is a company I do NOT want to use. I essentially spent 71, plus some on work that was completed, but then 397 which effectively was a giant waste O money, and yet, thinking about the non-transferable warranty, that is yet another great reasons not to use that company, or any other HVAC company that has such a policy. You might not like that attitude, but guess what, ultimately the customer is your boss, as they are the one paying, and without them, you won't remain in business so passive aggressive non-transferable warrenty policies are little middle fingers to customers. Realize, as a new home owner the first company I called was the one on the warranty and not everything was covered, plus the general maintenance or larger 'clean the system' which are like 1200+ dollar jobs, or upgrades like UV lights installed, all of which are now something I won't go back to that company to do. They then lose all that money, which can be substantial. To me, that is horrible business practice.

I live in Phoenix, recently had my 18 year old Goodman replaced with a new Lennox unit. I’m regretting that I didn’t get a 16 seer over the 14 seer that I had installed. I don’t know why I did that, hopefully that wasn’t a huge terrible decision.

We are just in the process of having a new Trane hvac put in snd it is huge! It looks industrial and makes my home look terrible! I know from what they told us they could do some things because of the way the last hvac was put in after they switched from a swamp cooler but I am super unhappy with the enormity of this thing. Now I have to figure out how to hide it.

My ac unit is 29yrs old works fine but getting nervous about is breaking down in the middle of summer it’s a air handler in the attic wondering your thought should I get it replaced because of it’s age ? Thanks for video and good info

amazon will deliver a 3 ton goodman with all the fixings for about 4k. Costco came out and quoted 8k for a system that my wife doesnt remember the name of. How much should it cost to have it put in?

A mistake I see a lot is people replacing their system with a like-in-kind instead of considering more modern alternative designs. For example, replacing an air conditioner with another air conditioner, instead of a heat pump that could significantly reduce furnace usage in the winter.

I live in NY. I had 5 contractors give me quotes. None did heat calculations. Did not discuss warranties. Just wanted to make a buck.

we had a variable speed Bosch unit installed a year ago and have had nothing but headaches with it-either it's set so it cools great but has unbearable noise issues or it's set so it's quiet and we end up sweltering. Same problem in the winter-not heating when we really need it. After doing everything they could think of, out installer finally is offering to replace the unit, but what do we choose !!?? the Lennox: LRP16HP electric(heat pump) or the Rheem: "RGEA16 Series" (RGEA16036AJV06TABAUA) (Gas package unit).?? any advise ? we have a 1300 SQ ft, 1 story 1974 house in the Calif central valley.

Do you typically cover the cost of all electrical work in your HVAC installations? Many of my quotes have excluded this.

How long is a typical labor warranty? About how much should it cost compared to the standard 1 year labor warranty?

I ended up using the lowest bid because the person who did it had previous experience installing other units in my condo complex.

Despite the supply chain issues and inflation, I have to wonder if now is the best time to buy a new heating and air system? I do not believe prices will go down even if those issues are largely resolved during the next year.

If anyone understands anything, please explain it to me!!!

I vote against use of wifi stats myself.. someone can control my comfort? Hell nah lol

pretty much what not to do in this video...

Very important would be getting their license number and looking it up. Again get the license number and look it up!! Also require them to pull a permit and have it inspected. If none of this is offered Corners are being cut. Also if you are a home owner and you don't want inspection you are wanting to cut corners. I understand there are reasons people don't want this. But it's very cheap everywhere here to do that.

How can a contractor justify making a $13,000 profit on a $4000 unit for a days work. That’s robbery.

I picked the cheapest bid because we will sell the house in 3 years. I just need it to run for a few years that’s it

Don't over size

The HVAC business should be regulated, when you can buy a split system furnace and ac for under 5 thousand dollars in 2024 and they charge 17 - 20 thousand dollar. That means your being charged 10 - 15 thousand dollars for the labor this is criminal.

You lost me at buy all the accessories

I got quoted 17k to have a 3 head mini split put in, which seems crazy to me. 2 bedroom home in NJ, 36k btus

Trane is the worst system I ever had. Daikin is the next that I will buy. It is like GMC. vs. Toyota. My Toyota Tacoma is 20 years old every button working on. Never had any problem. So looks like the Japanese can make a good HVAC to.

No useful info here. It’s literally just a sales pitch for his business