A-Plus Air Conditioning & Home Solutions

Donald came out to look at our system the day after I called. Even before he came to the door, he looked at our outside and could see we had a refrigerant leak (the line was frozen solid). He explained things to me when I asked, which I very much appreciated. He arranged to come back in several hours (to let the system thaw), to locate the leak. He told me at that time that if it was in a part of the line that was accessible, it could be patched, but if it was inside the compressor coil, that part would have to be replaced. He also noted at the time that the unit was not going to come out of the attic through the existing access hole (my husband had noticed the same thing). It looked like the builder had placed the unit on top of the existing flat roof of this old house, built the shallow-pitch roof over it, and then just cut a small hole for access into the attic. The leak turned out to be in the coil, and we discussed cost of getting a new coil (about $1200 w/installation) versus getting a new system. Two things made me decide to get a new system: 1) the expected life of a heat pump system like ours is 12-15 years, and we were 13 already, and 2) the R-22 refrigerant in the old system is being phased out, and will be harder (and more $$) to get in a year or so. Greg, the owner, came out to figure out the access problem, and we selected a place to make the new opening. He offered to contract a carpenter to do the work, but we decided that his own guys would cut the opening, and we would deal with the finish-out ourselves. We agreed on the new system to replace what we have, and Greg pointed out the tax credit and 2 separate rebates that this qualified for. The installation would be scheduled when the new equipment arrived. Donald had recharged our system (leak and all) with enough refrigerant to keep us coolish for the next few days (this was in the 100+ days of August). That was very good. The office staff was very helpful in keeping me informed about the status of the order, who would be coming out and when, and the guys were always on time. On Monday Aug 17, a crew arrived at 8:30 as scheduled, with the new equipment all on the truck. The puzzle of the access opening took one more trip out by Greg, who talked them through his thoughts on where to cut and how to shuffle things around in the limited space. They did the cutting successfully, and then it was out with the old and in with the new. They left us with a very functional temporary hatch for the opening. At the end of the job, Esteban went over everything that had been done, talked through the paperwork and manuals, and made sure I was happy with everything. All told, the job kept them at our house until about 4pm, which was a little longer than they had said -- but we were not charged for extra labor or anything. The guys were very careful with the house and cleaned up after themselves. I am happy with the work and with the new system. I made some additional phone calls to the office to clarify some issues for the rebate applications, and Debbie was very helpful.

We got estimates for the work from several companies and found that - apples to apples - A-Plus was the best price for the quality/maker of equipment they were selling. Greg was BY FAR the most knowledgable on both the size of unit that could serve our home as well as rebate programs (both City of Austin and Federal tax break). I paused when he told us that a two-ton unit would work fine, as one other contractor was downsizing it to only 2.5 ton and another said to keep the same sized unit (a 3.5 ton) for the replacement. But Greg was totally right - 2.0 does beautifully well cooling the space...even in the hot 100+ degree weather that we've had this summer. His recommendations really stand up! As for office support, everybody was really nice but I felt that I needed to call them for updates on scheduling, rebate status, etc. And I'm a pretty patient person, realizing that the administrative details behind the scene just take some time. Maybe I just didn't get more timely attention because I wasn't the squeaky wheel - who knows. I did, however, get good response once I picked up the phone and our rebates from both the City of Austin and the manufacturer came through without a hitch (showing that the office had done their required paperwork part of the programs). All in all, I was more than happy with the company and would use them again and again for a new system install. The only downside I see with the company didn't occur until just a few days ago. Our new system (less than two months) stopped working. Thinking it was an installation issue, or a b** unit (both of which would be covered under warranty), I knew I needed to contact A-Plus. After resetting the system following their phone instructions, we determined a service call was in order. They immediately sent out a tech the morning of my call (Friday) just in case parts would be needed. Luckily, he solved the problem - a little itsy spider was preventing the electrical connection that signals when the outside unit was to turn on. Unfortunately, A Plus charged us a minimum service call of $65 for the five minutes of time it took for the tech to figure that out. That's an equivalent of $780 per hour - OUCH! After having spent over $5,500 on a new system with them, they couldn't give me preferred pricing?! I would've given them A's across the board and a POH nomination had it not been for this single incident. So, yes - they are still a good company. I would not hesitate to contact them for a new system. Just consider their minimum trip charges should you have any issues and know that if it does end up something not related to warranty work, they don't give any of their good paying customers a break, period.

I called first thing at 8 am after my A/C went out over night. They were very courteous and nice on the phone and had someone at my doorstep by 9 am. David, the tech, quickly diagnosed the problem and had it fixed by 10:15 am. Great experience and will definitely use them again in the future.

Very responsive, got to us right away. Explained everything in detail. Even contacted a tenant for us (less for us to arrange).

In the midst of 100+ heat wave, my upstairs AC quit blowing cold air. On Saturday morning I checked Angie's list and called down the list looking for someone who could do the repairs right away. A+ agreed to send someone out on Sunday morning. All others had said Monday, Tuesday, or even Wednesday was the soonest. I willingly paid the $20 they added to the diagnostic fee because they were coming on Sunday. The technician was polite, informed, very efficient, and skilled. He had the needed part in his truck and within an hour, my AC was cooling again. I'm not sure how the cost compares with any other company's, but I felt it was reasonable. All in all it was a very satisfactory experience and I will call A+ next time I have problems.

Very impressed with their service. They had a technician at my door within a couple hours after making the phone call, and their technician Donald was very courteous and quickly assessed the problem. He advised me on the issue and made some other recommendations to get better performance from my A/C unit. Would use A-Plus again.

It went well. AC was not cooling. The coolant had leaked out--apparently from loose cap on outside unit where it may have leaked. They replaced coolant ($ ouch). It was a Saturday and hot and they got here and got it done. I'm happy. They're happy. The well-known-for-service HVAC company here in Austin who installed it gave conflicting service call information (the runaround). A-Plus was very responsive and provided great service. I cannot fault them for the cost because they were so responsive and got it working.

Overall I would give an "A" on all items.

A+ sent David immediately after I called. He was across town, so it took about 1 hour to arrive (longer than anticipated). He quickly checked the different parts of the system and then gave us an explanation of what he found and a detailed list of options and costs. We chose a course of action and David started down that path immediately. He was done within 2 hours. Davis was patient and explained everything that he was doing.

A Plus Energy did a very good job for me. The workers were very professional. They came in and took out my old unit and put a new unit in. They also checked the pipes. I replaced the unit and got a rebate back from the city through a program they have. A Plus was punctual and finished the job in a timely fashion. I would use them again.

Overall the service was great, they were quick to perform the work and finish in a timely manner. This was especially nice since this needed to be coordinated through our Realtor.

He was professional, knowledgeable, gave us good advice.

The gentleman who came with a proposal took a lot of time and explained what A+ would do in full detail, including the nature and operation of the new system he was recommending to us, given the size of our condo, the warranties, what we could expect in benefits from our new equipment (cool/heat faster, quieter, cheaper), the benefits of involving Austin Energy and taking advantage of their rebates. We had full confidence in the company from his presentation, and that confidence was justified in the professionalism and timeliness of the installers, the care they took in their work. The weatherization people were equally hard-working and professional. Both the A+ people and the Austin Energy people came to check out the work that had been done. It was an A+ job all around!

Overall, they got the work done. I scheduled them to go out to an investment property for me which was explained in advance. The technician called me with the total and wanted a credit card number. I did not feel comfortable providing this over the phone to the technician and asked the office to call me. They did so twice, that afternoon and the following morning. I was in meetings and had my phone off. The second message was rude and unprofessional. Basically saying you need to pay us TODAY. Very rude and unprofessional in tone and words. The voicemails they left sometimes get delayed and that was the case this time. If it had been a week fine but no need to be an *explicit*. I called and spoke to another guy to pay them that day telling him how I felt. He seemed to think it was no problem and didn't even offer an apology. Told him I would post to Angieslist and not use them again. My advice is to do the same.

I got three estimates for the work. This company got the low bid, but not by much. My main reason for selecting them is that they have performed service on my system for 21 years and I have always been satisfied with the results.

They were on time and professional. They were honest and didn't try and sell me anything I didn't need. I felt they were knowledgeable about what they were doing.

Very well. They showed up on time and were very professional. Price was very reasonable for a sales call.

We choose this company because of their rating on Angie's List and because they had same day appointments. We were very happy with the original scheduling of our service call and the timeliness of the tech. Our AC was out and the tech came out and told us he would add a "jump start" to the compressor. He said the "jump start" could last one day or years. The compressor did start up again after that. Within a few hours the compressor was no longer worked again. We called A Plus back and they said they would send someone out. When the tech came out again he said he needed to charge us another $50 for coming out but he already told the dispatcher from his company that there was nothing he could do and he didn't know why they sent him out. I have called the company twice in an attempt to get a refund of our $50 because we felt like that was an unfair charge. We still paid $250 for the "jump start" & visit and we don't want that refunded. The "manager" at the company has told me that the $50 is justified and that he doesn't want to ask his boss (owner?) again to refund our money but he would try. I'm filing a BBB complaint as well to recover my $50. It is not a great deal of money but it is not a justified charge.

Very, very positive. Job was done professionally. Delighted with the end result.

It went great. I talked to him over the phone. He was very honest. He was very professional. His prices are very fair. He sometimes gets scheduled a little tight, but that does not mean that he does not get the work done.

The HVAC unit has kept working through the years. I would use them again!

The job was fine, but when he did the energy check all he did was the ducts and I told him he should do the weather strip, doors and windows also. He said only the ducts were important. He also made a big issue about issues that were identified. He would make unnecessary comments about things when I would have preferred just a quote with the problems addressed on that instead of saying this job is as big as Hattie. I also don't think the problems were as big as he said. I don't think I will use them again.

They were prompt, very honest and they did what they said they were going to do without trying to sell me anything.

Due to the fact that I pay a flat rate to these guys, they are really good about coming out and checking any problems I might have without charging me extra. I almost needed to have a $1200 compressor installed in my unit but after careful checking, they found the problem. A $115 part took care of it. Im very happy that they saved me money.

We wanted to switch to a more energy conserving system. The individual that met with us told us that he would call us back, but it took a week before we heard from him. When we did talk, he asked if we received his fax, but of course we didn't since we did not even give him a fax number to contact us by. During this entire time our A/C was out, so by the time he even called us we had already contacted another company to do the work for us.