Just bought a summer house in MA and will be getting estimates on a air source heat pump system, if this was your house what manufacturer would you go with? We will mostly use house during summer and ideally am looking for kid grade system. Reviews are over the place, what's your opinion?
Heat pump manufacturer
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What do you mean by kid grade?
There are 3 grades. Builders grade ( no frills and can be a bit louder ). Regular and Deluxe with lots of extra features and much higher SEER.
If you are looking for a basic meat and potatoes good quality brand I like Rheem. Not the prettiest or quietest in their entry line but they work well and don't seem to have as many problems with freon leaks from their coils like a lot of other brands do.
Their entry level line is called Weather King and is the same as the basic Rheem with a shorter warranty.
There are 3 grades. Builders grade ( no frills and can be a bit louder ). Regular and Deluxe with lots of extra features and much higher SEER.
If you are looking for a basic meat and potatoes good quality brand I like Rheem. Not the prettiest or quietest in their entry line but they work well and don't seem to have as many problems with freon leaks from their coils like a lot of other brands do.
Their entry level line is called Weather King and is the same as the basic Rheem with a shorter warranty.
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I like Rheem furnaces and put one in my Sister's house. Very old well established company. Like I said they don't have a lot of leaky coil problems. When my Sister's AC needs replacing I will get her a Rheem. Even though I work for a Lennox dealer, for my relatives Rheem is a good bang for yer buck IMO. They have a mid grade and high end series also.
RUUD is the same company, like GM and Chevy.
http://www.rheem.com/products/heating_and_cooling/heat_pumps/
RUUD is the same company, like GM and Chevy.
http://www.rheem.com/products/heating_and_cooling/heat_pumps/
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I hate to say it but Trane/Am Std had a lot of leaky evaporator coil problems. Lennox did too for a year or 2. They now corrected it and I am not sure if Trane has. Where I am Trane is very expensive to buy and their parts are very expensive. It is a popular brand and I imagine works well.
Amana and Goodman are pretty much the same and are owned by a huge company called Daikin which is the size of Siemens.
Lennox owns Armstrong but it is not a clone of Lennox. Ducane and Aire Flo is a clone of Lennox and owned by them.
If you just want a good unit for your basic buck I like Rheem. Lennox and Trane and Carrier have heavier built very deluxe units but you pay more and they have some features others don't.
I have been posting HVAC for over 10 yrs and have not heard about too many Rheem heat pump problems.
Amana and Goodman are pretty much the same and are owned by a huge company called Daikin which is the size of Siemens.
Lennox owns Armstrong but it is not a clone of Lennox. Ducane and Aire Flo is a clone of Lennox and owned by them.
If you just want a good unit for your basic buck I like Rheem. Lennox and Trane and Carrier have heavier built very deluxe units but you pay more and they have some features others don't.
I have been posting HVAC for over 10 yrs and have not heard about too many Rheem heat pump problems.
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Check the features/heating performance, ignore brand.
For a cold climate demand defrost is better than timed. The timed defrost defrosts the coil every 30-60-or 90 minutes when the coil below freezing whether it's needed or not.
Some heatpumps may heat better than others, as some fall short on heating capacity. A 3 ton hp should provide the full 36 000 btu/hr (matches cooling capacity) at 47f, some may provide as little as 32, maybe even 30k.
Means more backup heat use.
Every brand probably has issues with coils, and if it's not that you can bet there will be other issues especially with all the third world parts being used. Get a 10 year parts and labour warranty from the manufacturer.
Get full indoor and outdoor unit model numbers. Ask about controls -> there are thermostats that lock out the electric backup heat above a certain temperature, stop heatpump from running when it gets too cold.
For a cold climate demand defrost is better than timed. The timed defrost defrosts the coil every 30-60-or 90 minutes when the coil below freezing whether it's needed or not.
Some heatpumps may heat better than others, as some fall short on heating capacity. A 3 ton hp should provide the full 36 000 btu/hr (matches cooling capacity) at 47f, some may provide as little as 32, maybe even 30k.
Means more backup heat use.
Every brand probably has issues with coils, and if it's not that you can bet there will be other issues especially with all the third world parts being used. Get a 10 year parts and labour warranty from the manufacturer.
Get full indoor and outdoor unit model numbers. Ask about controls -> there are thermostats that lock out the electric backup heat above a certain temperature, stop heatpump from running when it gets too cold.
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