FurnaceCompare maintains records on nearly 600 series of central air conditioners. Which of these do homeowners and contractors rate most highly? And, of the most highly rated, which are available for sale in 2016? The list below represents the top-rated air conditioners available in the US and Canada. These air conditioners vary in efficiency from 13 - 21.2 SEER. They also vary in features and price. The sound ratings are measured in decibels -- the lower the decibels, the quieter the air conditioner. The actual number of decibels produced by an air conditioner is a function of both its capacity (how many BTUs of cooling it generates) and the other components to which it is connected (such as a furnace or air handler used to distribute the cold air). In general, when you see a range, the lowest number of decibels is for the units with the smallest capacity that are paired with quiet components. There are two different types of prices shown in the "Average Pricing" column.

Note that prices -- even when they are published online -- can vary substantially based on the capacity of the unit in question: 24,000 BTU units are typically cheaper than 60,000 BTU units of the same brand and series. The "installed" prices can vary even more dramatically. Not only do they cover a range of capacities, but prices also vary geographically and from installer to Compare our 2016 ratings to the best air conditioners of 2015. Consumers and homeowners have submitted thousands of reviews to this site. In addition to reviewing a particular model of equipment, the reviewer also assigns a rating from 1 ("Very Unsatisfied") to 5 ("Very Satisfied"). The following list ranks the top 10 central air conditioner series from bottom to top, based on the average of those consumer satisfaction ratings. has collected reviews on more than 65 different brands and nearly 600 different series of central air conditioners. However, we have only included a

series on this list if we have at least 5 reviews of that series, and if the series has not been discontinued. If we only have a few reviews, there is a risk that a single homeowner will skew the average rating too far in one direction or another.no power going to ac unit My mother-in-law would like to insure her single family home AC unit while my wife and I are informally renting a room with her. parts on ac unit Although the unit is 10 years old and runs fine, she could not afford to replace it and is paranoid it will fail, so she uses it only when others visit...in Florida! automotive ac repair near meSince my wife and I can't do without it, we'd like to help her insure it in the tiny chance it fails during our stay. This seems like a better idea than running an expensive window unit and never leaving our room.

Do I have any other options to mitigate this risk? united-states insurance rental-property home-insurance Your mother-in-law might consider a home-repair policy that covers all of the major systems (HVAC, Water heater, plumbing, garage doors, perhaps even appliances). She would buy this policy to reduce the risk of a large expense not handled by monthly cash-flow. She might do this because she has a fixed income, and does not have an emergency fund, in the same way a landlord at a single family home might want to avoid cash-flow risks. The cost of the policy is certain to be higher than the actuarial cost (cost of claim x probability of claim during insured time period) of repair/replacement of a failed system, as the insurer would need to cover sales costs, operating expenses and profit in addition to the direct policy cost of system replacement. The value to the insured is the predictability of the premium payment. Insurance only makes sense for large and unpredictable expenses (unexpected, major medical bills, death or debilitating injury, other unforseen and large loss).

You would not insure for elective/cosmetic surgery (large, predictable), haircuts (small, predictable), or lost keys (small, unpredictable) Note: some people use AAA to insure against the inconveniences of lost keys, flat tires, and dead batteries Note: some people buy extended auto repair warranties, cell phone warranties, and extended warranties on consumer goods, to mitigate the inconveniences of these unpredictable events. Insurance is based upon information advantage. An insurer uses actuarial knowledge (claims history, statistical models) to predict claims, and then prices the policy to ensure premiums exceed risk plus costs and profit. Should an insured to have better knowledge of claim probability, they would only buy coverage near to their needed claim instance. Thus, an insurer constructs their policy to prevent purchasing a policy only when the protection is needed. This is why many economists believe insurance is a flawed product, demanding unequal information.

With insurance in general, you really should use it only to mitigate risks that would bankrupt you. Because your insurance premium will always be the cost of the actual risk plus the insurer's operating expenses and profits. Unless you believe you know the risk better than the insurer - but given that they can exist as a company only because they know how to assess risks correctly, I'd never assume that they're wrong without very good reason. So if you and your wife would not go bankrupt over replacing that AC unit, you should just offer to cover all or most of the cost of replacing the unit should it break during your stay. If you don't have an emergency fund for such things, that's a separate problem that needs to be addressed. Another question is: if your mother-in-law never uses that unit anyway, why would it be a problem if it breaks? Lowering the resale value of the house? Does she intend to sell that house anytime soon? Would the broken AC unit really lower its value more than the cost of replacing it?

A home warranty (better called a home service contract) provides exactly this service, usually for all built-in appliances in the home.My local utility (BGE) has a subsidiary that will add a fee to your monthly power bill and cover things like routine inspections, etc. You can insure almost anything -- Lloyds of London is famous for brokering insurance bets on odd challenges. Whether you can afford to pay what the insurance company would charge you for an uncommon policy is another matter. It's worth investigating the policies others have mentioned. But please remember that, on average, having someone else insure you will by definition cost more than "self-insuring", since they will want to take a profit out of the deal. So if you only want to insure it during your stay, I'd simply tell her that you'll pay the costs of running it and/or repairing it during your stay. Of course since the additional use could theoretically cause it to fail sooner but after you'd left, that might not reassure her much.