Waterfurnace or Climatemaster

[rw1995]

I'm in the process of converting to geothermal, but have not made up my mind on the brand. Any significant pros or cons against or for the waterfurnace or climatemaster units? It will be a closed horizontal loop feeding a 4 ton unit. I'm on the fence and need a push one way or the other. Thank you.

[timlitton]

RW1995, congratulations on choosing geothermal. I think you’ll find you’ve made a great choice.

To help answer your question, one very important factor is the installer/contractor. Make sure you choose a well-trained, experienced contractor for your installation. Most times, this decision is the most important one you’ll make. A good contractor can provide a well-designed system that brings peace-of-mind and dramatically lower bills. A poor contractor will negate any benefits geothermal brings through incorrect installation which invariably leads to higher operating costs and hassles.

WaterFurnace offers dealers the highest level of training in the industry. For even greater peace-of-mind, try to find a GeoPro Master Dealer. They’ve made a commitment to geothermal excellence and have the experience to back it up. GeoPro dealers undergo extensive training and must install at least 24 units a year to maintain GeoPro status. You can rest assured this isn’t a GeoPro dealer’s first geothermal install. Only WaterFurnace has GeoPro.

Another important consideration is warranty. WaterFurnace offers the industry’s best 10 year parts & labor allowance warranty. The loop also comes with a 55-year warranty. Climatemaster only offers a “10-year limited warranty on major refrigerant circuit components and a 5-year limited warranty on all remaining covered components.” In the unlikely event a WaterFurnace unit needs attention, WaterFurnace has 24-hour customer support available to the technician to make sure help is always just a phone call away.

But, efficiency is really what it’s all about, isn’t it? That’s probably one reason you chose geothermal in the first place. The WaterFurnace Envision is the most efficient heating & cooling system on earth … period. Although others make this claim, only WaterFurnace has the ARI certificate to prove it (ARI is the company responsible for efficiency certification in the HVAC industry) . ALWAYS ask to see the ARI certificate of performance. The Envision is certified at 30EER and 5.1 COP on a closed loop system - which is by far the most common type of loop. Climatemaster likes to advertise its open loop ratings to appear to be more efficient, but the Envision NDH038 actually rates at 32.1 EER and 6.5 COP for open loop. Bottom line: you’ll save the most on bills with WaterFurnace.

Another thing to consider: If you want to get started quickly, you must wait up to 6 weeks with Climatemaster if the dealer doesn’t have your unit in stock. WaterFurnace has a THREE-DAY turnaround time to ship products. This is important because if you need parts or accessories, would you rather wait 6 weeks for Climatemaster or 3 days for Waterfurnace?

WaterFurnace is the most recognized and respected name in geothermal. (Click here for a google news search for “WaterFurnace” and then click here for a google new search for “Climatemaster” - you’ll find that the news community is buzzing about WaterFurnace.) WaterFurnace has a history of leadership in the residential geothermal market and is leading the way to the future. They have so many industry firsts: The first R410-A geothermal system, the first technology for a forced air geothermal system that also provides radiant heat, the world’s first 300EER 5COP system.

WaterFurnace has the best efficiencies. They have the best products. They have the best trained dealers. They have the best turn-around times. They have the best warranties and the best technical support.

Go to waterfurnace.com to learn more and to find your local dealer. It’s easy to see that WaterFurnace is the smarter choice.

[Ona]

rw1995 ~
While I appreciate timlitton's glowing advertisement for WaterFurnace, I want to emphasize a key point that he (or she) made, it is most important that your contractor is good. You want to be sure that your contractor has experience and training that is required to design a truly efficient system. If I was in a situation where my geo contractors were limited and I felt that the ClimateMaster contractor was much better than the WaterFurnace contractor, I would go with climatemaster. I personally do not believe that there is that much of a difference in the product that one would be automatically discounted.

Having said that, I just had a geo system installed (Finished in September) and I did chose WaterFurnace. The primary reason I chose waterfurnace was because of the contractor, but just like timlitton wrote, I was also very impressed with the envision model and the efficiency it provided.

Good Luck in your search!

[cdhand]

I bought an extra water tank when I had my system installed last year. It would have worked out much better if I had put in an electric on demand water tank. I must say that the envision has been better than I was told by far. My power bill went down 33% on the total bill. If it is installed right and your temperature never goes below 0 you will not need the heat strips there is a switch on your unit that will cut them off that is important if you change the temperature at different times you may cause the heat strips to come on, to save money you don't want that to happen. also by taking off my hot water heater I was able to add my waterfurnace to my backup generator. For me that was no small thing. I would say that for me this was the best thing I have ever bought. The comfort in my house is much better every room is the same no hot or cold air nothing to look at or hear outside.

[GeoGuy25]

ClimateMaster has almost 60% of the geothermal market share. They did not obtain this by building a sub par piece of equipment. They choose to not have the longer warrenty and keep initial cost down for consumers. Plus look at what has been done recently by ClimateMaster and them alone with the federal tax credit. They have dumoed millions of dollars or their money to get the 2,000$ insentive passed and all the other manufactures are reaping the benifits of it.

[keithmckinley]

try hydro-temp. I've had great sucess with them. They make some of the units for the other two.

[palacegeo]

Originally Posted by keithmckinley

try hydro-temp. I've had great sucess with them. They make some of the units for the other two.

Are you saying that hydo-temp makes heat pumps for Water Furnace and Climate Master??

[Rgausman]

Originally Posted by keithmckinley

try hydro-temp. I've had great sucess with them. They make some of the units for the other two.

Huh... Are you sure of that statement?

[GeoGuy25]

I am sorry to say but I would check my sources if you think hydro temp makes any ClimateMaster or Waterfurnace units.

[Geotech]

Hydrotemp does not make units or parts for Waterfurance and I would not think this would be true for Climate Master.