A & E Heating & Air Conditioning

Repair was extensive and required 2 visits.

The gas pack unit at my house failed with a cracked heat exchanger near the start of the heating season this year. Since the repair was pretty expensive and the unit was getting older and was troublesome in other ways I decided to replace the unit rather than having it repaired. I searched Angie's List to find contractors with good reviews and feedback, and based on that called A&E as well as 4 others for estimates. Ron Walters, the owner of A&E, came out to do the estimate. He was prompt, courteous and professional. He scoped out the job to determine what needed to be done, and explained the options in terms of equipment manufactures they represent and had experience with, the options of type of equipment (single stage, multi-stage, etc.) and the pros and cons. I found him to be very helpful with his answers and recommendations, with no pressure tactics to try to upsell extra options, etc. (I actually found the same to be true with the other 4 contractors I called for estimates as well.) Ron had his estimate back to me the next morning. Each of the 5 contractors I had called quoted me a couple of options each, spanning various Trane, Lennox and Carrier equipment. I decided to go with a Trane XL16 unit, and for that unit the estimates I received varied by 15% from low to high, in part based on who could offer manufacturer's rebates or not, with A&E's quote coming in as the lowest of the 5. Based on this, as well as their generally very good feedback on Angie's List and my positive experience with Ron, I decided to give the job to A&E. Once the work order was signed, the office schedule the work for the next day. The installation crew arrived as scheduled in the morning, and after some brief introductions got right to work. They removed the old unit and concrete pad, and installed a new concrete pad, the new unit, and connecting ductwork in the crawl space. No inside the house work was needed as my thermostat was already multi-stage capable. After only 2.5 to 3 hours of work, it was time to start up the system and the guys tested both the heating and air conditioning functions to ensure both were working and responding to the multi-stage control from my thermostat. They took me outside to check out the job site to make sure things were satisfactory and to familiarize me with how to install replacement media filters in the unit. Everything was neat and tidy with all old equipment and packaging for the new unit already in their truck to be hauled away. A few handshakes to thank them for a nice job and their were on their way and I had a new gas pack system. Besides handling the installation, A&E also took care of registering my Trane unit so that I would get the full entitled warranty, filed the paperwork for the Progress Energy rebate that was available, and contacted the Town of Cary to schedule the inspection of the work. The Town inspector came out about a week later, and found no issues with the job. I had a terrific experience with A&E from start to finish, and would not hesitate to use them again next time I need HVAC work done.

They are prompt, polite, and very thorough. They discuss all options with you, and explain things in layman terms so you can understand and make a choice. We had some parts that were in need of replacement; when he showed them to us, it was easy to see that they indeed did need replacing. In addition, we fully researched who we wanted to hire before hiring them, and my husband interviews various companies/individuals before letting them do work for us. This company passed with flying colors, and we have used them twice now, and plan to use them again. The first time, the generator wasn't working as it was supposed to, and they fixed it, but also walked us through what we needed to know about how it worked. They do not do a 'rush' job, and their prices are reasonable.

They never called to arrange maintenance. I don't know if they should have... I did not arrange autumn 2011 maintenance since the system had just been installed. Spring 2012 went by, and I did not think of it. In September 2012 it occurred to me, and I called. Tammy answered the phone. She was sorry they had not called to set up an appointment, and she set one up for me for spring maintenance for the following week. The appointment day rolled around, and a technician showed up. I told him I was worried about a moldy smell. He said it was because of the filter, but he could not change the filter, that is part of the fall maintenance. He said he would have the office call and make an appointment for me for fall maintenance. They did not call. In the meantime, he proceeded with the "spring" maintenance. I called, got Tammy again, made the appointment, and asked if this was covered under the agreement, since I had not had any fall service calls. She said she did not know, and would call me back. She did not. The service technician showed up on the appointed day and I asked him if this was covered under the maintenance agreement - he did not know. I told him she had not called me back. He called her, she called me, and said that it was covered. And oh, by the way, it is an additional $55 for the filter. Surprise! He then told me he did not have a filter with him, they were on order. I could have the service now and he'd come back with the filter, or he'd do it all when he returned with the filter. He provided service on the day, including cleaning up the interior washable filters. He left, saying the filters were due in on Friday, he would set up an appointment for Tuesday and if the filters did not come in Tammy would call and change the appointment date. Tuesday arrived, no technician, and no phone call. I called the office. Tammy set up another appointment for Thursday. Thursday arrived, no technician, no phone call. I called the office. Tammy said she'd seen them putting filters on the truck, she would call them and call me back. No phone call. Monday now... I called the office again. Tammy answered again. I reminded her that she was going to call me back, I still have no filter, and "oh my gosh, I'll call a technician and have them come out today!". I'll believe it when I see it. The techs seem to know their work and do it well, when they get here. The office staff seems incompetent to an amazing degree. I will not be doing a maintenance agreement with this company again.

I will definitely use this family based company again. Service was prompt and very informative.

The owner of the company came out and did an evaluation of the job. When I called because I hadn't received the emailed estimate it was hard to get an office person to answer the phone or to return calls which was a little frustrating. Once we got the estimate and it looked acceptable we were able to set up an appointment for installation a few days out. This was during some of those peak very hot days so that was understandable and we weren't in a rush.When 2 workers showed up (50 minutes past when they said would be there) they got right to work. But the part we needed for our system took a while to be delivered here from the warehouse and when it came it was the wrong part! The installer was going to use it though it was a lesser quality and not what was in the estimate we were paying more for! We rejected it of course and then everybody had to wait for the correct one to get delivered. So the workers went to lunch taking 1 hour which was reasonable as again it was a very hot day. When they got working again and now adding a third worker, the job went well. They worked hard and consistently, diligently, and carefully. Overall it was a good-looking installation and well done. They cleaned up all packaging and mess from the job and didn't leave any of their own.

We had had a nightmarish experience with our previous A/C unit and our installer, Comfort Engineers (which reminds me that I need to write them a review too). Our A/C unit was a piece of junk and constantly broke down, but we were still paying hundreds of dollars every month for a unit that didn't actually heat or cool. We called A&E to get an estimate, and told them about all the issues we had had. We told him in no uncertain terms that we did NOT want a Trane unit, because that was the dud we had before. They listened to our needs, and though the unit they priced out was quite pricy, it did include a few other related tasks and this was supposed to be an excellent, energy efficient unit. The installation went very well, and they corrected several issues that the other company had overlooked. They were very communicative during the whole process. The unit itself is amazing...it heats, it cools, it doesn't break down...overall, it's far better than the unit we had. It is 150% larger than the previous unit we had, but after almost a year of using the NEW unit, we got our power bill for the "settle up" month you get when you use an equal payment plan, we got an $850 REFUND!! That means that our new unit, which is 150% larger than the old one and actually WORKS, we saved $850 in the first year of use. Apparently, this thing is literally paying for itself. Since the installation, they have followed up with maintenance care and to make sure everything is still going smoothly. A&E has provided excellent service and suggested an excellent Heat/AC unit that should last us for years to come.

We selected A&E for our new Rheem HVAC installation because of their excellent rating on Angie?s List, but more importantly, because of their ability to convey trust, experience, and professionalism. For our heat pump installation, A&E was the only company to include leveling the ground, drilling support posts into the ground, and replacing the cement pad to ensure stability and a longer life. When mishaps occurred, corrections were made promptly and completely: Ceiling damage: 1) An air handler installer, working in the attic, accidentally lost his footing and nearly fell through our bathroom ceiling. 2) After the installers left, water began seeping through the ceiling of a second bathroom. A&E promptly returned to fix the problem. Repairs: A few days later, their drywall guy repaired both ceilings, and they looked better than they did originally. City Inspector correction: When the City Inspector came out, he noted that some wiring needed to be changed out. A few weeks later, A&E made the correction. You will not find friendlier or more genuine people than the owner, Ron Walters, and his staff at A&E. While working during the hottest days of Summer, they took the time to answer all of our questions, upgraded our system without increasing the price, and they promptly processed our paperwork for the $200 rebate that we received form Duke Energy. We are very pleased!

the blower on my ac had been running nonstop and I thought it was due to the extreme heat. I happened to be out around the ac unit and noticed ice forming on the unit. PANIC...I had a showing on my home that afternoon and needed to have the problem addressed asap. I called A & E and initially they couldn't get anyone until after 4PM and I explained my dilemma with the showing between 4-5. She put me on hold and came back with a 1 o'clock time, which was great. The repairman arrived on time, found the sorce and made repairs in less than 2 hours. I am super pleased with A & E and Angies list!!!

The person (Tim) performing the estimation work came on time. He was polite, courteous, and professional. After the load measurement for the HVAC system, I was told that he would have the estimate out by Monday (8/13) However, I did not receive anything. I waited till Wednesday to receive the quote, but never got any. Wednesday, I called the A&E office to inquire why we had not received the quote. The person answering the phone assured me that she will get in touch with Tim and get him to call me. I never heard back from Tim or the lady. Thursday I called back again for the second time. Exact same conversation with the lady -- she'll have Tim contact me. Never did hear back from anyone at the A&E. Amazed how businesses like this stay in business.

He arrived on time and did the work.

Our AC went out on one of the hottest days of the year. I called A&E and they said they would come out later that day. Jason showed up as scheduled, I asked for a 1/2hr call ahead, which he provided. He was very professional and courteous. He opened the unit and found that it was extremely iced up and he waited for about 1/2 and hour for it to de-ice. He then told me that he was going to run to another job where someone else's AC was out and that he'd be back shortly. He left, and returned about 40 mins later and completed the job and got our AC working again. Considering he had to add three pounds of refrigerant and the time he spent, I found the charge to be very reasonable (I cannot remember the exact charge, I provided an estimate). Then our AC went down again about 4 weeks later, which turned out to be an unrelated problem. I called A&E at about 3pm on Friday and explained that I would be out of town for a week beginning the next day and they said they would try to get someone out that day. I got a call about 20mins later saying someone was on the way. The owner, Ron, showed up about 1/2hr later and fixed the unit. He was able to get the unit running shortly and spent a lot of time answering my questions and explaining what he was doing and why.

When we woke up this morning we realized there was a problem with our upstairs A/C system, because the temperature was warm and continued to rise. I checked Angie's list and found A & E to be well regarded. My initial phone call put me into a voice message system. After 2 hours I did not hear back, so called again. That is why I put a B for responsiveness. When I called back I spoke with a very polite woman who quickly scheduled a provider to come between 2 and 5 pm that afternoon. Tim arrived at about 4:30. He was professional in appearance and manner. He very quickly assesed and fixed the problem. Although the system is old, he did not recommend more than needed to be done. He did leave information on their maintenance program and he explained that at some point my older system will require repairs that may warrant replacing the system. I was most impressed that he was not pushy at all. I put a B for price only because my husband always complains about the mark-up for parts, but I never expected the total repair to be less than that.

We used A&E for the first time a year ago to replace our upstairs HVAC. This time, we were having a problem with a circuit breaker tripping. Since this breaker controls both HVAC units, we didn't know if one of the units was having problems and pulling too much power or if it was the breaker. Luckily, A&E does HVAC *and* electrical. Amazingly, even though we were in the middle of a heat wave, they came out first thing the next morning. Within a short while, the tech confirmed and replaced a bad breaker, and checked both units for proper operation. Both HVAC units were found to be fine. This was a pleasant surprise as another HVAC company we used for years always seemed to find some component which needed replacing. We'll be staying with A&E.

Great experience! Tim listened to my problem and addressed all concerns. He explained everything and all my options very well. He then did all that was needed to get our system up an running properly. I would highly recommend A&E!

Outstanding service. A & E responded within two hours on the fourth of July to check out a sudden air conditioner problem. They located a new fan motor on a day when almost everyone was closed and had my air conditioner working again before the afternoon was over. They could not have been better. Both technicians were extremely knowlegeable, professional and friendly. Highly recommend A & E Heating and Air Conditioning to anyone. ..

We needed coolant, the breaker had been tripped, the coils needed cleaning, and the unit is 23 years old.

The office staff was courteous and helpful. They sent out a service person within a few hours. The service was done quickly and efficiently. I felt I got a good value.

Everything went exactly as I expected, with very good follow-up as well. I needed to order new A/C filters which were an odd size, and the service technician got back to me the following day with the information I needed so that I could order exactly the right item.

They were very professional and worked efficiently. The worker knew exactly what to do. The fix was made within a couple of minutes!

Do get them to do the work. It was fantastic.

This went extremely well. Owner and employees were extremely professional, competent, and skilled at what they did. They had easy online connections for short term credit applications to complete the job. The level of service is second to none and they ensured we received all documentation and got personal tutoring on the operations of the new thermostats. Strongly recommend for any A/C needs.

After ARS performed a tune-up on my AC system, ARS found an issue. ARS recommended I not run the unit until I replace a coolant filter. The price they quoted to replace a $20 filter was around $1000. They would need to purge the coolant, which was the majority of the cost. Well, it cost $5000 for a to replace a total heating and cooling system, so I am thinking a $1000 to just replace a filter and coolant is outrageous.I gave A & E a call they said it would be $325 plus the cost of coolant, $30 per lbs (between 3 and 6 lbs). But they said they will try to save the coolant. BTW: this was an empty rental property and I didn't want to travel to let him in and out of the property. Tim called and said he could be there in the afternoon and that I did not need to come over. Tim gave great status on what was going on and fixed the problem without any issues. I am thinking that this was going to cost me $500 (still a great value compared to $1000). I got the invoice and the job was $350 because they were able to test the coolant and it was okay to reuse. As they say, the best complement is a referral. I will give A&E plenty of referrals. Thanks

Work was done quickly and efficiently.

I had a quick response when I called in my service request. Mike, the serviceman arrived promptly on time for the appointment. He was very thorough, explained things to me so that I could understand and gave me an estimate for all the work performed. I was very pleased with his thoroughness, courtesy and professionalism.