As our furnace, A/C and water heater passed their 17th birthday, it became increasingly clear the it was time to upgrade while we could do it on our terms, rather than in the middle of a blizzard or heat wave. We met with Joe Kollman to go over our specific issues and requirements, and he did a great job of describing the pros and cons of various options. His recommendations were significantly less expensive than our initial ideas, saving us money on both the installation and the long-term operating costs. After we made our choices, he was able to accommodate our schedule requirements for a specific start date that minimized the impact of not having a water heater!
When the date arrived, the installers were on time, polite, and professional, and had all the old equipment out of the way in one day as promised. Installation required 2-1/2 more days, mostly because of the very tight quarters the installers had to work in. The entire furnace and A/C unit was replaced, including the 30′ refrigerant lines to the new compressor outside. The installers also ran new intake and exhaust piping for the furnace and re-used the old furnace/water heater flue for the new water heater. The A/C compressor disconnect was replaced with a modern unit, and the new water heater has a higher capacity burner so it is much better at keeping up with high demand. All the Rube Goldberg aspects of our old system are gone, replaced with clean, modern, professional-looking units that are literally better in every way than the units they replaced.
The only snag in the whole installation was when the technicians didn’t have a humidifier on their work order despite there being one on the quote. This problem was handled with a single call to Joe, with no hassle and minimal delay since they had a humidifier in stock – it had just been missed on the paperwork. While the big issues are obviously important, the J.L. Anderson Heating and Cooling technicians paid great attention to the small stuff, from straightening the old ducting with a new offset and plenum to conducting a mini-class with us on using and programming the touch-screen thermostat.
Our new Trane furnace and air conditioner has worked flawlessly, maintaining much more even temperatures throughout the house than the old furnace and A/C ever managed. The two-speed fan system is quieter and more effective than the old single-speed unit, and the high-efficiency design not only doesn’t waste conditioned air in combustion, it eliminates the thump and roar from an open burner, so the new furnace is nearly inaudible. The new water heater has a much larger burner than the one it replaced, allowing it to recover much faster and eliminating concerns about running out of hot water if a third person takes a shower, or the dishwasher and clothes washer are running at the same time.
We are extremely pleased with the work and the finished product from J.L. Anderson Heating and Cooling. I recommend them without reservation not only for their professionalism and the quality of the work performed, but also for their attention to detail and their up-front, no-nonsense way of handling problems without excuses, foot-dragging, extra charges or delays. J.L. Anderson Heating and Cooling is a quality company that I am proud to have done business with.
-S. Todd Field