Recommend & Questions to ask??

[lucky8926]

I'm looking into purchasing a new home thats around 1600 sq. ft It currently has a Luxaire A/C & furnace that is quite old from the looks of it. I'm not sure what brand is the best and i'm sure there will be several people chime in with what they think is the best but from what i've read here the person who installs the unit is more important than the unit itself. So, my question is: How do I know if the installer is good?? Are there questions I should ask them to find out their qualifications? There are 3 or 4 companies that do HVAC in the town I live in and I haven't had any of them do any work for me so I don't know anything about any of them.

That being said, which unit does everyone recommend. I would rather hear from someone that services all kinds of HVAC units than someone who just sells/installs them since they are seeing which brands seem to need the most repairs and a seller/installer only deals with brand new units.

Here is a little about the house & system I would like to have to better help me out.

1 story house approx 1600 sq feet built in 1939. It has good insulation from what I can see but has quite a few windows that are older (I plan to replace them in the near future though) I would like a heat pump since the house i'm renting now has one and I noticed a big difference on my utility bill when I was able to run the heat pump instead of the gas furnace. I would like a mid range system (don't want crap but don't need top of the line)

So, with all the info I've provided any recommendations on a A/C & furnace??

I tried to put all I could think of in here but if there are any more questions you can think of to better help me with my decision pleas ask away!!

Thank you in advance for any information you can send my way!

[21degrees]

Lucky don't put so much energy in equipment. I would look for companies who will provide references, do heat load calculation, Gaurateed all work in writing, provide good, better, best option for you to choose, a company that spends some time looking at all the variables( ducts, location, how long you plan to spend in house, what upgrades to insulation do you plan to do). Professionalism in representative. Are they certified and with who. Will they pull permits, Get them to gauranteed everything for 1 year in writing.

10% Equipment
10% Presentation
10% Apperance
15% Warranty
10% Follow up after presentation
25% Trust
10% Price
10% Are they members of BBB or other second indorsements.

[beenthere]

Other then saying, if the Luxaire lasted 18 years, why not look into another one.
I work on all brands sooner or later, like most on this board.
The units that require the most service, are the units that aren't installed right.

[lucky8926]

So since installer is the most important what are some questions I should ask to ensure they know what they're talking about and they will do a good job?