Service Champions Heating & Air Conditioning

Jake from Service Champions arrived on time. He explained what he was doing during the entire process. He checked my heating and air conditioning unit. He found a small problem in my heater which could have led to larger issues and expense. I was very impressed with his knowledge and professionalism. He found a problem with my a/c unit which I will have Service Champions come in the Spring to repair. I feel as though my heating system is ready for the winter and I am confident of the service provided by Jake.

They respond well and get the work done.

I have used SC before and always found them to be very professional, very pleasant, and they were people that you would enjoy being around. Tyler was our technician this time, and he was very good also. After the inspection was complete, he walked me through what he found along with his recommendation. The inspection cost was $88, but he also found a defective run capacitor which he replaced for $246. That is the part that is outrageous. I did not realize at the time of his visit that this is an exorbitant price for these devices. A few days after he left, I started researching this. It turns out that these parts run about $10 almost anywhere online, including Amazon, RepairClinic, etc. And they only take about 5 minutes to replace, so it is obvious that $246 is a total overcharge without merit. I don't blame Tyler for this. I'm sure that he was just following company policy. In fact I actually tested the old capacitor and it was indeed way out of spec, so it did need to be replaced, but not at this price! Knowing what I know now, I would have thanked Tyler for the info, and replaced the part myself! I am aware that businesses need to mark up prices a bit because of overhead, and if SC had charged me say $50 to $75, I would not be objecting. But almost anyone would agree that $246 is way out of line. I checked with other HVAC companies, and although they all had a modest mark-up, none were this high. My recommendation to the owner would be to rethink his policy on capacitor markups. Because of this experience, I would never consider buying a new HVAC system from him. He may make a few bucks here, but it could be costing him the really big bucks when new systems are ordered. I would still consider using SC for service calls, because I do like the experience of their service techs. But if any significant expense were involved, I'll get a second opinion next time. Lesson learned the hard way, I'm afraid...

Upon initial inspection, it was determined that the furnace was not working correctly, but servicing and access to replacement parts would not be possible. We used Service Champions to remove and replace our furnace. We found some communications discrepancies between what the sales person said would happen, and what the workers actually did - exhaust venting. During the Title 24 inspection process, they then told us that we should fix (replace) the old leaky and dusty ducts. We had Service Champions also do that work. Overall assessment: Service Champions provided us very good products, in a very timely fashion. Prices/Costs: Higher than expected, but not extremely high. I was disappointed that they didn't provide an "entire system" option at the start, as it seems like the "furnace installation" side was separate from the "duct replacement" side, and that didn't come together until the Title 24 assessment. But, Service Champions get special bonus points for timeliness of scheduling, especially because it dealt with asbestos removal. During their Title 24 inspection (not the official City's Title 24 inspection), we became aware of the special asbestos removal requirements for any duct work/replacement. They coordinated that, and scheduled that for the next day (on Friday, with Saturday ventilation removal - it required a 24 hour ventilation after removal). Despite some missed/late communications, it worked out well.

The inspection process was amazingly effortless on my part! Thomas got a real workout from 2 crawl spaces and an attic in a 3 story, 3000 sq ft house built on a hill. Both Thomas and Joel insisted on donning red slippers every time they entered my house. Prior to the scheduled appointments the office phoned to give me the name of the expected individual which I appreciated. I reiterate the above; Thomas Smith (no, not an alias), Service Champion Specialist performed the furnace inspections (2) checked all of the duct work in the crawl spaces (2) and the attic and took pictures which were extremely valuable to me to be able to see the problem areas that I will not venture into. All of the ducts needed joint sealing and repair to the insulation. There were two major problem ducts, one completely separated and the other had a crack at the junction. With these two faults, measuring the negative pressure in the systems was a moot point. He measured and assessed the positive pressures within the two furnace systems. Again, he took pictures of the equipment, ducting and test equipment readouts. The best part was when Thomas took out his Thermal Camera and used the laser pointer to show me areas of heat from insufficient insulation. He explained his findings and asked how I wanted to proceed. We had discussed adding AC to both furnaces and he said that another Service Champions Specialist would come out to a**** the needs and possibilities for our 1991 heating systems. Thomas offered an MVP plan of scheduled maintenance to ensure that our present system (never cleaned in 17 years) and future systems would always function properly. A quick phone call to his office and the appointment was set for the next day. Joel A. took measurements for fitting in new furnaces, confirmed sizes of blowers, and assessed the area for compressors and new 220 wiring to update to current code. He explained the size and efficiency of the three levels of proposed Lennox units and the benefits of each, and calculated the price and savings over time. The decision was ours, no pressure, no sign on the line. Joel explained the added warranty the company has, service guaranties and response times to MVP members. The quoted price would never increase even if they run into unexpected issues during installation. This company has high moral values and wants to be the best in their area. They obviously have selected these men and trained them very well in their respective fields. They certainly have my vote. Angie's List Deals allowed me to pre screen and select the company I want in my house. I would have paid full price had I known I was going to have "celebrity" treatment. With the preview performance of Thomas and Joel, how can you go wrong with a company that selects their employees with such care? The estimated cost of 2 units and repair of the present duct work will be about $35,000 . I don't need to interview any other company.

First check up was given to me for $69 since the call back took longer than 24 hours. The technician was thorough, and did not try to up sell any parts on my 11 year old Trane XL14i / XV80 5 ton system, but did notify me that the start up capacitor was weak, and could fail any time..... A few months later, it did fail, and I called Service Champions out again. The technician found the capacitor to be bad, but he believed that the compressor fan motor was the root cause. He said that these fan motors were not built like they used to be, and typically fail after about 15 years. The tell tale signs were oil stains outside the motor. Mine was a bit premature, but I do use my A/C a lot. He had the capacitor in the truck, but had to order the OEM Trane fan motor, (Trane and Lennox require OEM parts) which could take up to a week. He went ahead and replaced the cap to give me A/C, but two days later, it blew out again, as the motor had finally seized up as he had foresaw. Within 24 hours of my call, asking whether the motor could be rushed, the technician was out servicing my A/C unit. He arrived at 3pm Friday, diagnosed the startup failure, and replaced the motor with a Trane OEM unit, and replaced the capacitors again. Since I wasn't at home, he was able to test the unit before leaving at 6pm, leaving me a note on my front door. The new is more quiet, and more efficient (I can monitor the power usage through my solar system). I cannot say how impressed I am with Service Champions, and their knowledgeble technicians. Kudos go out to Kao S. who was able to root cause the fan failure. He also looked over the XV80, and retaped the seams to eliminate some air leaks that had occurred. I decided to sign up for their reasonable $11/month service level. It provides me peace of mind that I can get 24 hour priority service, and significant discounts on replacement parts. Eventually, something else will fail, but next time, I'll be ready.

Checked the heating system. Punctual, courteous, knowledgeable- I'll know in the winter if the performance is better.

They are so thoughtful and helpful. They fixed the problem well, they have come out about twice a year. They spend 4-5 hours to make sure everything is working fine. They are on time, courteous, and thorough.

It was fine. It appears to me that the service is great but the premise of the discount was to see a bunch of other services. The recommendations were everything from $1000 - $5000 worth of additional work. They did what they said they were going to do. I was not impressed by them telling me to have all those other stuff done. The price was good.

Provided necessary instructions via telephone.

Went very well. Pen pointed problems.

I scheduled an appointment for the AL deal: $79 Home Comfort and Energy Assessment with Infrared Scan. The technician was punctual for the appointment. The technician was unable to do the blow test - apparently, the equipment did not fit my door completely. No where in the AL deal was any thing mentioned about door dimensions that would work with the equipment. My door is a standard double door in a 1975 Pleasanton Meadows house. This was a major disappointment hence the rating. Other tests on the A/C was done and test results documented & discussed.

Mostly fine although this was a two part processs. First, I had to have someone remove asbestos from the existing ducts under the house then Service Champions came in and did the duct work. It seemed to me that the two companies did not communicate very well because when things were left undone they each told me it was the other company that should do whet needed to be done. Finally Service Champions did finish the work and restarted my furnace/AC. It was very expensive but I really have nothing to compare this with so I am assuming it was a fair price.

Kyle Steffenauer did a superb job coming to my home and performed a detailed inspection and cleaning of our two furnaces, as well as inspected our air conditioner condensers. He diagnosed an issue with a suboptimal design of my downstairs air ducting system (no plenum aka air mixing box), but he did not push me to replace the system, but rather recommended that we keep an eye on the furnace to maximize its useful life. No hard sell. Kyle also brought a colleague (forgot his name, sorry brother) who did an outstanding, detailed test of how tight/leaky our house windows/doors are. Report came back good, and they did not try to sell me work I did not need. Kyle also suggested I may wish to consider a small investment in a hard start kit for my air conditioner condensers to extend their life, but he did not push -- merely pointed out the modest investment to extend the life of a very expensive asset (condenser). Kyle and his team have earned my trust. Great job.

If there is something major or a part needs to be replaced I will get e discount.

I found the personnel to be efficient and professional

The company does not service my unit. I have requested a refund from angies list.

My experience turned out very well. I found Champion from their A listing on Angie's List. They came out and found out that I had rust spots and holes in my furnace. They took care of it and I got a new furnace through them. I had another company out here who didn't even take off the panel to look at the furnace, but Champion did. They were very good and did not try to sell me anything. They gave me a choice of furnaces and price ranges. I'm very happy with them. Everything was fine. The people who came out were very professional. When they saw what was wrong with my furnace, they said I shouldn't even had had it on, because it could have been dangerous. They sent someone out who rechecked what they found and then had someone else come out when I asked them to, to talk about the furnace.

It went good - they were thorough, was impressed by them. Actually working with them to replace the ducts

I realize now they did not do an infrared scan, but Ryan did a thorough investigation of our home (even going in the crawlspace) and gave us a great education on how we could improve the efficiency of our home. We are looking to remodel so this was a great investment to learn how we can improve things as we remodel.

It went well. He pointed out a few things that I never knew and that will help me better control the air flow and efficiency in the future.

Angie's list deal. Attached a blower door and measured air leakage and temperature. Provided a detailed report and made concrete recommendations to improve.

I would recommend them to anyone. I like its excellent service. They are better than everybody else is. They’re competitive. I’m going to use them again.

It looks expensive on the surface, but I have both done at the same time, save me time and frustration. My house is 25 years old, 2 story, 2450 s.f., half of the house is high ceiling. Both furnace and heater were the original, I wanted a quieter furnace and a more efficient w/h. Shopped around, got cheaper bids, however a lot 'may be additional' in other bids. I liked the committed pricing and comprehensive guarantee/warranty provided by Service Champions. It turns out, heating system is a lot more than furnace, and I am glad I selected an honest contractor.

They are outstandingly excellent. Their pricing was much better than other quotes we received. They also have a lifetime warranty on the heater.