After contacting the company for quote on a complete system replacement, Phil the owner, came to my house and gave me a list of options for replacement. (I had already determined to replace both systems). This was the fourth company I had contacted regarding this replacement. Phil arrived on time and after a thorough inspection gave me several options to choose from. I appreciated the fact that there was no hard selling in his advice.

A week later I called back with a few more questions and decided to go with a mid range option. We set a time for the following week for installment. The installation crew arrived on time and took tremendous care to protect all of the flooring and furnishings in our home. The crew covered all the floors, stairs, and hallways with tarps. Phil stopped by twice to check on the progress.

When the job was complete, Phil and the lead installer went through all of the work they did and answered all of the questions I had. Also, since the installation was done in November and the outside temperature was in the fifties, they were not able to safely charge and run the system to check for any problems. Phil stated that when it warms up they would come back and give the system a final check. I half expected that I would need to call them back myself and make sure they came, but, the following week as soon as it warmed up, they called me and asked if it would be convenient to come out and take care of it. I thought this was very professional. Overall, I would highly recommended this company.

They arrived on time. Workmanship was very professional, pads were placed on the floor and stairs to prevent damage and everything was cleaned up afterward, including vacuuming the floor and stairs. The whole thing from first inspection and quote through installation went very smoothly.

Our central air stopped cooling sometime during the night. We left the unit on in the house and shut it off outside and then left early for work, dreading coming home to a hot house. I called Phil mid morning from my Houston office and explained I couldn’t be home from work until after 3 p.m. He said that he could send a man over to check before I got home to see if the issue could be fixed from the outside. A short while later, he called and said he thought the issue was fixed and there was a good chance I could come home to a cool house.

When I got home at 3:30 p.m. the house was blessedly cool. I would recommend Phil to anyone for his professionalism, quick and effective service.

They were right on time and laid down drop cloths so my rugs would not get dirty. They put them up the stairs and under the attic access door. The work was done quickly and in a very professional manner. I will always call on this company – they have honor and integrity, plus I saved 10% by being a member of Angie’s List! I have just recommended them to my son who lives in Magnolia for an assessment for a new air conditioner system for a house he just bought.

The staff at The Woodlands Heating & Air Conditioning are quick to respond and very organized. I had some downtime from work and contacted them through Angie’s List messages and within a few minutes I had a response and an available service technician, maybe I just got lucky. I also had quite a few questions answered through the messaging service before and after the service and the responses were always helpful and timely. I’m glad I found them on Angie’s List and will be using/recommending them in the future.

I called the Woodlands AC and Heating at first looking for just a competitive bid for a complete new HVAC solution for my 20+ year old home. I knew my existing American Standard system needed to be replaced, and I already had a trusted provider of AC services, so I originally intended to get just a price comparison. Phil Musial, the owner of Woodlands Heating and AC came over and examined my old system, and discussed at length with me a number of options. As an Architect I was immediately impressed by his technically sound advice and his no-nonsense approach. He explained above and beyond what was necessary for a sale. I asked plenty of pointed technical questions and he delivered honest answers every time. Furthermore he did not try to up-sell me the highest-end system he had, or even any particular system…but instead discussed with me several scenarios and the best bang-for-buck approach with an old home like mine…leaving every decision to me with a balanced, sensible array of options.

Like me his view was not black-and-white or in any way pushy, instead he also considered the pros and cons of various solutions. It was as though he was my next door neighbor evaluating the same scenarios that he might install for his house. Here’s an example; I was considering a dual zone system (1st and 2nd floor), or even the highest end systems available, multiple zone, double (or dual-stage) condensers and humidity control enhancements. Any of those would have been 50%-100% (or more) expensive. I indicated I was open to anything and he gave me bids for those more expensive options, too. But Phil pointed out that a wood framed developer-built home like mine that is 20+ years old probably won’t see major efficiency benefits from either of those higher-end systems, at least not enough to convincingly justify the large price difference. A house like this just isn’t insulated and sealed well enough. Likewise in terms of air quality he advised placing an air filter box right at the input where the duct work enters the air handler. Why? Because once again an old house is leaky in all kinds of areas so the best way to improve air quality was to filter the incoming air right at the air handler. The older system almost certainly had plenty of input air bypassing the air filters that I was installing from Walmart. And the new filters are actually less expensive than the old ones. Likewise the old duct work was almost certainly hurting system efficiency because it was squashed in several areas and probably had plenty of internal airflow resistance. Phil also mentioned how going to Home Depot and renting a machine to blow in insulation into the attic is a great cheap way to improve efficiency. This and other practical advice made absolute sense and my original provider did not mention any of these points.

For a solution I opted for a mid-range Carrier Performance system coupled with a high-end internet-connected electronic thermostat (NEST V2, ~$250). I also replaced my old squashed duct work, and installed the new filter box. The goal was to get maximum bang-for-buck efficiency, better air quality, and some added convenience features for a reasonable price. Instead of going for the much more expensive total system, the NEST V2 thermostat ($250) might offer a measurable advantage for the whole system because its price is comparatively low vs. the whole installation. After all, the most efficient AC system out there is the one that’s turned off, right? Plus the NEST added all kinds of convenience measures like being able to adjust it on my phone from bed, or on vacation, etc. But as an example of Phil’s approach he did not try to up-sell me the fancier proprietary AC systems with their elaborate custom systems and thermostats. Likewise he did not distribute the NEST as a company and so he didn’t get to markup that sale. Instead I purchased the NEST on Amazon.com for the best possible price and his guys installed it for me free of charge. How cool is that? This is what it was like to work with Phil, like some neighbor who happens to be a subject matter expert and is also carefully considering all the options from the standpoint of you; the home owner. He considered with me the overall best approach…not just the one that benefits his company and his profits. Do you know many contractors or installers like that? I don’t, and I’m an AEC industry professional.

Then there’s his workforce. His guys are hardworking full-time exceptionally smart installers who also know their business. I don’t expect the HVAC installers to be college-level graduates with a polite and professional demeanor. And I don’t know if they’re actually college graduates, but they certainly deliver that impression. Totally professional, polite, hard-working and knowledgeable. Phil’s got to have some genius instinct for finding and keeping great employees…this is another sign of his quality value-oriented business, its totally above what I’d expect.

Typically with contractors and installers you find the head guy is knowledgeable but his employees are unmotivated, underpaid (and often temporary) workers. That’s a serious liability for the owner because the slightest lack of oversight means you’re going to get screwed by the guy that doesn’t understand or care about his work; that final work is in fact what you are really buying. In fact, that’s the single biggest problem in the entire construction industry, even on giant commercial projects on which I’ve been a project manager. You the owner, are almost certainly going to get the lowest common denominator of quality because the guys doing the actual work don’t understand or care about what they are doing. Rest assured that is NOT the case here. For the original install several guys showed up and clearly paid attention to the details. They didn’t track crap through the house, they were fast and thorough, they were polite and professional. They cleaned up after themselves. They even parked sensibly without upsetting the neighbors. Brian was the lead installer who worked on my home for the install and afterwards and he leaves one the impression that one day he’ll be a top guy in the company. There’s a smooth transition in this company in terms of expertise from top to bottom and from the boss to the execution. There’s a fine gradation of professionalism throughout, and that’s rare and essential.

So now about my chosen Carrier hardware. I read up a lot beforehand on the various HVAC manufacturers and I felt as though they all have some good reviews and some completely horrible reviews. Its tough for me to objectively say if Trane or Carrier or American Standard is better. It may well depend on the specific model, and/or system. I’ve found that’s the case with manufacturers, Company A has two great models and two mediocre ones. Company B has two (different) great models and two so-so ones. The high end from one company might be outstanding while the low end might be great. Or vice-versa with the competition. And these things change over time. However one thing is certain; final performance with an HVAC system most definitely depends heavily on the installer. A great system badly installed will give one the impression that the manufacturer is bad and vice-versa. If you read reviews out there or get advice from contractors or homeowners be careful to discriminate, its easy to mix and match installation vs. hardware and blend impressions from the two. That leaves you as the end user with real confusion; its really tough to tell if there are objective differences in terms of the manufacturers and systems. Luckily Woodlands Heating and AC supplies both Trane and Carrier so if you go with them you will have decent choice and no one pushed me in either direction.

Overall great service above and beyond what you’d expect. I’d give them the highest possible recommendation in a heartbeat…if you go with them you will not be sorry.