Central Air Conditioner Reviews The basics of air conditioning With the start of summer and the onset of warmer weather, a central air conditioner could start to look like more of a necessity than a luxury. All air conditioners -- including portable air conditioners, room air conditioners and central air conditioners -- work basically the same way as your refrigerator: They pump heat from one area (in this case, your home's interior) and transfer it to another (the outdoors). An air conditioning system contains several parts: The evaporator is a winding coil, usually made of copper, which draws out warm air from indoors. The condenser is a separate coil that releases the collected heat outside. This coil is surrounded by aluminum fins to disperse the heat. The refrigerant is a liquid that transfers heat from the evaporator to the condenser. It evaporates in the indoor coil, pulling heat out of the air, and turns back to a liquid in the condenser, releasing its heat outdoors.

The compressor is a pump that forces the refrigerant through this network of tubing and fins. This is the part of the system that uses electricity. In a room air conditioner or a portable air conditioner (which we cover in separate reports), all these parts are contained in one compact unit that sits in a window; can be installed permanently in a wall; or, in the case of portable air conditioners, sits on the floor and is vented to the outside via flexible connecting hoses. Individually, these units are much cheaper than a central air conditioning system and are easy to install. However, they only have enough power to cool a single room and if you want to cool multiple areas, costs can mount up. We cover room and portable air conditioners in their own reports. If you need to cool an entire home, a central air conditioner is much more efficient than having a window or portable air conditioner in each room. And even though room-sized air conditioners are quieter than ever, a central air unit is quieter still (at least as far as occupants inside your house are concerned).

Central air conditioners are also easy to use, but they are much larger and more complicated to install. Unlike a room air conditioner, which is an easy do-it-yourself task, a central air conditioner must be installed professionally -- and as we'll discuss in the Buying Guide section of this report, the quality of that installation can go a long way toward determining how satisfied you are with your choice of central air systems. However, a quality installation can add thousands of dollars to the sticker price of the system itself, though how much can vary greatly. air conditioner and heater in one unitAmong the factors to consider is whether or not your home already has forced-air heat. ac unit filled with waterIf it does, the ductwork needed to distribute cold air from a central air conditioner is almost certainly already in place; water heater ac unit

if not, it will have to be added -- and that, of course, increases the cost and complexity of the project. If you're also thinking of replacing your furnace, we cover those in a separate report, recommending the top choices in that category as well. Finding the best central air conditioners In general, consumer publications do not test central air conditioners. Experts generally agree that proper installation and maintenance are at least as important to the performance of an air conditioning system as the unit itself, so testing in a lab would provide little useful information about real-world performance. that recommend specific air conditioning brands based on factors such as features, efficiency and warranty. doesn't rate central air conditioners, but does rate the reliability of the top brands based on a large survey of its members. has the largest selection of user reviews that we spotted. Together, these and other sources enabled us to choose top central air conditioners that combine efficiency, durability, strong warranties and quiet operation.

Types of Air ConditionersBrands vs. BrandsMaintenance and RepairBuying GuideOur SourcesNextChoosing the most energy-efficient heating and cooling system will help to cut costs for maintaining the perfect temperature inside your home. Good systems are quiet, low in service needs, and are long-lasting with proper maintenance. If you've ever had your air conditioner breakdown in the summertime – or lost heat in the dead of winter – you know how important it is to find an HVAC service company you can depend on for quick repairs at a reasonable rate. 0255075100+012345Want your company to be on this guide?Are The Problems With Goodman Air Conditioners As Bad As Their Ratings Would Indicate? When Consumer Reports released their latest rankings of the most reliable air conditioner brands, only York air conditioners were rated lower than the Goodman brand. How is it that Goodman air conditioners, the most commonly installed brand in the U.S., can have such a terrible rating in terms of reliability?

Is the quality of Goodman air conditioning units really that bad, or is there more to this story? Most people are surprised to learn that pretty much all the top air conditioner brands rely on the same manufacturers to supply the major components such as compressors, and motors for their equipment. For example, you’ll find Copeland compressors in all the top brands of air conditioners. Similarly, all the top brands use fan motors from either AO Smith or GE. So if Goodman air conditioners are built using the same components as other, more reliable brands, there has to be some other reason Goodman ac units fair so poorly in Consumer Reports reliability rankings, right? In fact, there are other factors besides the quality of the equipment affecting Goodman’s rankings. The top rated air conditioner brands in Consumer Reports’ annual rankings all have stringent requirements for the companies and technicians who can purchase and install their equipment. Goodman has no restrictions on who can buy and install their air conditioners.

While other brands will only allow licensed contractors to buy their ac units, and require ongoing training for the technicians who install them, anybody can buy and install a Goodman unit - even if they aren’t licensed and have absolutely no training. This is the key ingredient in the recipe for disaster that has resulted in Goodman air conditioners developing such a bad reputation for reliability problems. Several contractors who have weighed in on this subject advise homeowners to be wary of any contractor who only offers Goodman air conditioners, and who isn’t also an authorized dealer for one of the top rated air conditioner brands. That’s probably pretty good advice. Even contractors who don’t install Goodman equipment, if asked for their honest opinion, will tell you that most of the problems they see with Goodman ac units can be attributed to a subpar installation. In my experience, most reputable heating and air contractors are going to be authorized to install at least one of the other brands that requires licensing and training for their dealers, even if they do offer Goodman equipment for homeowners who request it.