Armstrong Air Conditioner Pricing Guide

The Armstrong HVAC range is a relatively small range of air conditioners which has a focus on providing value, they are in the more affordable portion of the market for air conditioners. The brand is owned by Lennox, another heating and cooling company with massive turnovers of billions of dollars each year. Lennox has their own range of different products. While some manufacturers which own sister brands simply offer the same products with different branding, Lennox and Armstrong have very different products.

Armstrong Brand

Armstrong as a brand was started back in 1928 by Lennox. Lennox is a company offering heating and cooling products for almost a whole century. The Armstrong brand prides itself on innovation and creating reliable products.

All of their products are made in Orangeburg in S. Carolina. The facility which makes the AC units is state-of-the-art. Each AC unit is quality tested in action before it is shipped to customers. All brands owned by Lennox and produced under the Allied Air brand are made in South Carolina.

Sister Brands 

The brands which can be classed as ‘sister brands’ all fall under the Allied Air brand owned by Lennox: AirEase, Concord, Ducane, Allied Commercial and Magic-Pak. The ranges of all of these brands are significantly different.

Many people have described Lennox as being the ‘elite’ version of the products while Armstrong is the ‘budget’ range. Their products are more affordable but still have plenty of durability.

Armstrong Technologies

MHTTM Technology

One of the unique things about Armstrong products is the inclusion of MHTTM technology. This has been developed by the brand, and is a fan system designed to pull the air evenly into each of the coils inside the AC unit. This means that the coils assist with the refrigerant flowing around the AC unit and ultimately this helps with the efficiency of the unit. There are also laced fins which mean longer time that the refrigerant is in contact with metal, creating a more effective cooling system.

Communication

Within the 4SCU18LS model, there is communication technology inbuilt A centralized control monitors each of the different parts of the AC unit to ensure they are functioning at 100%. This keeps everything running efficiently. Also, if you also utilize a smart thermostat, the unit can let you know via the thermostat when you need to change filters, or when other maintenance is required. Not all of the products in the brand are equipped with this.

Armstrong Pros and Cons

Pros

Cons

Armstrong Air Conditioner Price List

These prices have been provided as a rough guide of what you should be looking to spend, both for each individual unit, and for the installation as well. Prices can vary depending on who you choose to install your air conditioner.

In order to keep this comparison fair, we’ve calculated the running costs based on 2.5-ton units (this is an average size for a medium family home). The cost of $0.13 per kW, per hour has been used for electricity, this is also based on averages around the USA.

Tonnage does not refer to the weight, instead it is talking about how many BTUs of heat can be moved per hour. This handy guide will help you to choose the tonnage of your unit based on the size of the home.

Model Comparison - The Armstrong Range

The table above explains the products in the range, and shows the sound (measured in decibels) and also the SEER rating, and the type of compressor.

As you can see, a lot of the products in the range, the 4SCU14LB, 4SCU14LE and 4SCU13LE all have less than 15 SEER. This is okay for casual or occasional use, but if you are going to be using your air conditioner on a day-to-day basis, this can be quite a low-efficiency rating. The SEER rating can also come into play when looking to get rebates and funding which can be provided by the state government for installing efficient products.

The only variable compressor model is 4SCU20LX. Variable allows the product to adjust to the needs of the environment to provide only the amount of power needed. This is different to single-stage options which are either “on” or “off”. Think of it like a dimmer switch as opposed to an on/off light switch.

The 4SCU18LS and 4SCU16LS are two-stage compressors, meaning it has two different power adjustments instead of just being able to switch on and off. This provides a higher SEER rating of 18 and 16 respectively.

It is also fair to say that at the budget end of the market, where Armstrong is, the sound levels produced are usually higher than in the early 70s, like the products in their range. If you are looking for an affordable, low(ish) noise AC unit, then the Armstrong products might be worth considering.

The Best Armstrong Air Conditioner

Most of the Armstrong range is designed to be quality on a relatively low budget. You can expect the majority of the Armstrong products to be installed for within $3,000 and $4,000, which is pretty good. However, one product in the range is head and shoulders above the rest.

The 4SCU20LX is more expensive, but this is for a reason. It is the only product with a variable compressor in their range, which instantly means it is far more efficient than the others. If you will be using your AC unit a lot, this may be necessary and better in the long run financially.

This model has other attractive features including:

This is certainly on the smarter end of the market, and for a budget brand is a good offering. However, if you only need a moderate level of efficiency and are looking to save money, the 4SCU18LS can also provide a decent option.