HVAC & Air Conditioning

HVAC & Air Conditioning in Los Angeles

For a house in the Valley, cooling is usually the single largest thing you can do something about on an electric bill. The catch is that efficiency ratings only pay off if the system is sized and ducted correctly. An oversized unit short cycles, never pulls humidity out, and wears out early. An undersized one runs flat out all August and still leaves the back bedrooms warm. We size every install to the building itself, square footage, insulation, glazing, orientation and duct condition, then build the ductwork to match. That step is the difference between a system that quietly does its job for fifteen years and one that becomes a monthly expense.

What this saves you

• Electricity

Replacing tired cooling equipment is the highest-value energy move available to most inland Los Angeles homes, and the ductwork behind it decides how much of that value you actually keep.

• ENERGY STAR puts the saving at up to 20% of heating and cooling costs when you replace equipment more than ten years old. Going from an old SEER 10 unit to a modern SEER2 system is a larger jump again, roughly a third off cooling electricity on the rating alone.

  Source: ENERGY STAR

• A typical duct system loses 20 to 30% of the air moving through it, and leaky ducts cut system efficiency by as much as 20%. In older Valley homes we find leakage at the top of that range more often than not.

  Source: ENERGY STAR

• A heat pump moves roughly three units of heat for every unit of electricity it draws, so it heats for about half the electricity of a furnace or baseboard.

  Source: U.S. Department of Energy

The straight answer

One thing we will tell you that most companies will not. Swapping a working gas furnace for a heat pump is a comfort and air quality decision in Los Angeles, not a guaranteed bill saving. California electricity is expensive relative to gas and the heating season here is short. The savings case is strong when you are replacing failed equipment, replacing electric resistance heat, or getting cooling out of the same box.

Works best with: Attic Insulation Roofing Windows & Doors

Savings depend on your house, your equipment and how you use it. We will not quote you a guaranteed number, and neither should anyone else. See the rebates currently available

Sizing is the part that decides your bill

We calculate the load from the house rather than reading the nameplate on whatever is out there now. That matters because the old unit was very often sized wrong to begin with, and copying it locks the mistake in for another fifteen years. Where the existing ducts are undersized, leaking at the boots, or running through a 140°F attic with failed insulation, we say so and price the repair honestly rather than hanging an efficient condenser on a bad distribution system.

What we install

Complete split systems, heat pumps, packaged units and ductless mini splits for the rooms that have never been comfortable, converted garages, additions, second storeys that bake in the afternoon. Zoning for multi-storey homes, smart thermostats that actually get programmed before we leave, and duct replacement, sealing and register balancing when the numbers say it is needed.

Rebates and paperwork

LADWP currently pays up to $2,500 per ton on qualifying heat pump HVAC, with the exact amount depending on the equipment rating, and there are smaller rebates for straight high-SEER2 air conditioning. Those rebates require a final approved LADBS permit, which means the permit is not optional paperwork, it is the thing that releases the money. We pull it, schedule the inspection and hand you the closed permit with the rebate forms filled in.

What’s included

• Load calculated from the house, not copied off the old unit
• High-SEER2 condensers, heat pumps and ductless mini splits
• Duct replacement, sealing and register balancing
• Smart thermostats and zoning for multi-storey homes
• Permits and Title 24 documentation handled for you
• LADWP rebate forms prepared and submitted with the closed permit

Questions we get about HVAC & Air Conditioning