The only part of a HVAC system that might have a lifetime warranty is a furnace heat exchanger. That warranty is just for the part only and not the labor. Most brands have a 10 year parts warranty or less, and labor is covered for one year. If you want more labor coverage you will have to buy a extended labor warranty. The warranty may be from the installer or the manufacturer. That is a big difference in who will back the coverage and what it will cost you in other hidden fees.

There are many choices out there. Stay away from the low end equipment, but you don't need the top of the line. Many HVAC equipment failures can be traced to poor installation or wrong sizing. You have to find a HVAC contractor who will do a good installation. That is the most difficult task facing a homeowner.

Post your location, size of your house, and equipment with the sizes. Are you replacing a furnace with natural gas, and AC? The more information you provide the more help people can offer.

Located Northeast PA, heat pump(electric) with central air. No gas. Replacing with same exact thing. 1700 sq ft, split level home. Currently set up on 3 zones as basement is not heated ,next level is family room, next level up is living rm & kitchen, next level up bedrooms. We live in the country, so no city gas. This was an unexpected expense, we will also need a roof in a few years, so we can't go top end.

for your location, I would not purchase a new split HP system that did not have EDD, electronic demand defrost, which eliminates/reduces unnecessary and expensive defrost calls. I assume you are sized around 3 tons with probably a 10 KW heat strip. I would be looking for a minimum 15 Seer model with 9 HSPF heating efficiency. Check and see if you have an American Standard dealer in your area.

IMO

Stay away from Lennox. I've owned a Lennox unit for the last 11 years and have paid for it twice in repairs. Lennox has a Facebook page where they used to list customer reviews, but their customer reviews were so negative reporting frequent, expensive repairs that Lennox removed the customer reviews section from their Facebook page. My Lennox unit was installed by a qualified contractor that was an elite dealer for Lennox and the contractor no longer recommends Lennox.

Brand is probably the least important consideration. Amana is Goodman/Dakin but with an enhanced warranty (I believe their compressor does have a lifetime warranty). Daikin is the largest manufacturer of HVAC equipment in the world.

Having said that, EDD is a nice feature - Trane/AS and Rheem/Ruud have this feature. For a decent 2-3 ton replacement system from Rheem, you should be looking at half the price you were quoted for a mid range system. However, pricing is very regional (whatever the local market will bear) so get 3-4 estimates before you make a decision. And check BBB, Yelp, etc, for negative reviews of any installer. Sad as it is, HVAC installers, er, don't all have the best of reputations.......................

The Amana manufacture warranty (certain AC / Heat Pump Models) is Life Time Unit replacement with 10 year parts. The replacement part of the warranty is conditional in that the compressor must be the part that failed.

If the compressor failed, they replace the whole outdoor unit with a brand new unit.

They also have life time replacement for heat exchanger failure. Problem is people get these warranties confused with Goodman brand product which only provides the compressor for life time or heat exchanger. Means you get a rebuilt unit for life if this one part fails where as with Amana brand you get a new unit.

It's rare for a compressor to fail, but I just did an install just last week where this was the case, the unit was just over 10 years old. Case in point... compressors do fail.

Reviews: check any and all brands, they all typically rank around 1.5 stars. Anyone can bash another brand, to sell you theirs. If you really think about it, there is motivation for someone to choose 'their' brand.

Once a compressor has failed at a specific location, it is often noted that it is now that much easier for another compressor failure at that location in the future.

This doesn't mean Amana, or Goodman is on a pedestal. Just put it in to perspective that no matter what brand you choose... they all fail at some point. If you have added protection in that of a manufacture warranty it's not a bad thing to have.

Extended labor warranties: These you buy, read the fine print. You must maintain the equipment. They are limited to 10 years in time. If you fail to do the annual maintenance the labor warranty can be deemed worthless.

A lifetime replacement warranty is not meant to give you an edge to sell the home to someone else. If you sell the home, the warranty reverts to 5 year parts only. This is what makes the warranty a 'true' warranty for the purchaser of the equipment.

We have a few estimates for Trane and Carrier. We currently have a 2.5 ton Lennox, I guess Carrier doesn't make a 2.5 ton, so they said we have to go up to a 3 ton. Does that make sense?

No, it doesn't make sense...depending on model, whether single or two stage...

what is your location?...

IMO

Northeast PA. Current system, 2.5 ton Lennox about 20 yrs old. Proposal 3 ton Carrier Infinity, 2 stage compressor, variable speed blower, 16 SEER, 9 HSPF

Carrier Performance 15 HP

Carrier Infinity 2 stage models only available in full ton sizing, i.e. 2,3,4,5 tonnage...also Carrier does not offer EDD defrost feature...Carrier does offer a HP in 2 1/2 ton Performance 15 Mdl 25HCC5...see link....you would want to pair with Mdl FV Air Handler...less expensive than Infinity systems...still prefer a Trane or AmStd...have to admit though that the Amana warranty has a nice tease but one needs to read it very carefully and understand owner's responsibility...

IMO

Are you talking to a salesman trying to make a high end sale? The Carrier Infinity is very nice but may not fit into your budget. You should have been given a few other alternatives with an explanation of how the system compare.

Amana warranty tease? Owner responsibility is not any worse than with Trane with a less warranty? Or is it because Trane compressors are made in Mexico or in some cases China now that IR owns both Trane and American Standard as to why Trane won't cover their compressors past 10 to 12 years in some cases?

On the not making half ton sizes... all manufacturer's do this with heat pump or AC models that are two speeds or more. Probably the only reason the salesman offered this to you for your climate is that it's a heat pump.

On Demand Defrost (ODD) is only beneficial under temp extremes under 30 degrees. However, to make matters worse is that below 30 degrees any precipitation will freeze thus making ODD virtually worthless. So you really have to think before putting your comfort concerns in that basket.

If you think ODD is all that read the problems with it in this link.

for above poster, the Amana warranty on complete new condenser is a tease. It would be interesting to know how many condensers were fully replaced in 2016 and Amana owners' experience with a failure and replacement.

Not to get into a forum argument but demand defrost (EDD) is not a gimmick or virtually worthless as mentioned above. It is certainly a beneficial feature especially in winter climates where temps routinely fall below freezing and definitely should be considered for a NE Pa. location. Not only does it save money on unnecessary defrost calls but also on wear and tear to the condenser.

IMO

I think what Tiger is trying to say is that most manufacturers insist on documented regular service on the unit to maintain a valid warranty. Some manufacturers are more rigid with this than others. I don't know about Amana. A "service contract" over 10 years can end up costing more than a replacement condenser!

I guess you didn't read the thread I posted about in which user had problems with the EDD? Did I not make a valid point about snow fall? If the heat pump condenser is covered in a drift of snow what good is EDD?

Compressors do not fail all that often, but they do fail. It's typically called a 'catastrophic' type failure. It is noted by industry leaders that once a compressor fails via burn out at a certain location, it is now that much easier for there to be a reoccurrence of this type of failure.

Let's be fair... Trane advertising says 'It's hard to stop a Trane'... but yet the best coverage you can get is about 12 years on upper line. Replacement: Nope. They will rebuild the unit.

That is the point. It's erroneous to say a service contract will cost more than a replacement condenser... maintenance is required for all brands. If you choose to not do maintenance your repair costs will be higher, not to mention monthly electric bills and break downs are even more likely. This thought of not doing maintenance because of cost is fool hardy at best.

It would be like never changing the oil your car, because you have a bumper to bumper warranty.

A mile in my shoes.... back in the day when I worked for American Standard dealer (trane same difference), I attended class after class of some Am Stnd. guru claiming that techs in the field were condemning parts that had not actually failed and returning them for warranty. All the time they kept this mantra... which after so many years I determined upon my own technical ability they were feeding me crap.

Never once has Goodman / Amana taken the stance in over 23 years in this field, giving me talks or chats out of the corner of their mouth that certain parts shouldn't fail. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Even on equipment that I didn't install. There is no HVAC manufacturer IMO, that stands up to the ease in which it is to deal with warranty returns of failed parts for Goodman / Amana brands. Obviously, you have to know what you are doing first and foremost. Because I do have to return the part to get credit for it. I can't cheat the system - nor is that my goal.

I can't say anything 'EASY' about warranty part credit when dealing with any other manufacturer, period. Case in point: all brands fail.

Certainly I read the EDD thread on HVAC Talk forum. I can't diagnose the problem but obvious the demand defrost was not functioning properly. This though does not mean EDD is not an excellent feature.

as to snowfall/ice, it is true that a heavy amount can completely overwhelm Defrost feature whether time/temp or EDD. That would be true of any model of HP, with possible exception of Trane's XLi models that have their proprietary top.

Austin makes a valid point not just about HVAC techs but other industries as well. Techs too often become parts changers not problem solvers as far as repair/maintenance issues. Easier, quicker and path of least resistance.

IMO

Heat Pumps back in the day were mainly designed for warmer climates. The technology has improved greatly in recent years demonstrating the ability to heat at temperatures much lower than typical 30 degree threshold. Many of these machines are inverter based mini splits. Mini splits are an entirely different subject that I won't fully elaborate here.

It is my opinion, that climate is detrimental to Heat pump operation. Whether the defrost method is Time & Temp or EDD there is no such thing as absolute perfect control.

9 times out of 10 someone is trying to sell their method of doing things. If they don't work on the said product, they are merely a salesman. So when the product doesn't live up the hype suggested of it... the salesman is long gone. This isn't necessarily a swipe at tiger, I don't truly know tiger's role other than just someone who recommends Trane / Am Stnd. over and over again. Whether he works for Trane in some capacity I don't know. This isn't to say anything is bad with Trane, except they often times put themselves on pedestals when in fact they are no better than anything else. If you have someone in love with Trane... love is blind. It's not a myth. LOL.

With that said, my Katy, Texas climate is PERFECT for heat pump. EDD would be a waste, even if it worked properly. Snowfall must be considered... I don't have that problem in my climate... a climate that was made for Heat Pumps.

With that said there have been other brands come out where in literature I've read that the heat pump shouldn't run in OAT's above 65? 65 is chilly for my climate, because we are more accustomed to 90 degree temps.

So who is going to make sure all these finer details are straight? A salesman?

You must like jokes if you think that way...

I know people in the New Jersey and Pennsylvania living in homes built in the 1980s which have heat pumps. These are locations where winter temperatures lows of 15-20 degrees happen on a regular basis.

Back in the 1970's in Upstate NY, LOTS of homes had heatpumps because of some political wrangling between the natural gas and electricity lobbies (which the gas lobbies lost). Subzero temps for months on end and resistance electric backup. You can imagine the bills! (And I'm not talking about that football team from Buffalo!)

Needless to say, we switched over to NG as soon as it was available.

Areas with harsh winters will always have periods of moderate temperatures. The argument will always exist for a hybrid system where the Heat Pump may make sense during the period of moderate temperatures and the alternative fuel during the extreme cold.

With advances, Heat pumps may be a better alternative down to temperatures that not too many years ago were considered extreme.

I think we are getting a little off subject from the original post...but I am in agreement with Salti about extreme winter temperatures...if your home does not have good insulation and building qualities, I think homeowner should consider a dual fuel or hybrid system even if that means propane backup.

IMO

A rare brief moment in time {imagine the shock value this has} I agree with Tiger & Salti on this.

Ok, you may have to reread that again. LOL.

what?...Austin must have a fever...LOL!...