Sigarms
Super Member
Long story short, branding.
Long story somewhat long...
Every once in a while everyone here posts what's the best HVAC equipment to have. Read ANY of my post per the topic, I will tell you that the equipment line is secondary to the actual contractor doing the work. That also includes how long the contractor has been in business, what do they offer (such as warranties, financing, service/preventative agreements, ultiliy rebates, customer reviews...)
I could list off about 10 "brand names" (and about 20 who people may or many not heard of) all which revert back to about 5-8 or so manufacturers who make the equuipment. I'd have no qualms putting most "brand name" lines in except for one manufacturer, only for the fact that the way they construct thier coils (indoor and outdoor) require critical airflow (and most guys who buy that line NEVER run a static pressue and CFM check anyways). The reality is most manufacturers all off the same features and benifits, and some toot their horn on some "unique" features, but at the end of the day, you just want your equipment to run without issue (and if and when there is an issue you want it taken care of, particularly if it's 5F or 95F outside).
Don't get me wrong, all contractors buy into equipment branding, but at the end of the day, you could have a crappy piece of equipment installed correctly and it will run fine without a problem. Likewise, you good have a great piece of equipment installed and you may not have nothing but problems. What it all comes down to is the little things on installation practices that most homeowners have no clue about. I have two "no name" systems installed in my own home, and in a total of about 15-20 years between the two, one capacitor, and one overpriced variable speed constant airflow blower motor (gas furnace) that was out of warranty, and I thought to myself, "My God, what would a homeowner have to pay for that motor?" (see other thread about the furnace making a noise
)Heck, most manufacturers even "private lable" equipment for larger "Good" contractors and they don't put their name on the equipment (generally for larger volume contractors).
What what I've seen from good contractors is that any equipment that is private labled (or a brand name that the contractor didn't sell due to brand name reconition) just gets their company info on a weatherized sticker placed on the unit, because the company installing the equipment knows they stand behind their work and they want anyone to see that piece of equipment to call their company and not the brand name.
You'll know pretty quick how professional the HVAC company is when they come to your house though...
All that said, generally speaking, model and serial number along with electrical and perhaps charge data should be found on the equipment somewhere. If it wasn't, I would be concearned. Pretty much every piece of equipment has to be registered to recieve it's standard 10 year compressor 10 year parts warranty (one line has changed on that though), and if the equipment isn't reigstered, it reverts back to a standard lesser warranty.
