We recently replaced our A/C and furnace in our home. The replaced units were inefficient, undersized and approaching 20 years of service. We also had a lot of trouble with keeping the upstairs cool even with the A/C on all day. Rather then wait for them to fail we decided to seek out estimates for replacements.
We requested estimates from 4 highly-rated (on Angie’s List) companies in the area and decided to go with JL Andersen. All 4 companies determined that our A/C unit was undersized by a full ton, but their methods were quite different. One seemed to simply guess, one did a walk around of the exterior and two measured room sizes and the exterior for precise load calculations. Joe with JL Andersen did the full inside and outside measurements and even went into our attic to evaluate our insulation and duct work. None of the other companies even offered to check the attic.
When Joe came back he gave us some startling news – one of the duct work junctions in the attic had been stepped on and had separated two of the rooms from the HVAC system! We have no idea whether our home inspector had done it or simply missed it when he was up there, but it was no wonder we had been having trouble cooling the upstairs. Joe reattached the ducting as best he could and said they would be more than happy to replace that junction. He also actually listened to us regarding our concerns about the upstairs temperature and made a recommendation of running another supply vent into our master bedroom (it only had one and is a large room with vaulted ceilings). We noticed a difference right away when Joe reattached the partially crushed ducting.
Of all the assessment/estimates, Joe was by far the most thorough, knowledgable and worked with us every step of the way. He offered us several options of efficiency ratings and available features (one of the other companies gave us a this is what we’ve got sort of feel – one efficiency rating, one thermostat package, etc). The JL Andersen quote was a bit more then two of the other companies but with Joe’s above and beyond approach and the 10 yr parts/service warranty we were sold. We went with a 15 SEER 3.5 ton A/C and 95% efficient 80,000 BTU furnace (old units were 11 SEER 2.5 ton and 80% efficient 100,000 BTU).
Once we decided to go with JL Andersen Joe came back to install the new supply vent and fix the crushed ducting a few weeks before the system installation to try and get us as comfortable as possible while we waited for the new A/C and furnace. Just those changes made a marked improvement on the upstairs comfort. When installation time came around they were able to do the whole job in less then two days in July 2012 (one of the hottest months in one of the hottest summers in Indiana) with no disruption to our comfort. They got the new A/C unit functioning on the first day and did finish-up work on the second. The installation went incredibly smoothly. Joe scheduled a check-in a few days after installation to answer any questions we might have and walked us through the advanced features of our thermostat. We had a concern about the humidity in the house, so he enabled a setting that allowed us to create a set point that would run the A/C a bit more if the humidity was higher then we wanted. He followed up a few weeks later to make sure everything was still great. And it is!
We are very happy we decided to go with Joe and JL Andersen for our A/C and furnace replacement. If the A/C is any indicator we will be toasty this winter when we use the new furnace. An expensive home purchase is never fun, but we had such a positive experience that we recommend them to anyone who’ll listen.
-Nathan Engelberth