York LX Series YFK Review

The YFK is a high-efficiency air conditioner from York with a two-stage compressor, ENERGY STAR® certification, and some great other features and selling points. Although it’s part of their value tier, this air conditioner offers great value, and it’s going to be more affordable because York is an economy brand. 

The YFK is a fantastic option when you're considering an air conditioner upgrade, and this model review will help you understand why. It will discuss the YFK’s average price in Canada, key features, warranty details, efficiency rating, and more. 

And just in case you're curious about what other models York has on the market, the review will also compare the YFK to three others from the brand. 

The York YFK in a Nutshell

Average Price (with installation): $3,500 to $5,500

Top Features

• High-efficiency SEER and ENERGY STAR certification mean great cost savings
• High rebate eligibility 
• Moderately quiet operation
• Compatible with the Hx™ and Hx3 thermostats
• Good warranty
• Compact footprint is perfect for smaller spaces
• Good humidity control thanks to the two-stage compressor

The Bottom Line

The YFK is an excellent air conditioner to consider. For one, it’s a York, so it’s going to be more affordable than a lot of other air conditioners. At the same time, it has a more advanced two-stage compressor, a high-efficiency SEER of 17.5, a better-than-average warranty, and ENERGY STAR certification.

This model is well-equipped to cool just about any home in Canada, and it’s going to reduce your energy bills and keep your home at a more consistent temperature. It’s also in the perfect SEER range for Canada, so it offers a great balance between price and long-term savings.

It also has high rebate eligibility, and that could make it even more affordable if you're working on a budget. 

Finally, the compact footprint of this air conditioner means it can fit in smaller spaces where a standard A/C might not go.

In Depth Review

York YFK Product Specifications

• Compressor: Two-stage
• SEER: Up to 17.5 
• ENERGY STAR certified: Yes
• Decibel rating: As low as 70 
• Tonnage: 2 to 5 tons

Features Overview

York doesn’t have too many special features or novel technologies, especially with their value-tier LX models, but the YFK is compatible with the Hx and Hx3 thermostats, which do have some cool features. 

Some examples of the features you can access with these thermostats include remote Wi-Fi access to your comfort settings, automatic updates for the thermostat and its devices, and voice control through devices like Alexa. 

Other Key Features

• Equipped with a reliable tube-in-fin coil
• Made in the United States
• Has a quieter swept-wing fan blade
• Fan has a more sophisticated electronically controlled motor

Warranty Information

The YFK comes with a better warranty than some of their other value-tier models. It includes a 10-year parts warranty and a 10-year compressor warranty. They stopped offering the one-year labour warranty they offered.  

However, those are the registered warranty terms. Once you install the air conditioner, you'll have 90 days to register it with York. All you have to do is provide them with your contact information, the installation date, the serial number of the A/C, and the name of the dealer who installed it. 

Should you fail to register during the 90-day window, then the air conditioner will only have a five-year parts warranty and a five-year compressor warranty. 

Comparable Models by York

Model Comparison by Price: YFK versus TCHD

The TCHD is one of York’s most affordable air conditioners, costing between $3,000 and $4,500 on average in Canada. 

While you won’t spend as much up-front on the TCHD, you will have to make compromises, including more expensive cooling bills over the years. 

The TCHD is only a single-stage air conditioner, and it has a mid-range SEER of 13—the minimum SEER an air conditioner in Canada can have. Mind you, you can pair it with a variable-speed indoor blower to potentially get the SEER up to 13. Along with costing more to operate, the TCHD also won’t qualify for high-efficiency rebates. 

Beyond money, there are other concerns with air conditioners like this, including that they're better suited for smaller spaces with lower cooling demands. If you try to cool a larger home with this air conditioner during a heat wave or period of high humidity, you might find that it’s not capable of keeping up.

Overall, the YFK might provide better value, better comfort, and better long-term savings.

Model Comparison by Features: YFK versus Affinity Series YXT

The YXT is one of York’s premium-tier Affinity models, so it’s pricier than the YFK but has a little more to offer. 

The YXT is also a two-stage air conditioner, but it has a higher SEER of 19.75. This is a little more powerful than you generally need in Canada, where air conditioners with SEERs between 16 and 18 tend to offer the best balance of price versus long-term savings. 

Some of the perks of the YXT include that it has a customizable climate setting, a lifetime compressor warranty, communicating capabilities, and the QuietDrive system for quiet operation, which gives it a quieter decibel rating of 67.

However, if you don’t care about those extra features and technologies, then the YFK might be a better option because it will cost less and will save you a similar amount on energy bills.

Model Comparison by Tier: YFK versus LX Series YCG

The YCG is another high-efficiency LX series model, and it has some pros and cons compared to the YFK. 

It has a less powerful single-stage compressor paired with a more efficient ECM fan motor and microchannel coil technology, giving it a SEER as high as 18.5. 

Here’s what that means for you: you might save a little more on energy bills each summer compared to the YFK, but the YCG won’t compete in terms of performance when you're talking about humidity management and delivering an even, consistent temperature throughout the house. 

The YCG is also marginally louder than the YFK, with a decibel rating as low as 72, but the difference probably won’t be noticeable.