A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

Heat pump manufacturing is a maze of re-branding, white labeling, and complex partnerships. Despite the seemingly endless array of brands on the market, there are only a handful of factories actually manufacturing equipment behind the scenes. What looks like a diverse selection of options often boils down to the same product with a different name slapped on the side.

The White Labeling Web

White labeling is nothing new. Take Kenmore, for example—the Sears house brand was famous for rebranding home appliances from manufacturers like Whirlpool and GE. The concept of badge engineering is also common practice in the automotive industry. The HVAC industry today operates in a very similar way.

Carrier is a prime example. In the residential space alone, they market a slew of brands—Carrier, Bryant, Day & Night, Comfortmaker, Heil, Airquest, Arcoaire, Payne, Tempstar, and Toshiba, just to name a few. And then there’s their distribution partnership with Midea. My understanding is that Carrier holds exclusive rights to sell Midea-branded HVAC equipment in the U.S., but you’ll also find Midea products under the Carrier and Bryant brands. The equipment often comes from the factory without any branding at all. As a contractor, you get the badges from your local distributor and slap them on during installation.

This scenario is further complicated, as Midea sells their equipment to numerous brands beyond Carrier, including Cooper & Hunter, MRCOOL, and Durastar. One of the easiest ways to spot white-labeled equipment? Check the remote control—if two units have identical remotes, they’re likely coming from the same manufacturer.

But don’t think you’ve got it all figured out just because you know one brand white labels from a particular manufacturer. Take MRCOOL: they sell equipment made by Midea, but also by Gree, another major overseas manufacturer known for white labeling. In the U.S., all equipment under the Gree brand name is sold through a distributor called Tradewinds. However, one of their popular systems, the Gree FLEXX, is also marketed as the MRCOOL Universal, under the GE and Napoleon brands, under the house brand of HVAC distributor AC Pro, among many others. And Gree isn’t stopping there—they’re trying to break into the U.S. market with two new brands, Tosot and Kinghome.

This whitelabeling and brand partnership strategy is an open secret in the HVAC field. At the AHR Expo in Chicago, one of the largest trade shows in the HVAC industry, Gree’s booth prominently displayed all three names. Just a few booths down, MRCOOL was showcasing the same equipment under their own branding. And down from them, Napoleon had the same units with different stickers.

This isn’t unique to any particular brands. Mitsubishi, Trane, and American Standard have a partnership and cross-sell the same equipment under their respective brands. York and Coleman equipment is manufactured by Johnson Controls, which also partners with Hisense to produce some of their systems. Daikin and Goodman operate under the same corporate umbrella and even offer a private label program that allows contractors to put their own sticker on the equipment and sell it as if they made it themselves.

Why This Matters

While this might seem like HVAC trivia, it has real implications for both technicians and consumers. I’m not saying that Heat Pump badge engineering is a bad thing - in many ways, it’s great. Leveraging multiple distributors means that heat pump equipment is distributed more broadly across the country. Commonality across brands means that equipment is easier to diagnose and troubleshoot, and more technicians are trained to work on a certain model of system.

However, all of this white labeling can also lead to worse outcomes for consumers. In fact, many technicians and HVAC business owners are completely unaware of these dynamics. They often develop a blind loyalty to certain brands without realizing that the “trash” MRCOOL system they refuse to install might be the exact same unit they eagerly install under a Gree or Carrier label. Technicians might choose a low-efficiency, single-stage system from a “respected” brand because they trust it more than a high-efficiency inverter system from a “low-quality” brand—without knowing that both systems might be made by the same manufacturer. This isn’t just a minor oversight—it’s costing customers money and efficiency. Those in the trade need to wake up to the reality that the brand they’re loyal to might just be a different sticker on the same box.

My Take

Most HVAC equipment on the market today is pretty high quality and robust. Installation practices often have a greater impact on the system’s performance than the brand name on the unit.

For widespread heat pump adoption, we should prioritize characteristics like efficiency, noise and ease of installation, and put less emphasis on brand. If you’re making decisions based on brand alone, you’re missing the point. Installation quality and efficiency should be your top priorities—brand loyalty is often just marketing noise. The sooner we all get past the brand hype, the better outcomes we’ll see for everyone.

Greater adoption of lesser known brands will drive down cost, and consequently increase heat pump adoption. And ultimately, increased heat pump adoption is the most important thing for the HVAC industry and the building electrification community today.