Recommendation for healing / cooling replacement contractor
 

I'm interested in any recommendations for a local heating / cooling company to replace our system here in the Villages. Designer home in the Spanish Springs area of TV. System seems to be original to the construction of the house and seems to have run its course and needs to be replaced. Any help in finding a reliable local contractor is appreciated.

ThanX

Kalos

You are going to get everyone saying who they used with a question like that and that's not going to help you. You can easily do your own Google search for HVAC companies working here in the Villages. Just stay away from Frank Gay. Of the bigger companies get estimates from Sunshine and SunKool. They both do new installs for the Villages new builds so they will have the best buying power with Carrier and the cheapest prices. Call Ray from Sunshine on 352-445-7065 and get an estimate. The most important thing to remember is the installation is the most important part of the job. When comparing estimates, make sure you compare the same equipment to the same equipment and ask what they are changing for the install. Also, remember, some of the smaller firms although very reputable may try to sell you a system that seems a lot cheaper because that's the one they make the most money on. If you get a higher efficiency system, check on the Federal Tax Credit to see if it applys to the system you want because that goes away this year. Also don't be afraid of the more advanced systems since you can get a transferrable 100% labor contract for an affordable price which covers everything along with the 10 year parts that Carrier gives you. I'm sure you will get sales people telling you not to get a more efficient system because they are expensive to fix and there are no parts. That you will be burning up for months waiting for parts to fix. That's all scare tactics to try and get you to buy the most basic lowest efficiency system they sell because that's the one they make the most money on. With 10 years parts and labor you don't need to worry about any of that anymore and the newer heat pump technology is the same as what's in all the minisplits everyone is installing. I think you probably have a furnace in your area. You will save money each month with a higher efficiency system but it may not re-coup the extra money right now. Just keep in mind Seco is raising the cost of our electric this year again and who know's what happens a couple years down the road. As the cost for energy increases, your savings will increase as well and you might be patting yourself on the back when that happens if you decided to go with a more efficient system.

Chuck Farrell is great, not sure if they are taking new customers but it’s worth a call.

Chuck Farrell without question.

A new HVAC system usually comes with a 10-year parts and a 5 or 10 year labor warranty. To me, the most important factor is to hire a company who is prepared to service this warranty. Chuck Farrell is a good company who gets great reviews, but their website says that their operating hours are from Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm. I would ask them what happens if the system fails on a Friday evening in the middle of summer? Other companies, like The Good Guys, claim to install new Carrier systems but they are not even listed on the Carrier website as authorized dealers. I would ask them how they service the Carrier warranty?

Larger companies, like Munn's and Sunshine, can provide service 24/7 and I would be willing to pay them more for a new system for these reasons. Something to consider.

Good point and the they are Carrier authorized dealers as well.

We have been happy with Sunshine (have used them in two houses in The Villages).

Buds in silver springs/Ocala, best I have found

Air FX Inverness FL
 

I used to use DeSantis. NEVER AGAIN.
I switched to Air FX. They were more professional. They were honest. The prices for service were better. They showed me what they found and why it needed to be replaced.
Both warm bodies that DeSantis sent out lied to me.

Some excellent advice here, especially about using a company that can provide service 24/7. You don’t want to be waiting until Monday-Friday if your A/C goes out in the summer. If it were me I would get quotes from SunKool, Munns and Sunshine and would also request an annual service agreement quote.

And to add, ask about a 10 year full labor warranty as well. Ours cost $100/year which is cheap insurance. You will probably find Munns the most expensive since they are not the cheapest anymore as they stopped doing installations in the new builds for the Villages. I believe they sold off that business. Make sure when comparing estimates you compare "apples to apples" and make sure you understand what is being replaced with the installation. Sunshine's quote includes full replacement of everything except the ductwork with new. Some companies will re-use the lineset, the copper piping from the inside to outside units for example which will make their estimate come in cheaper. In some cases it may make sense to re-use the lineset but here in the Villages it's easy to replace with new. If a company starts to scare you about more efficient units, that's a big red flag. You should be presented with a good, better and best solution for your home without any drama on any system. As I mentioned previously, if you plan to be living in the home for another 5 year or so, remember our electric rates are going to increase over time so although a more efficient system might not be saving a lot of money per month now, as energy rates rise, you will be saving more. And don't forget about the Federal Tax Credits on heatpumps and the more efficient equipment that are going away this year. These credits can help lessen the cost of the more efficient units.

We use Mark Anthony. Good service and decent pricing. We stopped using Sunshine and Munn. We were regulars with Munn and all of a sudden they didnt have the manpower to service us when we needed them. Very happy with Mark Anthony. They service at fair pricing and we just replaced our AC.

Try DJ Cooling in Ocala. This is a young couple (30's is young to me). Danny does the work and the wife runs the office. We were happy with both the work and the price for both servicing our full-house unit and for the installation of a mini-split in our garage.

Hvac
 

Chuck Ferrell