Our air conditioning unit died the other day. I have three quotes in hand with one more installer scheduled to come out and do a quote.

I've been reading the various HVAC threads going back and one of the keys I've gleaned is: 'Who does the install is more important than what they install'.

So, my question is: How do I determine the quality of the HVAC installer?

That's the hardest part. Word of mouth. Online rating places like google and so forth, read the reviews, especially the bad reviews.

Personal referral is best.

Reviews are ok, but can be manipulated...

Who was most professional? Do you have a number to call if something seems amiss during installation?

Large company, able to address call backs in timely manner?

Wording used... Load Calculations, manual J, pressure testing, using microns as measurement during evacuation, purging with nitrogen while brazing, etc.

Call them to further discuss proposal, are they interested in making sure you have answers, or making money. Like life, check your gut if all else exhausted.

Writing quick on phone in DR office... others will have good input as well.

I've been looking at reviews on Google, but I don't trust Yelp and haven't looked there.

One of the quotes was from a place recommended by some friends, but I felt like we were being "upsold" and did not care for the guy (who was the owner).

I just got the fourth "quote", if you can call it that.

Instead of scheduling a time to come by, the fellow asks me if I've gotten any other quotes. Yes, I tell him. He asks what they are. I decline to say. He then asks what size and SEER rating of the units quoted. I figure it's OK to tell him this.

Then he gives me his quote, over the phone and (obviously) without even seeing the existing unit or install. Then he says "The quotes you have are probably for Trane or Carrier equipment. I sell Lennox, which is far superior to either of them, which is why my quote is probably higher. So, make up your mind. If you want the best, a Lennox, I can try to fit you in. If you just want the cheapest, choose one of those others."

Okey dokey.

When looking at reviews on Google or Yelp. I want to see a lot of reviews, over 50 reviews, because I do agree that some can be manipulated.

What made you feel that the owner of one place was upselling you? He might not be and might have from experience of your house and lifestyle figured out that the higher seer unit might end up costing you less (energy savings) in the life of the unit.

I like American Standard or Trane equipment. Whatever you do, avoid Rheem like a plague.

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Originally posted by jimmy123x:
What made you feel that the owner of one place was upselling you? He might not be and might have from experience of your house and lifestyle figured out that the higher seer unit might end up costing you less (energy savings) in the life of the unit.

It was a combination of saying we needed a 3 1/2 ton unit, when the other two firms said a 2 1/2 ton would be fine. He was also pushing a higher SEER rated unit (16 if I recall), when the others were 13.

If he'd spent a lot of time examining the system, I'd have more confidence in his quote. But, I live in a more "affluent" area and we often find that contractors and service providers will charge more or recommend higher tier products because they figure you can afford it.

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Originally posted by CoolRich59:

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Originally posted by jimmy123x:
What made you feel that the owner of one place was upselling you? He might not be and might have from experience of your house and lifestyle figured out that the higher seer unit might end up costing you less (energy savings) in the life of the unit.

It was a combination of saying we needed a 3 1/2 ton unit, when the other two firms said a 2 1/2 ton would be fine. He was also pushing a higher SEER rated unit (16 if I recall), when the others were 13.

If he'd spent a lot of time examining the system, I'd have more confidence in his quote. But, I live in a more "affluent" area and we often find that contractors and service providers will charge more or recommend higher tier products because they figure you can afford it.

What size is your current unit? Does it keep it at the temperature you have it set at during the summer and middle of the day/afternoon? How often does it run during peak summer heat hours? How many square feet is your house? How much is your current electric bill right now?

It's hard to say without doing the proper calculations, but a higher seer unit with a variable speed blower might very well save you money over the life of the unit. The larger size is a question mark, depending on what you have now and it's performance.

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saying we needed a 3 1/2 ton unit, when the other two firms said a 2 1/2 ton would be fine.

Here one way to rule someone out ask all three how they came up with correct size. A one ton increase means he did load calc to determine that you were undersized and that your existing ducts could handle the larger equipment. My guess is he didn't. It's very time consuming to do he would have needed access your your attic, asked you which direction (NSWE) your house faces, and been using a measuring tape. If they just looked at existing equipment for a few minutes and didn't ask much or measure much they are winging it. Tons per sq ft +/- individual factors for your house a pro can nail it without load calc, but you better trust them.

The current unit's dead, but worked fine when we did use it. It was here when we moved in 5 years ago and the previous owners left no documentation. The service tech told me it's a 2 1/2 ton unit and is probably 30 years old.

Neither my wife nor I are heavy AC users and we only run it when it is in the 90s and really humid -- all told, probably 45-60 days throughout the year. Our place is 1,500 sq ft; 1,900 if you count the finished portion of the basement. Because we never use the AC much, our electric bill in the summer is less than $100 per month.

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Originally posted by Skins2881:

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saying we needed a 3 1/2 ton unit, when the other two firms said a 2 1/2 ton would be fine.

Here one way to rule someone out ask all three how they came up with correct size. A one ton increase means he did load calc to determine that you were undersized and that your existing ducts could handle the larger equipment. My guess is he didn't. It's very time consuming to do he would have needed access your your attic, asked you which direction (NSWE) your house faces, and been using a measuring tape. If they just looked at existing equipment for a few minutes and didn't ask much or measure much they are winging it. Tons per sq ft +/- individual factors for your house a pro can nail it without load calc, but you better trust them.

I wasn't here when the fellow who quoted the 3 1/2 ton unit came by. But, the wife told me he was here for less than 30 minutes.

I was here for the other two. They just looked at the existing equipment in preparing their quotes. Definitely no measurements.

Maybe I should reconsider the guy touting the Lennox system. He was able to give me a quote without even coming to my house. He must have super powers!

For your usage of only 45 days a year, the lowest SEER would probably be the best choice and if 2.5 tons cooled perfectly, stay with 2.5 tons. If all rooms in your house are an even temperature when using the a/c, the ductwork is probably fine. You don't want the unit oversized (3.5 tons) as that will cause humidity issues. 2.5 tons is usually the right size for 1500 sq feet under air here in South Florida with a greater heat load, so should be the right size for your area, and generally houses in IL will have more insulation. Again, without doing a manual J calculation, this is all a guess, but sounds like your current set up was done properly. Make sure they quoted changed the copper line set from the condenser to the evaporator and make sure it gets changed with the install.

When I shopped mine I found a place where the guy was the only one of 3 who did manual J calculations and properly explained my options. He actually tried to sell me a smaller unit but I opted for a slightly larger one as we are talking about an addition. Company was great and I couldnt have asked for anything more. I'd look at reviews and ask the rep technical questions. Make sure they know what theyre talking about. Find out if they do their work or sub it out. My company did and they were so respectful of our home and polite you;d have thought they were going to ask for a bank loan. Best of luck in the hunt.

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Originally posted by CoolRich59:
The current unit's dead, but worked fine when we did use it. It was here when we moved in 5 years ago and the previous owners left no documentation. The service tech told me it's a 2 1/2 ton unit and is probably 30 years old.

Neither my wife nor I are heavy AC users and we only run it when it is in the 90s and really humid -- all told, probably 45-60 days throughout the year. Our place is 1,500 sq ft; 1,900 if you count the finished portion of the basement. Because we never use the AC much, our electric bill in the summer is less than $100 per month.

I'm no HVAC expert, but I can almost guarantee that you don't need 3.5 tons for 1900sqft in Chicago. Mine is 2.5 tons (DC Swamp) in 1600 sqft home, my contractor refused to bump it up to three. New system of same size and good install fixed all of my problems, no need to upside.

You can figure out your tonnage yourself if you want. Go look at part number for A/C unit. Find a number that is a multiple of 6 in the part number (24, 30, 36). Each 6 is half ton. So if your part number includes a 30, you have an 2.5 existing.

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Originally posted by CoolRich59:

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Originally posted by Skins2881:

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saying we needed a 3 1/2 ton unit, when the other two firms said a 2 1/2 ton would be fine.

Here one way to rule someone out ask all three how they came up with correct size. A one ton increase means he did load calc to determine that you were undersized and that your existing ducts could handle the larger equipment. My guess is he didn't. It's very time consuming to do he would have needed access your your attic, asked you which direction (NSWE) your house faces, and been using a measuring tape. If they just looked at existing equipment for a few minutes and didn't ask much or measure much they are winging it. Tons per sq ft +/- individual factors for your house a pro can nail it without load calc, but you better trust them.

I wasn't here when the fellow who quoted the 3 1/2 ton unit came by. But, the wife told me he was here for less than 30 minutes.

I was here for the other two. They just looked at the existing equipment in preparing their quotes. Definitely no measurements.

Maybe I should reconsider the guy touting the Lennox system. He was able to give me a quote without even coming to my house. He must have super powers!

Game misconduct for BS on 3.5 ton guy, two minute minor for Lennox guy.

He would need some really good reason to come up one ton larger.


If you stated you had zero problems with old unit for humidity and maintaining desired temps then there are not many people that would essentially do an energy audit for no reason. If you were addressing heating/cooling or humidity issues when unit was working, that is when most would consider doing full load calc. Very few are going to to do a full calc on every single quote/install.

PS sorry for the hockey stuff if you don't watch hockey.

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Originally posted by Skins2881:

PS sorry for the hockey stuff if you don't watch hockey.

I like hockey. I'd like it even more if the Blackhawks could get their act together.

Thanks everyone for the great info. The two remaining installers both have 100+ reviews on Google that I'm going to spend some time reading before moving forward.

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Originally posted by CoolRich59:
So, my question is: How do I determine the quality of the HVAC installer?

Short answer, you can't. You can read all the online reviews you want about a particular company, but that doesn't insure the installer that company sends you isn't the new guy they hired last week who isn't worth a damn. Same with referrals from friends of a particular company. Doesn't insure the installer assigned to your job is worth a damn. The best you can hope for is a personal recommendation (or more) of a 'specific' installer from a trusted source, assuming you can get that guy to do your install. The one time I personally tried to tie a particular installer at a large local HVAC company to a rental home installation I was contracting, I was told they did not guarantee such accommodations on their jobs. Long story short, you get who they send you. End of conversation.

I wish you the very best of luck finding a quality installer for your job.

I found factory authorized installer for Carrier an then checked reviews. Angie's list reviews are worth checking too and it does not cost anything to join anymore. Reviews are always interesting. The negative reviews from the firm we use were pretty much all bogus. "He came out for the $99 maintenance special, found some problems and told us $327 to repair - 1 star". I also looked for firms that had been in business for a while.

My AC guy is NATE certified. I think they are a cut above all others.

Online reviews are worth what you pay for them. Can be legit, might not be... I know one guy who left a positive review for his 'own' company!

Ask around, friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, church members, etc.... who they use and if their happy with the service they receive.

Another valuable source is to call local HVAC distributors and ask them for the names/numbers of the top two companies they would recommend. I WOULD NOT SKIP THIS STEP. They know who knows their business from the ones who don't. They also know who has an abundance of warranty claims.

You've already eliminated two (the Lennox asswipe and the over compensating guy).

2 1/2 ton should be plenty for your home, unless you live in an uninsulated barn. 2 ton could be ok, but would only go this way, if a proper load calculation verified it.
13 SEER is also adequite for your location. Very unlikely to save money with the higher SEER unit given the operation time and energy rates for your area vs equipment upgrade costs.

^^^^^ This guy is the HVAC whisperer.