1.  I am presently looking to have a air-conditioner installed in my home. What manufacture's should I consider?

I have worked on many different manufactures equipment over the years, and would rather not recommend any specific brand names, I will however mention that with my experience there are a few who do stand out. These few always seem to impress me by the way they handle their warranty issues. For example, Any company willing to recall and replace products that are out of their warranty period is a company who cares more about their customers than the bottom line. I have on occasion went to purchase replacement parts that were several years out of their warranty period and was given them for free since the computer at the wholesaler showed that the original part had a defect. On the same note I have had to fight tooth and nail with a different manufacture over a small warranty issue, I recommend that you have a look at each manufactures web site and see which one is offering after sales support and which one's are just selling product. You can also go to the recalls section of our web site and see first hand who some of these may be.