Goodman
Highest incidence of repairs
In 1982, Harold V. Goodman founded Goodman Manufacturing Company as a manufacturer of flexible air ducts and plastic blade registers. Goodman had been involved in the heating, ventilation and cooling industry since 1954 and had decided to produce high-quality and low-cost central air conditioning systems.
In 1982, Goodman Manufacturing purchased the Janitrol heating and cooling company and officially entered the market as a manufacturer of central air conditioning systems and heat pumps. Subsequently, Goodman purchased the Amana line of heating and cooling equipment from Raytheon, expanding its line of home comfort technologies.
Unlike most of the major heating and air conditioning companies, Goodman remains privately held. Also unlike most of the major heating and air conditioning companies, Goodman's furnaces seem to, indeed, be intended as a low-cost and high-quality option for confused homeowners trying to find the best value.
Prices for Goodman (Janitrol and Amana) furnaces are on average lower than those for comparable models from other manufacturers - in some cases, as low as half the price of competitors' systems. However, they do not necessarily offer the same level of performance as some of the other units. In consumer reviews, Goodman units often have the highest frequency of repairs among the major furnace manufacturers.
The other issue to bear in mind is that the cost of the furnace itself typically makes up only 10 to 30 percent of the entire cost of an installed home heating and cooling system. The average cost of a completely installed whole-home heating and cooling system is between $3,000 and $8,000. This means that your furnace could be anywhere from as little as $500 to as much as almost $3,000; you could still pay well over twice to complete the system. For example, an air conditioner often needs to be purchased alongside the furnace to ensure that your home heating and cooling system works together properly.
Labor, taxes and miscellaneous installation hardware are all very significant costs in the installation of any type of furnace system, so having a good relationship with your furnace contractor is even more important than shopping for the furnace itself.
The bottom line is that Goodman furnaces may be a real bargain, but you'll want to make sure your contractor really knows what he's doing and ensure that he's easily reachable in the event that you need repairs further down the road.
