AC and furnace replacement in Los Angeles
When a repair no longer pays. The new system is sized from a load calculation, and the quote comes in writing.
- Same day on calls before 2pm
- Replacement quotes are free
- One year on parts and labor
We repair first. A system is replaced when the line on the record says a repair no longer pays, or when you would rather stop putting money into it.
When replacement makes sense
Multiply the system's age by the repair price: age in years, price in dollars. Under 5,000, we recommend the repair. Over 5,000, we price the repair and a replacement side by side, and you choose.
If the system runs on R-22, we always price both. The US stopped making and importing R-22 at the start of 2020, so what is left is scarce, and a leak on that system is costly to put right.
What the quote visit covers
- A load calculation, room by room. Windows, insulation, which way the house faces and the size of each room. The trade calls it a Manual J. It decides the size of the new system, which may not be the size of the old one.
- The ducts. Their condition and their size, and whether the return is big enough for the new system. In many 1950s and 60s tract houses one undersized return starves the system of air.
- Where each unit goes. The attic, a closet, the side yard or the roof, and how it gets there.
- The utility you're on. LADWP, Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena run their own power. SCE serves most of the rest, and SoCalGas most of the gas.
The repair visit
- Visit fee
- $89
- We find the fault and write it down. The $89 comes off the bill if we do the repair.
- Arrival window
- 2 hours
- Sent by text, then a second text when your technician is on the way.
- Warranty
- 1 year
- Parts and labor on every repair and installation.
Nights and weekends cost the same as a Tuesday morning.
Install day
The old equipment comes out and the new system goes in. It is pressure tested and pulled into a vacuum before its refrigerant is released. Before we leave, we run it and write down the readings, from the temperature split at the registers to the amp draw on each motor. Those readings are the first page of the new system's record.
Permit and rebates
We pull the permit and book the inspection. You pay the city's permit fee to the city directly. Where your utility offers a rebate on the new system, we file the paperwork with them.
What the price depends on
- The size the load calculation calls for
- The type of system: a central AC, a furnace, the two together, or a heat pump
- Whether the ducts can be used as they are, or need sealing, resizing or a bigger return
- Where the equipment goes, and how it gets there
- The efficiency rating you choose
Holding another company's replacement quote?
We test the system for $89 and give you the same written record. If the readings show a repair that pays, the record says so, with the price.
Questions about replacement
Is there a charge for a replacement quote?
No. Replacement quotes are free. The repair visit is the one with a fee.
What if something on the new system fails?
We come back. Every repair and installation we do carries a one-year warranty on parts and labor. If our work or a part we fitted fails within a year of the day we finished, we come back and put it right at no charge. It is separate from the manufacturer's warranty on the equipment.
Do you install heat pumps?
Yes, both kinds: ducted heat pumps, and the ductless kind. One machine does the heating and the cooling, so it can take the place of a furnace and an AC together.
Can the outdoor unit be replaced on its own?
Sometimes. The indoor coil and the outdoor unit have to be matched to each other and run on the same refrigerant. The quote says whether yours can be, and why.