They say a heat pump has a life expectancy of 12 to 15 years. Boy, were they right about that! On the 15th anniversary of our current heat pump, it gave up the ghost, along with all the Freon inside. It had leaked Freon last year, so I knew the end was near, and when I discovered that a new load of Freon could cost as much as $400 this spring, the decision was made. We’d get a new heat pump.
I had received very good service from my previous HVAC company and they gave me a good price on the ductwork and original heat pump we bought 15 years back. I was prepared to call them and just order a newer version, but my wife Nancy said she knew a nice young man, Adam Phillips, with Southern Air, and wanted him to give us a quote. That made sense. At least we could do a little comparison-shopping.
Adam came out, examined the existing unit and ductwork and gave us a price that was $2,000 less that our original contractor quoted. He also said we could spread the payments out over a 36 month period with no interest whatsoever. The new Carrier unit we would be installing is much more efficient than our old model and I calculated that the energy savings alone would be approximately equal to the interest-free payments. We were basically getting a brand new unit for free.
When we placed our order, Adam set up an appointment with his service technicians to install our unit. It is their policy that the same two men who would come out and install would also be the ones in charge of servicing our unit. Also, they would not charge anything to come out twice during the first year and change filters and check things out.
The unit is now installed and we are extremely pleased. The technicians were considerate, neat, professional and did a great job.
If you need a new heat pump, I suggest you call Adam Phillips with Southern Air in Charlottesville and get a quote. His cell number is 434-209-7871 or email at adam@mysouthernair.com.
When it comes to heat pumps, it pays to shop around.