HVAC Denver Area - any rec's on installers and systems?

[Ramsker]

Tobin Heating and Air did my HVAC in 2020, really reasonably priced.

Called Tobin today and they'll be out to take a look and provide some estimates. Probably will look to get at least one more company out . . . maybe two.

[Ramsker]

Quick update:

Had several companies out to bid the replacement AC & furnace. Ended up going with a Trane system . . . heat pump and 80% efficiency furnace from 5280 Heating & Air. Went back and forth and around and around on whether to go heat pump or standard AC. Originally I was VERY against heat pumps. Based on feedback from several sources and the fact that there are huge rebates right now for heat pump, I went with that option. It basically came out the same cost (actually a bit less) than standard AC. I can tune it however I want to use more or less heat pump for heat when it gets cold. And I at least have some backup heat if an ignitor or something goes bad on the furnace. Worst case scenario, I just run it like standard system in summer/winter. 5280 does a 10 year labor warranty to match with Trane 10 year parts warranty. Pretty much everyone else I spoke with was 2 year parts warranty.

Got installed the other day. New system seems nice so far. Everything is variable speed from the condenser unit to the furnace. Old system was just on or off and was loud. New one runs as hard as needed. It runs more often but at much lower speeds most of the time. You hardly notice it's running. Much more consistent comfort level. The compressor on the outside unit is massive. Went 80% on the furnace for a few reasons. They tend to last longer and require less maintenance (from everything I found or was told). And, in theory, the heat pump will cover things down to 20 - 30 degrees, so you're trying to squeeze a much smaller sample size for efficiency.

[Wolfshoon]

So you went with 5280? Would you use em again? How much if you don’t mind sharing. Since you stuck with a 80% furnace you could use the old gas flume exhaust vent instead of running new pvc piping, right? What was the SEER rating on the heat pump?

[gnihcraes]

Cg heating, Chris Gonzales
Has done 3 systems for me, great guy and work. Price is average.

[Ramsker]

So you went with 5280? Would you use em again? How much if you don’t mind sharing. Since you stuck with a 80% furnace you could use the old gas flume exhaust vent instead of running new pvc piping, right? What was the SEER rating on the heat pump?

Yeah, went with 5280 in the end. I really liked their 10 year labor warranty. Everyone else basically had 2 year. That's correct that with the 80% furnace, they only had to tie into the existing gas flume. Elkhorn was right there in the running, since they also offered Trane and a cash discount. They also only had 2 year labor warranty. The Trane heat pump we went with is 18 SEER / 4 ton. They gave a few bids, with one being a 20 SEER, but didn't think we needed to go that route for the added cost. The furnace is also Trane and has a variable speed ECM.

I had several other companies come out and bid. I was surprised that nobody bid Rheem/Ruud. Got a lot of Goodman, Amana and Lennox. I wasn't interested in any of those for different reasons. I have concerns about Goodman & Amana quality. I heard a lot of "installation is the most important part" but research seemed to find far more negative input on Goodman and Amana as being lower quality/tier compared to Trane. Lennox I had a lot of concerns over prior lawsuits and have heard their parts availability, warranty process and customer service are not great. Front Range bid Bosch heat pump and Amana furnace. I like our Bosch dishwasher and fridge, but I don't know much about their AC.

"Final" cost to us should be about $15,500 after all is said and done with all the rebates. Installer took the $6,100 Xcel rebate and $500 Colorado heat pump rebate directly off the cost. We should be able to get $2k back from the feds on next year's tax return. Ryan (one of the owners) was really helpful and actively involved in the install and did the final checks/certification. There was another main installer who seemed really good and at least one other guy who helped. Install seemed to go really well and looks high quality to me. I'd use them again and recommend them for consideration.

Most of the bids were in a pretty consistent range with brand being the variance. I got one insane bid where the guy said I needed all sorts of duct work in the utility room and wanted $28k. Screw that on multiple levels. I might have been able to chase more bids and/or grind out a slightly better price by continuing the back and forth. I was just kind of over dragging things out. I researched a ton and talked with a lot of people (online and off) to try and make a good decision. Add to that . . . my brother passed away over last weekend, so been dealing with that. Just made the best decision I thought I could make at the time. We should hopefully be set for cooling and heat for a long time.