What the work is
A cooling system is a matched set. Putting a new outdoor unit on an old indoor coil is cheaper on the day and worse for years: the pair does not perform to either one's rating, and the warranty on the new half usually does not survive it.
The size comes from a load calculation on your house, not from what came out. Oversizing is the standard mistake and it feels like the safe one. An oversized system cools the air fast, shuts off before it has pulled any moisture out, and leaves you a cold clammy house that cycles all day.
You get one price covering the equipment, the line set, the pad, the electrical connection, the condensate, the permit and hauling the old system away.
The quote names the equipment. Model numbers for the outdoor unit, the indoor coil and the furnace or air handler, so you can look up the pairing yourself and so you can compare our number against anyone else's on the same equipment. A quote that says "3 ton system" and a price is not a quote you can compare.
Two things get decided before the size: the ductwork, and whether it can carry what the new system will push. New equipment on ducts that were undersized for the old one performs worse than the old one did. We look before we quote, and if the honest answer is that the ducts need work first, that is the quote you get.
What is included
- A room-by-room load calculation before a tonnage is named
- Matched indoor and outdoor equipment, with the pairing written on the quote
- New line set or a verified flush of the existing one
- Pad, disconnect, condensate and the electrical connection
- The permit, and the old system taken away
- Model numbers on the quote for every piece of equipment
- The ductwork assessed before a size is committed
What is not
- Reusing an indoor coil that does not match the new outdoor unit
- Ductwork replacement, which is quoted separately once we have looked at it
- Electrical beyond the equipment connection. That goes to our licensed electrical partner
Sizing for this climate, not a mild one
St. George recorded 98 days at or above 100°F in 2024, the most on record, and the all-time high is 117°F. A system sized for a mild place is not sized for this one.
That cuts both ways. It is the reason a system that was adequate in a milder place struggles here, and it is also the reason oversizing is tempting. The load calculation is what settles it, and it is the one part of this job nobody sees.
What to ask anyone quoting this, us included
- Did you do a load calculation, and can I see it?
- Is the indoor coil matched to the outdoor unit, and where does the quote say so?
- Is the permit included?
- What happens to my old system?
- What are the model numbers, all three?
- Did you look at my ducts before deciding the size?