There are two types of people in this world: Those who buy brand name and those who buy knock-off generic named products. The question is, what are you? Will you sacrifice quality and go for a lesser known brand? Or, will you go for the top quality brand names? Now, when I say brands you may be thinking of some of the more popular brands out there like Coca-Cola, Ford, and Nike. But, if you are like me and love to research and study something before you purchase then you will realize that the brand of the product you purchase can mean a lot. I don’t care if you are buying a toothbrush or a window air conditioner.
Brands matter.
In my younger years I spent ten years working for the Kenworth Truck company. For those of who you don’t know Kenworth’s Trucks are known as the Cadillacs of the trucking world. These trucks were top of the line and everyone knew it. You got top quality, all the features, and tough durability. If you were rich, or if the company you drove for was kind to you, then you got to drive a Kenworth. Otherwise, you were stuck driving a Freightliner or an International. People went out of their way to buy Kenworth over some the other brands. That is brand recognition and goes to tell you that the Kenworth company knows what they are doing.
The point I am trying to make here folks is that even with window air conditioners there are numerous brands and manufacturers to choose from. The question though is what is the best brand? What is the Cadillac of the Window Air Conditioner world? Let’s dive in and take a look.
Friedrich
This was a toss up folks. I was debating back and forth between Friedrich and Frigidaire for our best brand names for window air conditioners. After some back and forth I decided to go with Friedrich for our top pick.
Friedrich has been around as a company since 1883. That is one-hundred and thirty-five years of being in business. That is very impressive. In the 1800’s they were originally founded as a custom furniture maker but the founder of the company, Ed Friedrich, was an inventor and innovator. Around this time various people and companies had begun to dabble and develop their own types of refrigeration technologies. Ed was one of these people having developed one of the first refrigeration systems in the late 1800’s. This invention gave the company sustained growth and expansion for decades.
Moving into the 1950’s, nearly seventy years later, and the Friedrich company was still going strong. At this point in time they were one of the world’s largest manufacturers of refrigeration equipment and machines. Seeing another opportunity the company decided to expand further into their niche market and they began to specialize in window and room air conditioners.
Over the years Friedrich has become a prominent brand name in the window air conditioner world. They are known for their top quality products and their commercial grade durability. That means that their machines last and won’t fall apart on you or break after only a year or two of usage. All that being said I will warn you now that you should be prepared to pay a bit more for the price if you want to purchase a Friedrich air conditioner. Remember though folks that you are paying for top quality!
Frigidaire
The Frigidaire company was my runner up for best brands in window air conditioners. If you haven’t heard of the company name Frigidaire before I have to ask where have you been? You’ll see this brand name all over your house. I don’t care if it’s on your refrigerator, your dishwasher, or your laundry machine. These guys are into every home appliance you can imagine.
While they haven’t been around nearly as long as Friedrich I can assure you that Frigidaire knows exactly what they are doing and have been around for over one-hundred years. On top of that, just like Friedrich, Frigidaire was a pioneer in the refrigeration and cooling industry. In fact one of their principal investors was Willam Durant, a founder of General Motors. GM went on to develop the first ‘Freon’ refrigerant in the 1930s while they were partnered with DuPont. On top of all of that Frigidaire invented and began selling the first self-contained refrigerator in 1916.
Frigidaire has been around ever since manufacturing and innovating on new appliances. While they may not have the commercial durability and quality that Friedrich has I can assure you that you are still getting a great product for a fraction of the cost that you would pay for a new Friedrich.
Let’s put it this way. If you are wanting the best of the best then get a Friedrich. However, if you want a good product that will last, cool your room, and not kill your budget then I would suggest going with the Frigidaire brand name.
Conclusion
Ok folks so now you have an idea of the best brand names out there. But now, what do you look for when purchasing a new window air conditioner? How do you know what size to buy? What features should you get? What other considerations should be made? To help you out with all of these questions and more we at RefrigerantHQ have built a Window Air Conditioner Buyer’s Guide for you.
Not only will this guide answer your questions but it will also give you recommended products based on your room size. Oh, and don’t worry there are plenty of Frigidaire and Friedrich names in our recommended product listing!