01 Should I repair my system or replace it?
It comes down to four factors: the age of the equipment, the cost of the repair relative to replacement, whether the failure is a wear item or a core component, and how the system has performed overall. A capacitor on an eight-year-old system is a repair. A cracked heat exchanger or a failed compressor on a system past fifteen years is usually a replacement conversation. We give you both numbers and the reasoning, and we are entirely comfortable telling you to keep a system that has life left in it.
02 How do you size a replacement system?
With a load calculation, not a rule of thumb. We measure the home and account for insulation, window area and orientation, air leakage and the duct system, using the winter design temperature that applies at your elevation — which is meaningfully colder in Alta Sierra or Truckee than in Rocklin. Oversizing is the most common and most expensive HVAC mistake in the foothills: an oversized system satisfies the thermostat quickly, shuts off, and never runs long enough to even out temperatures, so you get hot-and-cold swings, noisy cycling and shortened equipment life.
03 Will a new system fix the cold room at the back of my house?
Only if the equipment is the cause, and often it is not. More frequently the cause is the duct system — an undersized return, a long run with too many turns, a crushed flex duct in a crawlspace, or no return path from that room at all. New equipment pushed through a bad duct path gives you the same cold room and a larger bill. That is why we test static pressure and airflow before quoting, and why our replacement proposals sometimes include duct correction.
04 How long does a system replacement take?
A straightforward equipment swap is typically one day. Adding a heat pump, changing fuel type, correcting ductwork, or working in a tight crawlspace or attic can extend it to two or three days. We give you the realistic schedule up front, including permit and inspection timing.
