Trane vs. Carrier Air Conditioning Unit Comparison

(Updated July 2022)

What You’ll Learn

As you read this air conditioner brand comparison, you’ll learn:

• Trane and Carrier are two of the top air conditioner brands in the United States, and both have earned excellent reputations throughout the years.
• Consumer Reports lists Trane at the top of their brand reliability rankings, scoring a perfect five out of five for both predicted reliability and owner satisfaction.
• Carrier falls slightly behind, earning a five out of five from Consumer Reports for owner satisfaction, but only a four out of five for predicted reliability.

Carrier Vs. Trane Air Conditioner

“What is the best air conditioning brand?” It’s a question we get all the time, and the answer depends somewhat on your unique circumstances. There are numerous factors that should impact your decision when you buy a new A/C unit:

The Size of Your Home 

Larger buildings contain more air that needs to be cooled. Every air conditioner brand makes different sizes of units to accommodate different buildings, but some have better reputations than others when it comes to handling big jobs

Your Energy Efficiency Goals 

When you learn about energy efficiency ratings like SEER2, it’s relatively easy to tell which units are the most efficient. What some people don’t think about is how their units will age. For example, the average unit that’s ten years old might be using about 20% to 40% more than a new unit. 

Increases in air conditioning technology explain this difference, but there’s also some loss of efficiency if the unit isn’t durable enough to hold its quality for a long time.

The Climate  

Tough climates require dependable air conditioners. If you live here in Phoenix or any of the surrounding areas in the valley, you know how vital your A/C can be during those hot summer months. You need something durable enough to stand up to all of the dust in the air while still fighting off the brutal heat.

For all of those reasons, we recommend Trane air conditioners for our clients.

Why Choose Trane Instead of Carrier

There are many reasons we usually recommend Trane over Carrier, and there are almost too many to list. Perhaps the biggest reason of all is that Trane makes the best compressors in the business. An air conditioning unit, especially a modern one with lots of innovative technology, relies on many different components to function correctly. Still, the compressor is the heart of the air conditioning unit.

You’ve probably heard the slogan “It’s hard to stop a Trane.” Well, they’re mostly talking about their compressors. Trane compressors, and therefore Trane units, on the whole, are less likely to fail than most other brands on the market. That’s why Train gets a perfect five out of five for both owner satisfaction and predicted reliability from Consumer Reports.

To be fair, Carrier also gets a perfect five out of five for owner satisfaction from Consumer Reports. But, of course, some occasional problems skew air conditioner reviews (which we’ll touch on shortly). Where Carrier falls short is in the area of predicted reliability. It still earns a rating of four out of five from Consumer Reports, but the slight dip in reliability will feel like a big deal when the temperature in your house is climbing toward three digits.

Trane Air Conditioner Reviews Vs. Carrier Air Conditioner Reviews

Most review sites indicate that Trane and Carrier are highly competitive because both are reputable brands, but we also always caution people to be mindful of where they’re reading reviews. Depending on where you look for reviews, you might notice that they’re either overwhelmingly high or overwhelmingly low. There are reasons for each:

• For example, some sites collect reviews from people immediately after having their new air conditioners installed. If you just got a new unit last week, you probably haven’t had time to have any problems with it yet. So when you see a site where all of the ratings are positive, this is perhaps what’s happening.
• On the other hand, you might see some sites where almost all of the reviews are negative. These are sites that don’t prompt people for reviews, and most of us don’t randomly decide, “today is a great day to review my air conditioner.” This is because people are only going to these sites to review air conditioners when they have problems. People are frustrated, sitting in a hot house, and decide to get online and give the manufacturer or their A/C unit a piece of their mind.

Sites like Consumer Reports are often much better sources of information for things like these. Consumer Reports has become a leader in the review industry because they have a knack for collecting and analyzing many objective data. Their ratings are based on actual failure rates and similar data points instead of review-gathering campaigns organized by marketers. When you get right down to it, owners of Trane and Carrier units seem satisfied by both brands, but Trane does have a little bit of an edge.

How to Choose an HVAC Contractor

Here’s something a lot of companies won’t tell you when you’re comparing air conditioning brands: many failures are caused by the company that installed it. Of course, it’s always essential to start with a reliable unit, but it’s every bit as important to get it installed by a skilled technician. It doesn’t matter what kind of air conditioner you buy if the contractor uses the incorrect wiring, messes up the weather sealing, or fails to get the right pressure balance for the refrigerant.

Here at Howard Air, this is a big part of the reason we specialize in working with Trane equipment. It allows us to be experts when it comes to every single one of the units we install. Our technicians are the best in the business, and they constantly work with Trane equipment. In addition, since we’re installing the same premium air conditioners day after day, we’re intimately familiar with the processes and best practices recommended by the manufacturer.

Since we have such a strong relationship with the Trane brand, we can help connect our customers with the best possible prices on both the initial installations and ongoing maintenance. When you consider our fair prices and our mastery of our craft, you’ll understand why we win so many awards and get such positive reviews.

When you learn about energy efficiency ratings like SEER2, it’s relatively easy to tell which units are the most efficient. What some people don’t think about is how their units will age. For example, the average unit that’s ten years old might be using about 20% to 40% more than a new unit.

Increases in air conditioning technology explain this difference, but there’s also some loss of efficiency if the unit isn’t durable enough to hold its quality for a long time.

Air Conditioner Service in Phoenix

Here at Howard Air, we’ve been serving Arizona residents since 1977. In that time, we’ve become so confident in our skills and Trane equipment that we can offer a No Breakdown Guarantee. So contact us or schedule your appointment today!

Featured Image: Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock