Why the Machine We Quote Is Often Smaller Than the One Coming Out
Many quotes copy the capacity from the old condenser and order the same again. That is how homes end up with a system two sizes larger than they need, and an oversized unit is worse at the job you are buying it for. It reaches the thermostat setting within minutes, switches off, and leaves the moisture in the air behind.
We measure instead. A technician records the floor area, the glass, the direction the house faces and the shade it gets. A correctly sized system runs in long, unhurried stretches, and those stretches are what strip the moisture out. That is the difference between a cold room and a room that no longer feels clammy.
A larger unit cools faster and dries less, so we would rather fit the capacity your rooms need. The guide on choosing the right size air conditioner explains the calculation we use.
Choosing Where the Outdoor Unit Will Stand
Placement decides the refrigerant run, the labour and the noise you hear from the patio, and it is the question most likely to cause trouble on installation morning. We agree it with you at the quote.
Your yard, and the rule that applies to it
The city's zoning rule puts this equipment in a rear or a side yard, never the front, and asks for 0.9 metres of clearance off the side property line. On a narrow lot that clearance decides where the unit can go, so we measure it while we are quoting and write the agreed position on your quote.
How far it sits from the indoor coil
The refrigerant lines have to run back to the coil above your furnace. A short run straight out of the rear wall is one price, and a longer run around the side of a narrow lot is another. You see which applies before you sign.
A designated property needs one more answer
On the City's designated properties, work that changes the appearance of the building counts as an alteration and needs a heritage permit. A refrigerant line cut through a brick front is one example, so we check the City list of designated properties first and plan the route around it.
The sound you live beside all summer
Quiet is an equipment decision rather than a paperwork one. Beside a bedroom window a quieter model is worth the extra cost, and we would rather tell you that at the quote than in July.
We answer all four while the technician is in your driveway. The City has not published whether a cooling job needs a building permit here, so we ask the building department about your address rather than guess, and we give you the answer with the price.
Three Ways to Cool the House
Single stage
It runs at full output or not at all, with nothing in between. On a straightforward house with ducts in good order it cools the rooms perfectly well, and nothing cools them for less.
Two stage, or variable output
It runs on the low setting through most of July and steps up only when the day demands it. Those gentler runs take far more water out of the air, so 24 degrees feels the way 22 once did, and the garden is quieter for it.
Ductless heads
A separate unit mounts on the wall of each room you want cooled, with no ducting involved at all. It is the better answer in a house where nothing can carry air upstairs, and it heats as well.
Your ductwork decides this long before your budget does, and we tell you which type suits your home at the first visit. The air conditioner installation page shows the Lennox range we install. For a house with no ductwork at all, ductless mini split installation is the place to start.
What Decides Your Price
We never price this over the phone, because the equipment is seldom the largest part of the total. The yard, the ducts and the state of the circuit account for most of it. If your furnace is also near its end, doing both in one visit saves a second installation, and our financing page covers monthly payments.
The size the measurements call for
It usually comes out a step either side of the unit being replaced, and that decision stays with you for fifteen summers.
Single stage, or more than one stage
Three machines produce three prices, and three different Augusts in the same house.
Which yard it stands in
A short run out of the back wall to the coil costs less than one taken around the side of a narrow lot.
The refrigerant lines
Reusing a sound pair keeps this line small. We replace lines of the wrong size, or lines that are kinked or weathered, and that is labour inside the walls.
The sheet metal box the coil sits in
We fabricate a new box on the day if the existing one will not take the new coil.
The circuit
Spare capacity on the panel keeps this modest. A long new circuit, or a panel with no spaces left, adds to it.
How quiet you want it
That choice is yours. Beside a bedroom window we will show you the quieter models and what they cost.
Who Installs Your System, and Who Answers in August
Sina owns the business and installs most of these systems himself, so the technician who measures the house and chooses the spot outside is the one who answers for it afterwards. He has installed cooling systems in this region for more than 10 years, an Authorized Lennox Dealer agreement sits behind the equipment, and homeowners have given this company five HomeStars Best of Award wins.
Sena did an amazing job. I requested for an immediate assistance with my AC repair and he was here before time. Reviewed the issue and resolved it in within 30 mins. He was very professional and knowledgable. He also took time to explain the working of the AC and some tips to effectively maintain it to draw the optimum performance. Positive Responsiveness, Punctuality, Quality, Professionalism, Value
Anoop Chacko, Google review
From the First Call to the First Cold Room
We choose the spot outside with you at step two, not on installation morning.
Tell us what the summer was like
Call us or send the form. Tell us which rooms never get cool, how old the outdoor unit is, and whether it has started to rattle.
We measure, and we walk the yard with you
Your technician calculates the size room by room, checks what the ducts can carry, and chooses the spot for the outdoor unit with you.
You see the price in writing
Your quote fills one page and lists the equipment, its capacity, where it will stand and the work involved, each with a number against it.
Installation day, and the handover
We recover the refrigerant and take the old condenser away on the truck. The new one goes onto a level pad, we draw the moisture out of the lines, and we weigh the charge in on a scale. Most of this work finishes in one day.
Cooling Questions Stratford Homeowners Ask
Does the City need a permit for this?
Can the outdoor unit go in my front yard?
What if the house has no ducts?
Will a new one cost less to run than the one I have?
How long does the work take?
Does it pay to replace the furnace too?
The Stratford streets we cover for cooling
Lot width varies more across this city than anything else, and it decides how much freedom you have over where the outdoor unit stands. The Queensland streets leave room to work with, and the older lots near the middle of town leave far less. Tell us your street and we will send the technician who knows those lots.
- Downtown Stratford
- Avon Ward
- Romeo Ward
- Hamlet Ward
- Falstaff Ward
- John Street South
- Cobourg Street
- Water Street
- William Street
- Romeo Street North
- North Pointe Estates
- Verona Village
- Devon Street
- Mornington Street
- Huron Street
- O'Loane Avenue
- Avon West
- McCarthy Road
- Coventry
- Queensland
- Lorne Avenue
- Dufferin Park
- Erie Street
- Avondale
- The Fields
- Forest Road
We also install these in Stratford: heat pump installation and a new gas furnace. Our Stratford HVAC page lists everything we do here.
