Snell Heating & Air Conditioning

Snell installed our new HVAC and we were initially pleased. However, the unit failed a county inspection. When Snell reached out to set up a repair, our window was 10am-2pm. The technician showed up at 4pm without the materials he needed. He promptly left having done nothing, said he would get what he needed and return. We heard nothing.

From the moment they notified me they were on their way through the time they left, Justin from sales and Dan and Gabe from the hvac installation department provided constant respectfulness and consistent professionalism. All three are assets to the company for impeccable customer service, explaining things thoroughly and competence of their trades. I bought a new gas furnace from Justin and the next day Gabe and Dan removed the old one and installed the new one...leaving my house cleaner than when they arrived. Their attention to detail went above and beyond any other company I have dealt with the past 30 years. All three technicians answered all my questions without judgement or rushing through things. Each were meticulous making sure I understood what to expect AND sent me every detail and promise in writing. All three upheld Snell's rules of conduct published on the website. There were no excuses or surprises...everything was completed exactly as promised. I highly recommend these employees AND Snell as a trustworthy ethical company.

Ebenezer arrived promptly and performed a furnace tune-up. He was very respectful, explained in detail his findings, spent time answering my questions thoroughly without rushing me, and was very knowledgable.

I will preface this review by saying that I work as a general contractor (with regular interaction with mechanical contractors), work in the service and sales industry (as a personal trainer), and am a business owner (yes, three separate jobs in three separate industries). I say the above because I have the credibility to be able to write a review like this. On 10/3/23 I discovered that my AC (an Amana 3 ton, 36,000 BTU, R410a split system) was not blowing cool enough air to meet thermostat settings. As the original installation of the system was performed by Snell Heating & Air Conditioning [on 1/6/12], I decided to use them for the service call. The technician (Franco) arrived on 10/4/23 within his scheduled time slot. Franco was transparent and clearly explained the process. Within minutes he was able to identify the source of the problem (the evaporator coil within the indoor air handling unit had frozen indicating a refrigerant leak). He presented me with three options: 1) refill the refrigerant at $715 per four gallons; 2) do a leak check to identify the source of the leak and replace the component from which the leak is originating (i.e. the coils at the outdoor condensing unit, the evaporator coil at the indoor air handling unit, or the line sets) for ~$7,000 and possibly higher; or 3) replace the entire system at anywhere from $18,000-$35,000. This is when I realized the 'sales pitch' was going to start. You see review readers, companies like Snell and others (that have been gobbled up by private equity firms and/or larger companies) no longer operate as a 'small local family business' where integrity, honesty, and doing what is best for the customer is the priority. Snell (which was acquired by Horizon in 2020) now operates as a giant selling machine. These types of businesses have large overhead, extensive marketing costs, training costs, fleet costs, insurance costs, uniform costs, IT costs, and much more that all need to be accounted for in their pricing. They simply cannot operate as such a large business if these expenses are not passed down to the consumer...and frankly, most consumers will happily pay it (as is evidenced by the hundreds of positive reviews). However, an educated consumer can be dangerous for these types of companies. Let me expand on what I mean here. For example, R-410a refrigerant costs <$400 for 25 lbs or <$15/lb (Snell is charging close to $200 per pound). An Amana evaporator coil costs ~$600 (Snell is charging close to $7,000). I won't even begin to tell you how much of a markup they are putting on a brand new HVAC system (it is astronomical). It is understood that their prices include installation, travel, warranty, and all of the aforementioned overhead costs, however, within minutes of their departure I found several small residential HVAC contractors that quoted the same items for fractions of the cost of Snell. Let me be clear, Franco was professional, courteous, and patient. He was an ideal employee for this type of business (a commission-based business where sales are the priority). However, the bottom line is this, Snell is part of the new wave of larger residential HVAC contractors where maximizing profit is the most important thing...and, you know what, I get it. As the old saying goes, "don't hate the player, hate the game". This is where we are in America - products/appliances/gadgets/devices becoming obsolete and having shorter and shorter life spans and businesses caring less and less. I am not some disgruntled 'Harry Homeowner' It is simply inexplicable to me that a system that was installed by Snell only 11 years ago (and just out of the ten year warranty period) must already be replaced. My hats off to David Snell and their entire team - they run a well oiled machine but I simply will not pay the type of costs they are charging.

Very good. Tech was professional, clean, and reviewed everything he did with me

They are excellent and have been very good with appointments and follow ups. They do very good work and we would recommend them as well.

They did a great job for me , the scheduling very nice and also the technician are very courteous ,pleasant and explains what they're findings are

I was told it would take 4-5 hours for the very expensive furnace portion of my HAVC system to be replaced which alone I thought was a long time but it ultimately took 10 hours and 36 minutes. There was no communication from the installers as to why it was taking so long nor did they even warn me it was going to take longer than expected. I tried calling Snell and was told I would receive a call back from management but that never happened. I wasn't able to go out to exercise, run errands, or do much of anything that day because I didn't want to leave strangers alone in my home. I couldn't even eat because my kitchen was full of their stuff. It was a very frustrating experience. Update: They finally called for billing and I asked them why I was never called back. They didn't have a good reason. The best resolution they could offer me was a year of bi-yearly seasonal maintenance on my brand new furnace.

They do a thorough job. On installation, i felt that the gas pipeline was vibrating some. On reporting, a technician came by and resolved this issue immediately. I have had my other system replaced by Snell too.

I realize that there are a lot of positive reviews posted for Snell Heating & Air Conditioning. And for the past several years, we probably would have said something similar. Over that period, we maintained a service membership relationship with Snell which provided some discounted rates for maintenance and parts. And for all of those prior years, our experiences have been completely fine. But this year, our experience changed dramatically and I decided it was important to share. Like most years, when October came around the weather started to cool off and we decided to schedule our annual furnace inspection and maintenance visit. Snell was able to send a technician on October 11th. After working on the furnace for 15-20 minutes, "Jay" came to find me and share the bad news. His readings clearly showed that the heat exchanger was cracked and the furnace was emitting dangerous carbon monoxide into the house! He was required by law to turn off the gas flow to the furnace and he recommended that we replace the furnace immediately. Snell sent a salesman (a.k.a. "comfort engineer"?) over that same afternoon to propose a complete rebuild of our HVAC system including all of the PVC pipe runs and ductwork for $7k+. I was initially scared enough to actually schedule the new furnace rebuild. But after thinking on the situation a little longer, I decided that something didn't feel right. If the furnace was emitting dangerous carbon monoxide, why didn't any of our 3 carbon monoxide sensors provide a warning? So I asked Snell to send the technician back and show me the crack in the heat exchanger. They charged me another $100 for the 2nd visit, but it turned out that the technician (Mike) couldn't actually find a crack in the heat exchanger. Instead, he identified some areas where it was showing stress or corrosion. He went on to point out that one of the gas pipe connections had a slow gas leak due to the constant expansion and contraction associated with a heating system cycling on and off. Mike repeated the assertion that the furnace was dangerous and needed to be replaced immediately. At this point, I decided that a second opinion was prudent. So I contacted another well regarded HVAC contractor in the Loudoun County area and they arrived a few days later. Their technician refuted every "dangerous" concern that Snell offered. Sure the heat exchanger was showing some age, but that was normal. There weren't any cracks and the furnace was still running near original efficiency (almost 95%). And he handled the leaking pipe connection in about 20 minutes by taking the pipes apart, cleaning them and reconnecting them with fresh pipe "dope" sealant. Instead of spending $7k+ on a new furnace, we spent ~$180 on a second opinion and some pipe dope. So my suggestion to you is to make sure you collect a second opinion before implementing Snell's suggestions.

Sales guy showed up on Sunday at noon. Gave us great options and very reasonable prices. Installation started by 8 AM on Monday. Entire job was completed in one day and the team could not have been more pleasant or hardworking. Everything works great now.

I closed the deal with Julian on late Tuesday night and the team was able to do the installation the next morning! Jesse gave me the details on the team as the ink was drying. They arrived on time first thing in the morning. Dan, Cal and Greg were a great team that stayed active all day. Seriously over 12 hours! They installed a new Hot water heater and an 18 Seer Lennox Heat Pump with Honeywell Humidifier and Honeywell Home Thermostats. My 17 year old system was tightly packed into the basement. I think the basement was built around it. They replaced everything...ducts, hoses, fuses boxes, wires and pipes. Everything was insulated and finally brought to code with new sensors and alarms. After working all day, they ended the evening cleaning up and taking me through the system in great detail. It has only been a couple hours but everything is running great. I talked to several vendors when making my choice. I liked several of them and they dealt with my silly process. Julian was very thorough with his pitch. He told me about the factors that differentiates them from the others. I believe I made a great choice. Merry Christmas!

Professional, quick, good results, no drama - all good.

The logo on one of my many Snell repair receipts says, “Snell . . . The Stand-Up Guys.” Wherever Snell is “standing,” it most assuredly is not behind the products they sell or the services they provide. Snell installed a complete AC system at my house in 2013.* We enjoyed only 3 years of uninterrupted use. After that – and literally thousands of dollars later – I’m told I need an entirely new system. Snell’s handling of the situation has been absolutely miserable. The most basic set of facts are: 2013: $8,400 installation; 2016: $769 repair; 2017: $916 repair; 2017 repair (no charge); 2019: $1,508 repair; 2020: $2,400 repair or $8K+ replacement system needed. At each repair, I was simply told “they just don’t make things like they used to.” They encouraged me to consider replacing the system as early as 2019, i.e., 6 years after they installed it. The compressor they installed in 2019 failed after only 13-months. They shouldered absolutely no responsibility at any point and offered no concessions. The repair prices I quoted above were the result of me calling the manager and demanding accountability. Snell’s game plan in each instance was to blame the product (they recommended), blame the customer (“you haven’t changed your filters” … yes I have, religiously), and always be selling (“you should consider replacing the system”). It’s exactly the type of response you would expect from a company owned by a private equity firm, which Snell now is. The installation was botched from the start (e.g., installing a 4-ton, when I really only needed a 3-ton, etc.) and my conversations with other companies since firing Snell has reinforced this and more. *After studying my receipts to write this review, I see now that I was sold a “20 SEER” AC, although a 17-SEER AC was installed instead. At this point, I’m just disgusted. “They just don’t make things like they used to.” No, they sure don’t, Snell, they sure don’t. If Snell responds to this review they should address (1) when they will refund my $3K+ in faulty repairs, and (2) the discrepancy between my receipt and what was installed.

I will never again use Snell for anything. This company may have at one time been top notch. Since they were bought out they are just after your wallet. I’ve been lied to more times then I can remember. Spent hundreds of dollars and still my AC didn’t work. I truly believe they messed up my system to charge me more. Finally, after over 5 weeks of their poor service and lies I called another company. There was no need for any of the items Snell sold me on. It was a simply programming glitch with the Nest. It took all of 3 minutes to fix. Climatic is the way to go! Honest, reputable and didn’t try to up sell me.

Totally unsatisfactory. Avoid this business like the plague. Or like Covid-19. When Shanahan's Heating and Cooling was in business I had a service contract with them, and they were great. Responsive, good work. Snell apparently bought out Shanahan's a couple of years ago, and I therefore continued my service contract with Snell. Under my service contract I had a cooling service check in about April 2020. In late May 2020 my AC unit stopped working, so I called Snell on Thursday, May 28th. Despite the fact that my service contract guaranteed service within 24 hours, when I called Snell told me they were too busy, and could not respond until two days later, Saturday May 30th. The Snell technician showed up on that day, day 3, (day 1 being the day I first called Snell), and told me that the furnace blower assembly needed replacement. He told me that he ordered the replacement part while at my house, online using his ipad. He said the part should be available by Monday, June 1, day 5. I called Snell on Monday, day 5, and was told the part had not come in. I called again on Tuesday, day 6, and was told the part was due in that day, and they would call me to schedule installation. Not receiving a call, I called again on the morning of Wednesday June 3rd, day 7. I was told that a supervisor would look into this and that I would receive a call that day. No call. By this point, and after checking online reviews of Snell (which were awful) I had lost confidence in Snell. I therefore called another company on Wednesday June 3rd, and a technician came out that day. At that point I gave up on Snell. I did not receive a call back from Snell until Friday June `12th, day 16. I told Snell that having felt abandoned, I called another company, who had fixed the problem several days earlier. It gives me no pleasure to provide this negative review. I respect small businesses and entrepreneurs who provide important services to the American public. I believe, however, that Snell, based in Sterling VA, may have over-extended itself in buying out Shanahan's, which provided good service to Springfield VA customers,, 40 or more miles away from Sterling. Snell, if you're listening, please consider revising your business practices to ensure you can deliver on what you promise.

My wife and I are thoroughly pleased with Snell Heating and Air, from installation of our system 10 years ago to today's semi-annual service call. This is a top notch professional team and we highly recommend them. I would like to highlight today's service call with Charles. He did a wonderful job! He was completely professional and thorough. He did a detailed diagnostic on each of our systems from the A/C unit outside, to the thermostat, coils and air exchanger inside. Once he completed his work he provided a detailed review of each of our components and their condition WITH pictures in a no pressure/low key discussion. We can HIGHLY recommend him and look forward to having him back to our home in the Fall.

Service person was really knowledgeable and gave me tips to take better care of the unit.

Snell installed a complete new heat pump system in Jun 12. The sales person and installation team was great to deal with. However, After the purchase and the initial installation it was a complete disappointment 1) The installation failed the country inspection and the had to come back and fix the issue 2) In Oct when we turned in the heat, the heat pump was on continuous Aux heat mode, and the system was not heating, after two weeks we recognized that there is something wrong, Snell technician came and found another error in installation. This cost us over $250 in additional electrical bill than normal use. 3) The noise level of the system becomes extremely high and very annoying in cold weather, a technical came and try to adjust it, when it is not fixed the office told me that they will send a most experienced technician to check that every is installed correctly as I was very frustrated at this point. The apt was between 12:00-4:00, the technician did not show up until 6:00 pm. I was very frustrated and reminded the technician with Snell 100% satisfaction guarantee that the sales person emphasized on during the purchase, I also call the office since Dec 12 complaining about the bad experience and un solved issue with the systems, I requested to escalate the complain. Every time I call they assure me that the complain is escalated and the service manager Andy will contact me. Which never happened for over four weeks now

It was great, they are very dependable and always on time.

Ngyuen was on time and quickly diagnosed the problem (blown in-line fuse). Even though he quickly corrected the problem, he took the time to check the entire AC system and explain the overall condition. Excellent service, excellent communications, and with the Angie's List purchased service call, it was VERY reasonable as well. AAA service!

The tech lacked a sense of judgement. He first suggested that coils are bad in the attic without checking. When I said I will think about servicing it (as it was $1200), he suggested to replace a capacitor which was working at 60% capacity. After all the discounts he charged me $300 to replace a $30 capacitor. I ended up replacing my HVAC from a different company and also called my credit card company to rollback the charges since SNELL will not agree to refund but will keep sending the technicians back.

My HVAC system was still under warranty, but the air conditioner was not cooling the room. This was the second summer that this happened. The first summer the tech put in some refrigerant and pretty much called it a day (except they charged me over $400.00). The company changed hands this year, but they honored my warranty. This time they sent out a fabulous technician -- Mr. Wen Nguyen. Mr. Nguyen was patient and sought out the leak which took him many hours to discover. He replaced a leaking valve that he had to order. I am so thankful for this fabulous technician -- they are not all so talented or willing to spend time finding the problem. In addition, it was covered by my warranty and all I paid for his expertise was the $90 service charge. I wish the technician last year had fixed the problem and not charged me over $400.00. In the future I will ask for Mr. Nguyen.

They were prompt, excellent, efficient and very thorough.

Snell Heating and Air Conditioning installed a heat pump and air handler in my home on May 30. I have to say I am disappointed. The system recommended by Snell and sold to us apparently is considerably more powerful than our old system and has resulted in a massive increase in noise from our ductwork. The noise created by the new system was such that watching television, holding a conversation in certain rooms, or even sleeping was difficult. Snell’s customer support was a mixed bag. On the good side, when techs were scheduled, they arrived promptly. Other times we were told Snell would “get back to me” on questions, but this did not happen. Sorry – lack of follow-up to a customer’s call is not good customer service. The system install also failed our county’s electrical inspection. It has taken two months and two tries to get anywhere near an acceptable fix to the noise problem. Frankly, I would have given Snell a much lower score than "C", except for the help and advice I got from our last technician, Chris – who was able to accurately diagnose the problem and implement a partial solution. Kudos to him. The system still creates much more noise in the ductwork than I would like, but short of replacing it with something smaller, I don’t see a better solution. We’re OK with the increased airflow and accept the increased noise as an unhappy byproduct. However, I do believe Snell does need to do a better job at sizing their systems or explaining the implications to customers before installation.