G71P, Infinity 96 or Trane XV95 - Unbiased Opinion

[JscottJ123]

I would appreciate a bit of professional unbiased guidance.

I've had 3 dealers in my area all quote 3 brands, all dealers seem pretty good, straight forward. All have quoted pretty much top of line equipment except one, and thats the Trane dealer.

The issue is I have 2 zoned systems in my house. I like the Trane dealer, he's been very attentive, didn't charge to come out and do some in depth inspection of exhanger/coil/etc. He readily states that Trane’s newest most efficient system using the PURON does not operate well with the TRANE zoning. From what I understand, it does not talk well with the heat pump and as a result they are quoting all Honeywell zone and thermostat components.

The Carrier system is just about all Carrier except the TrueSteam Humidifiers. Same with Lennox.

Both the Carrier and Lennox dealers have been hard to get a hold of - in other words I'm chasing them for answers/quotes, etc. But both companies have a good reputation for their respective operations/maintenance.

Carrier is about $2500 cheaper, Lennox highest, Trane is in the middle (but he’s the good guy from an initial "get the sale" standpoint. I’m looking between $33K-$40K total of 2 systems complete, ERV, FILTERS, etc.

I'm all hung up on "not the latest technology/efficient/zoning". Am I worrying too much, should I go for the so-called more advanced Carrier or Lennox over Trane?

Here’s what’s been quoted:

TRANE XL15i Heat pumps Puron
TRANE XV95 2 stage, Variable speed gas furnaces
TRANE Clean Effects Air Cleaners
Honeywell steam Humidifiers
Honeywell Zone control systems for both systems (removed the comfort controllers for additional savings)
Honeywell ERV for fresh air
10 year parts and labor on TRANE Equipment and air cleaner
5 year parts warranty on all Honeywell controls
Stainless drain pan for upstairs closet to include floor drain inside pan (will need to return for measurements)
Overflow safety switches for upstairs unit to shut off equipment in case of drain backup


Thanks if you made it through my long post.

[BaldLoonie]

Carrier's Infinity zoning will blow away what Honeywell can do with the Lennox or Trane. The 432 panel is nice and would be great with the XV95 staging based on zones calling so you don't end up with high fire trying to force all that air through 1 zone. Last I knew the Lennox would not stage down once it ramped up so that could be a problem even with a good staging panel.

Never seen Trane zoning but he could be referring to Trane's panel not handling dual fuel like the TZ432.

[catmanacman]

it is hard to get a unbiased opinion on this board but i like the trane set up

[CaptainCrash]

I'm not a fan of trane but all 3 bids based on equipment are solid. That doesn't matter though, poorly installed and they'll all suck. You want to go with the company you trust to do the best installation, final fire-off, and continuos service from here on out. When your dealing with top-tier equipment, zoning, HP's, ERV's all together, it's a complicated system that needs to be setup correctly or you'll hate it. Just my $0.02

[beenthere]

Got a question for you.

If you have to chase the Carrier and Lennox guy for answers before you buy a system from them.
How do you think they will do with service after they have your money?

[dash]

Infinity zoning and control is tops.Is there another Carrier Dealer to call?

[ChuckHVAC]

These all are good systems and equipment. The dealer is everything on a nice system like this. The dealer will make or break a top of the line system. You might ask for a reference from a previous customer who has had a top of the line system for more than a year.

[JscottJ123]

Got a question for you.

If you have to chase the Carrier and Lennox guy for answers before you buy a system from them.
How do you think they will do with service after they have your money?

Well - having been in a business myself for over 27 years (not HVAC), I think there is always a big difference between a sales guy selling and the "other" departments performance. Sometimes they all work together, but many times not.

All 3 of these dealers are all very well respected in the community. The Carrier dealer especially is very large and covers lots of area. They also coincidently sell Trane, but don't want to offer it due to not being as well integrated or efficent. I didn't contact them for Trane. I picked all these dealers due to their top tier status with each company they represent.

So as I stated, my only hang-up has been the lack of integration and effecency with Trane.

My hang up with Carrier also goes a little towards the furnaces I have now being bad prematurley, but as someone else stated her, I'm learning there's alot having to do with install, and my current systems were not installed very well.

I now know better what to look for - I hope!

[JscottJ123]

It seems like looking through these forums that most the votes go to Carrier, then Trane - but I don't see too many Lennox proponents - Are they out of the game these days?

Is Trane out due to lack of technology?

Does the 1 or 2 higher SEER really matter?

The response seem more tailored to "go with thebest install". But suppose all the installs were on equal footing. In my area, all the companies have good reputations for installs.

[ChuckHVAC]

Now you're getting to an area where you will probably get lots of different opinions, here's mine: In high end systems, based on comfort performance, I vote Carrier #1, Lennox #2, Trane and some others tied for 3rd. But they are all great systems. In my opinion, in the real world, the difference between 15 SEER and 16 SEER doesn't mean much, or even 16 to 18. Now, TXV vs fixed orifice, PSC blower motor vs ECM, or ECM inducer vs shaded pole, those things do matter.

[heatpumpguru]

Carrier!! I think has better controls and the equipment is nice also.I am a fan of 2 stage equipment and since they "kind of help each other out "you will never really fire FULL BLAST

[key1cc]

It seems like looking through these forums that most the votes go to Carrier, then Trane - but I don't see too many Lennox proponents - Are they out of the game these days?

My local Home Depot is a Lennox proponenet.
They just switched from Trane to Lennox (here in central NJ).

They replaced the Trane displayAC condenser with a Lennox one, however they left the XV95 furnace in place and just placed a Lennox sticker on it.

This Home Depot kept the same installation company.....They just switched brands.

Attached is a pic of the old Trane display.

Key1

[ndshvac]

Call a Bryant dealer. Bryant is the same as Carrier and you might get a better dealer. Bryant has all the bells and whistle also. Their top of the line is "Evolution" series