Best heating and air conditioning pros near Mars, PA

"We got an estimate from Jeff in early August (August 10) to install a ductless mini-split system in our MBR and family room.  Pretty basic job, Jeff said they have a whole crew that does only these kinds of job.  So you would expect them to be able to easily schedule and do this kind of job, right? Wrong.

Jeff's estimate was the most expensive of the 4 we got, but we were inclined to go with him because of the stellar Angie's List reviews.  We also liked him because he offered a 5 year labor warranty which he said JRB offers on everything ("We do that on all systems," he said - I wrote in my notes.)

His initial estimate was for $6,520 for two mini splits by Lennox.  We didn't really care which brand we got (we ended up with a Carrier) but we wanted a system that could heat the house even when it's really cold out.  Some of these systems are rated down to only 15 degrees F, but they're not good much lower.  When I told Jeff this he said he could research other systems, and I told him about a Fujistu system rated to -15 degrees.  He said he spoke with his distributor and he could install that system for the original quoted price.  (I was surprised because the other HVAC companies said the advanced systems were more expensive, but I figured Jeff's quote was originally high, so he probably built in some wiggle room.)

We scheduled the job 2 weeks out, for Sept 21 I believe.  Jeff's office sent me a contract to sign and return with a 50% deposit.



That's when the problems started. The contract included not a 5 year labor warranty, but 1 or 2 years.  I called and said Jeff told me it's always 5 and the woman in the office said that's not right.  Jeff called back and said we'll do 5 but that was special for you. (Again, that's not what he told me when he was trying to win my business - see above.)  So they sent a new version of the contract.  At some point I also gave them my CC number for the deposit, but they never charged it. 

I checked the parts numbers on the contract and they were not for the Fujitsu systems rated to -15 degrees. They were for a cheaper system.  So I emailed back and said there's a mistake again, please fix the part numbers.  I didn't hear back for several days.  I sent follow up emails and called.

Then, on Sept 17 - two business days before the work was supposed to start - Jeff sent me this email: "I'm emailing you to inform you that regretfully are retracting our estimate and involvement in your current project due to unforeseen circumstances. I thank you again for the opportunity. Have a great day."

That was the entire email.  No explanation.  No "Sorry, we messed up the price, it's actually going to be a bit more," (which we would have understood as I said).

I emailed Jeff back to say I was disappointed and would have understood if he needed to push the date or something, but to have no explanation or even a phone call leaves us in a tough spot.  No response.



We ended up getting the job done for cheaper ($6,300) by Shafer HVAC.  They did a great job, and you can find my review of them.
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"They were very responsive and reached out immediately to schedule an appointment that worked for my schedule. Arrived on time and cleaned, serviced, changed filters and showed me how to maintain our system during the year. I will call them again when we need HVAC service or repair."

"My air conditioner stopped producing cold air Saturday evening, but I noticed so late that I had to wait until Sunday to try to get it fixed. I called the company I typically use for my HVAC and was told it would be $230 for them to even come to my house because it was a weekend. I completely understand a weekend being overtime, but I didn?t want to pay the additional fee so I told them I could wait until Monday to have it fixed. A technician was supposed to call me back to schedule a time for them to come on Monday, but they did not end up returning my call on Sunday. While I waited for the other company to call me back, I looked at Angie?s List to see if there were any highly-ranked companies I could use instead. John Mullen Home Repair was one of the companies I had planned to call Monday, but I noticed the hours said they were still open so I called at 6:00 PM on Sunday, fully expecting to schedule them to come Monday. John answered and said that he was on another job that he expected that to wrap up shortly and that he had another stop to make after that, but he thought he could get to my house around 7:00 PM. At this point it was about 85 degrees in my house with all the windows open, so I agreed to have him come out even if it meant an additional weekend charge. Around 6:45 PM I received a call from an employee of John?s saying he would be at my house in about 15 minutes. In talking to John, it seemed like he was going to be the one who came to my house, but I?m assuming he ended up sending someone else because he would have gotten to my house later than his estimated 7:00 PM. Having had to wait many hours for various service people to show up for their appointments, I was very impressed and pleased that they cared so much about meeting the appointment time. He showed up right around 7:00 PM and almost immediately diagnosed the issue as a blown capacitor. My air conditioner is fairly old and has actually blown a capacitor before, but the previous time it broke I used my typical HVAC company who charged me $250 for the capacitor on top of the labor and additional weekend charge (because of course it broke at the beginning of a 4-day holiday weekend where every day was in the 90s). The guy from John Mullen charged us $100 total for the capacitor and the labor. I was very pleased with that as well, so I mentioned that I?m probably going to replace my AC unit sometime in the next year and would be interested in using John Mullen. He said he noticed that the unit was older and that we could probably just run it until it dies, but explained a few of the newer units they have and the pricing for those. He wasn?t pushy at all and didn?t try to sell me on anything immediately, which I appreciated. To summarize, it took John Mullen Home Repair about 1.5 hours from the time I called them to the time they left my house after fixing my air conditioner, all for $100. I am very happy and would definitely recommend using them."

"A great company, from the estimate to the install they were on time, informative and very professional. I really think I could not have found a better group of professionals to replace my current heat pump and air handler. Kudos to this company, I highly recommend you give them a shot at your HVAC needs. If their service is as punctual and professional as they have been for the install, I'm not sure you could find a better fit. Thank you Air Systems Mechanical and please say thank you to your team of guys for me who installed my system, they were outstanding! I found my go too for all my HVAC needs."

"I would highly recommend ARS - Pittsburgh to everyone who is in need of HVAC work!! From the moment I reached out to them to install was 2 business days, and then a couple days for a follow-up visit due to additional work needed which was unforeseen prior to my new boiler installation. Each and every employee (Bob, Chris, Jay and Tomas) were phenomenal. We will definitely be using ARS - Pittsburgh in the future for when we are ready to move forward with our ductless air conditioning needs."

"We hired Bactronix to clean the HVAC ducts in our house. Technicians Masson and Shawn arrived on time, did their work unobstrusively and efficiently, and answered all my questions politely and fully. They sent over before and after pictures of the ductwork by e-mail afterwards. Their work has made a positive difference to the air quality in the house, and we appreciate their services."

"so happy with the service that we've signed an annual maintenance agreement for plumbing, heatng and air conditioning
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"Highly recommend Kenders HVAC! Both our furnace and air conditioner broke down at the same time, which was a huge stress, but the team at Kenders handled everything flawlessly. They showed up right on time, gave us a very reasonably priced quote, and managed the entire process from beginning to end in less than a week. Their team was professional, efficient, and left everything spotless. If you want honest, high-quality, and fast service, look no further than Kenders!""

"Had a great experience with North Pittsburugh Heating. After getting screwed around by our home warranty company for almost 5 weeks (Choice home warranty btw, never use this scam of an agency), I contacted Tim independently to see how quick he could come out and get us a new condenser unit. Tim came out that very day to look at it and got our AC fixed within a week's time at a very good price. The tech's he sent to our house to do the job were also very courteous and helpful, amazing company! A major breath of fresh air after the nightmare we were dealing with previously. We'll definitely be using them in the future for our HVAC needs."

"The phone rep (Angel) was terrific and professional. The cleaning visit left some things to be desired though. The workers left a mess behind--dirty fingerprints, dirt, and grime underneath and alongside the vents they cleaned, muddy/dirty water on the front porch, etc. They gave a hard sell to convince me to upgrade the cleaning services--bacterial treatment, allergen treatment, etc. They did not wear booties in the house or remove their shoes either--just tracked in dirt from outside all over our floors and carpets. The team did NOT have cameras to inspect the ductwork before and after the job or demonstrate its effectiveness. They used a WATER SPRAY to clean, which I had never heard of before--was expecting brushes and negative pressure/vacuums. I am not crazy about the idea of spraying water inside of my walls, ductwork, etc. and the EPA does not recommend it. The workers said that the ducts will take a few days to dry out. They charged me extra to clean out a couple of HVAC trunks in the house because they were not accessible directly from the vents--then when I asked how they accessed the trunks, they told me that they were able to reach them from the vents after all. Since they do not use cameras, I have no idea if they were actually cleaned, or how they were able to ascertain one way or the other if they reached them, or if they were successful in cleaning them. The price quoted over the phone was very reasonable. When they visited in person though, the up-charges put them right in line with competitors--double cold air returns, HVAC trunks, etc. In hindsight, I would have rather used a more professional and cleaner crew and spent another hundred bucks."