First Company - good or not so?

[Eduard Nemirovsky]

In my daughter' condo ( Phoenix, AZ) we need to replace AC/heater unit. Condo is very old building ( probably early 70s), and split unit she has - same age:eek::eek::eek:. It is time to make some changes. I am in VA and not really can help, except some advice and money:mad::mad:. She has very difficult time to find a local company to do the job. Everyone coming to do estimate, just can't find a appropriate unit, which can be fit in her condo. One company would gladly do job for $13K:eek::eek:??? I think it is to much for the job.
Another company came today, and left estimate for $9K for First Company unit FS 36 HP 3 ton.
Is anybody has local knowledge a good company in Scottsdale-Phoenix area? and any review or info about First Company ?
Can not find any good info about company or unit itself. PLus , in my area $9K kind of steep price for AC installation.
Any advice I would appreciate.
Thank you, Ed.

[Scott T Smith]

Ed, I have a brother that lives in Glendale, and has lived in metropolitan Phoenix all of his life. He is very well connected with just about all of the trades.

If you will send me an e-mail (or PM) with your contact info (e-mail and phone), I'll put y'all together. Without a doubt he will be able to recommend several reputable and fair companies.

Scott

[John Pratt]

PM Sent on recommended company

[Lee Ludden]

I have been using Orangutan Home Services. I've gotten great advise from any of their techs that they send out. http://www.oservice.com/

[Greg Portland]

In my daughter' condo ( Phoenix, AZ) we need to replace AC/heater unit. Condo is very old building ( probably early 70s), and split unit she has - same age:eek::eek::eek:. It is time to make some changes. I am in VA and not really can help, except some advice and money:mad::mad:. She has very difficult time to find a local company to do the job. Everyone coming to do estimate, just can't find a appropriate unit, which can be fit in her condo. One company would gladly do job for $13K:eek::eek:??? I think it is to much for the job.
Another company came today, and left estimate for $9K for First Company unit FS 36 HP 3 ton.
Is anybody has local knowledge a good company in Scottsdale-Phoenix area? and any review or info about First Company ?
Can not find any good info about company or unit itself. PLus , in my area $9K kind of steep price for AC installation.
Any advice I would appreciate.
Thank you, Ed.
I am in the middle of doing the same exact research. Some things I've found:

1) Quality of equipment is only a part of the overall equation. Proper system design & sizing, installation, and support are the other critical things that need to be considered. I would not deal with anyone who is not NATE certified + licensed, bonded and insured. Be sure to actual look up their CCB with the state... many outfits claim that they are licensed but the license has lapsed. Additionally, I strongly prefer that their installers are all NATE certified and have background checks & regular drug screenings. (Especially in this case with your daughter living alone out in AZ)
2) When the business comes out to give a quote they should be performing a heat loss/gain calculation and they should be looking at your existing system (size, location, etc.).
3) Angie's list is well worth the expense since you're going to be dropping $8k+. Take individual reviews with a grain of salt; look for trends. In Portland, OR there are 3-4 A-rated companies for each major A/C brand so there are plenty of choices. While you may get some specific company suggestions on this thread I would still want to see multiple happy people via Angie's list reviews... not just the comments of 1 guy who happened to have good service.
4) I would suggest York, Carrier, Lennox, and Trane (and maybe Ruud/Rheem) as good starting points for quality equipment. Note that some of these companies make "builder grade" stuff... I would avoid that completely and stick with the higher end (and more efficient) models. As a data point, I'm getting quotes for a 110k btu gas furnace + 4 ton heat pump + good air cleaner in the $15k range for the highest end stuff (ultra efficient) and around $11k-$12k for "very good" (variable speed fan, etc.).
5) Each area in the country is different in terms of system specs. A good local installer will know the style of system that works best in the local climate.
6) The "top" installers for certain manufacturers (Carrier and York for certain) can offer a 1 year cash back guarantee. In other words, if you don't like the system they'll come back, take their equipment and refund the money.
7) The higher efficiency stuff requires a matching air handler that has a variable speed fan. In other words, you can get something with a high electric bill and save on the install or spend more on the install and save on the electric bill. To determine if it's worthwhile you'll need to consider how long she'll be in that house and the cost of electricity in her area.

Listening to your specific situation, I think the $13k bid was for a high end air handler + 3 ton heat pump. The variable speed fans in the air handlers really increase the efficiency. Note that the entire system needs to be matched... you just don't go out and buy an X ton unit and expect it to hit the "up to" HSPF / SEER numbers (you can look up the real ratings of the combined system on http://www.ahridirectory.org (http://www.ahridirectory.org/)). The $9k bid sounds cheap for an entire system (i.e. lower quality stuff) or they've quoted a high end heat pump. Regardless of the equipment efficiency/quality I would absolutely only deal with a top installer.

[Eduard Nemirovsky]

Thank you guys for info and advices. As I understand now - biggest issue in my daughter' condo is previous system and second floor location. Old system' outside unit located on the roof and air handler in small closet above washer/drier. Most of the modern units would not fit into present space. As I understand only one or two companies making "pancake" units these days. All other would require major modification.
Another options - ductless mini-split, but again condo restriction would make it impossible.

Thanks again, going to talk with daughter and will give her all info I got.

Ed.

[Randy Moore]

Make sure she gets 410a refrigeration. The r=22 is getting waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy yyyyyyyyy to expensive.