It's good that you are doing your homework because you are right, the differences in equipment are numerous. Trane is known for name therefore you will pay more, Amana,which is Goodman is down the middle to low road depending on the installation company, and Rheem/Ruud can be compared to Amana. Amana and Rheem use the same compressor, Copeland Scroll, and Trane uses their own Climatuff/Scroll. They all have 10 year warranty on parts as long as the installation company registers it, so make sure that happens. I believe they all use aluminum coils so thats a plus because the copper ones were leaking with every manufacture. 16 SEER is where you should begin but look into the Green Speed that Carrier offers. They have an Infinity brand that beats all when it comes to modern controls. The thermostats actually talk to the equipment. This is just a little info, but in the end it doesnt matter which equipment you go with if the installation has been done poorly! And to answer your question Trane-Rheem-Amana in that order..and I would put Carrier above them all because thay invented airconditioning! lol

I disagree with some of the above comments particularly the recommendation for the Carrier GreenSpeed HP. That would be overkill both in equipment and price. Totally unnecessary for Florida location.

Are you inland or close to coast?

Post back and I will offer opinions on the brands/models listed.

IMO

We are 400 yards from the Santa Rosa Sound (Inter coastal waterway) and then there's a barrier island, and then the gulf.

The Amanas I'm considering (16 SEER & 18 SEER) are actually coming in higher on price than the Trane XL16i.

The salesman for the Amana touts the warranty (10 year parts and labor, and replacement for the lifetime of the outside unit if the compressor goes bad). $10,500 for the heat pump (ASZC16), air handler, and strip heat (model HK15). When I agreed to have it installed and then backed out because I decided I wanted to consider another company (my gut was telling me to slow down) the high pressure sales started. I was told they could put it in TODAY and if I didn't like it for any reason I could have them take it out within a year and get all my money back. Well, I didn't want to tell the guy he was a liar, but I know I couldn't just say take it out because I don't like it. So that was one of many arguments made to get me to just say yes. I told the salesman's supervisor who was pushing me that I just needed more time to evaluate and get more estimates, but he kept pushing. I even told him I was getting less comfortable the more he pushed because my gut was saying why push so hard? Granted, having a customer agree, and then 20 mins later call and say I need more time to think this over has got to be frustrating. I apologized profusely for changing my mind after saying initially saying I had decided to put the Amana in.

Now the company that's selling the Trane is so far giving me a much better impression, but then again, so was the Amana company until I said yes, errr, no. HIs ball park price is about $1500 less than the Amana for the Trane XL16i. I just asked for ballpark because he has to come out to do an estimate and I just needed something to grab on to at the moment to justify my not going for the Amana. So he'll do a manual J next week with the actual quote.

The Rheem quote was given to me after a quick assessment by a guy from a third company after he visited and went back to his office. It was for $11,300. The fact that he did it so quickly left an impression on me. I'm confident he would have done a manual J if I decided to go with them. They've done good repair work in the past. I believe they may sell Carrier as well from what I friend of mine posted on facebook a few minutes ago.

So right now I'm leaning toward the Trane XL16i.

I found that if you have to fight these guys to get what you want, for instance a manual J, then it doesn't make much sense to go with that company. There shouldn't be any pressure either. What they should do is come up with a proposal based on you needs and sit down and discuss those options and prices. If not, then move on to someone else. In my opinion, the people with the most experience and knowledge will be the least pushy.

As Tigerdunes will point out you have to have a manual J. It's the only way to come up with what you need for your home. Doing manual J, a good contractor will walk around your house and write down the dimensions, insulation, window dimensions, floor space as well as a number of other factors. So you can see that it's not an easy task but well worth it for you.

As far as equipment goes, I have a trane system and the 15i. Trane is a good company, there are others. I'll let tigerdunes talk abou that. But what's important is the quality of the installation, which is reflective of the company when they are selling you the system.

In the case of warranty, I would definitely recommend extended labor warranty.

Check the link below

Here is a link that might be useful: HVAC information

I found that if you have to fight these guys to get what you want, for instance a manual J, then it doesn't make much sense to go with that company. There shouldn't be any pressure either. What they should do is come up with a proposal based on you needs and sit down and discuss those options and prices. If not, then move on to someone else. In my opinion, the people with the most experience and knowledge will be the least pushy.

As Tigerdunes will point out you have to have a manual J. It's the only way to come up with what you need for your home. Doing manual J, a good contractor will walk around your house and write down the dimensions, insulation, window dimensions, floor space as well as a number of other factors. So you can see that it's not an easy task but well worth it for you.

As far as equipment goes, I have a trane system and the 15i. Trane is a good company, there are others. I'll let tigerdunes talk abou that. But what's important is the quality of the installation, which is reflective of the company when they are selling you the system.

In the case of warranty, I would definitely recommend extended labor warranty.

Check the link below

Here is a link that might be useful: HVAC information