Coretemp Heating and Air

I contacted CoreTemp on a Friday afternoon by phone and the owner, Richard, answered the phone. I explained that I needed my AC system tested and repaired and he said no problem, email his office and he could set up an appointment for Monday. After doing such, within two hours I received an Email confirming a one hour arrival timeframe on Monday afternoon as I had requested. Richard and Eric arrived promptly as promised and proceeded promptly on arrival. They checked out the AC unit and confirmed that the coolant level was low. They checked for visible signs of leakage, but found none. Based on their prior experience with the Carrier A/C systems, they set about to check the TX valves that apparently have a history of being a common leak area. Richard opened up the factory-installed TX valve by the condenser coil and found that it could be tightened further. He did such and after confirming that the AC unit worked with the thermostat control, they refilled the coolant and started up the system. No guarantees that the leak was found and fixed, but the system is up and running and there seem to be no signs of leakage yet. It's more of a fix-the-common-problems approach and see if it runs correctly rather than a replace-it-all to ensure that it's running correctly, but it should result in solutions in the majority of cases. In my case, I'd rather choose this approach over replacing most of the system at a high $ cost. The repair was done in about an hour and I was charged only a diagnostic charge and the cost of the coolant.

Late one Saturday night, we noticed we had an unsual amount of water on our basement floor. It was noticed that the "high level" alarm light was lit on our AC pump. The motor was not workng and AC water condensation was not being pumped out. This happened during the week of a bad heat wave and I was concerned that we wound have to turn off our AC. Also the "High level" label itself sounded serious.
So we made the call to Coretemp for service. We got a timely response and were relieved that we didn't necessarily have to turn off our AC. We were given instructions on how to reactivate the pump over the phone. They called us back approximately 30 minutes later to check on our progress. When we advised we were not having any success, our technician, Mr. Richard Payer, came right away and the pump was replaced in minutes. Since it was still under warranty, we didn't have to pay for anything, not even for his presence
Mr. Payer's response was great, in fact it was faster than we expected. Had this been a more serious matter, we have the peace of mind that Coretemp would be there for us in a timely fashion.
I have already recommended Coretemp to my friend who had recently bought a home and would do the same for anyone. Great customer service.

In Fall 2011, our Air Conditioner broke down and we called Coretemp for an estimate on repair. Due to the age of the A/C unit (approx 20 years) and the nature of the problem we decided it wasn't worth repairing and wanted to get a new one instead.

We waited until the following year to get one last year out of the furnace - since we suspected that might break down as well since it was quite old, and thought if we were going to replace one, it might be more economical/efficient to replace both at the same time.

In March 2012, we contacted Coretemp again letting them know we were interested in replacing our A/C, and were flexible on timing. Right away they got back to us, and also let us know that if we replaced it in March, we could take advantage of the discount on last year's model, since the new stock was coming in in April.

Richard came to the house a few days later - around 0730 in the morning, which worked perfectly since we could meet him before work. He took a look at the broken A/C unit and gave us the options for replacement. He also asked us if we wanted him to look at the furnace as well. There was no pressure to do this, but we were interested in his opionion so agreed. It turned out that there were cracks inside the unit, which was a common problem for Furnaces of that age/type.

Because of this, we decided to replace both A/C and Furnace at the same time. Richard walked us through all the options - also providing the OPA rebate information so we could make an informed decision. There was no pressure at all to pick a higher priced unit.

In the end, we decided to pick the more efficient A/C and Furnace, since we will probably live in the house a long time, and it made sense to save money on our Heating/AC bills.

The units we ended up with were below. Total cost of everything was $7910 (incl tax), and we also got a $650 rebate on that.

Installation Furnace
Model: RUUD RGFG-06
1 4,300.00 4,300.00T
60,000 BTU, modulating, variable speed, 95% AFUE

Installation Air Conditioner
Model: RUUD 14AJM18

They came the next week to install, and were very professional and neat while they were in our house. He also installed a new Programmable Thermostat which is very easy to use.

We are thrilled with the new units. They are really quiet - you can hardly hear them when they are running, and we've also noticed our energy bills start to come down (despite the hot summer so far!).

Janice in the office was great and started the Rebate Paperwork for us, making that submission very easy, and we got our money a few months after the purchase.

I would highly recommend Coretemp and Richard if you are looking for a new Air Conditioner or Furnace. The price was reasonable, we were presented with all the options, and they were very quick in responding to emails.

I'm tough to please so my 9 is likely a 10 for most. Here's my comments...

We had problems with our A/C last year (our coolant was apparently leaking) so we called CoreTemp (from Homestars). I'm usually skeptical on rating sites but we got a quick and friendly response and what we felt were honest choices (not a sales push or single option). Despite the unit being very old, WE optied for the band-aid solution last year. But this year when the coolant was gone again we knew it was time to replace the full unit and who we could trust. We did get a few other quotes (just to check prices) - but in the end Coretemp's friendly and immediate service (and their price) was an easy choice.

Unfortunately (but fortunately), during the process Richard also discovered cracks in our furance's heat exchange. We did our research and this was definitely a bad thing (risk of fire or carbon monoxide leaking - ie. it does NEEDs to be fixed). Richard again gave us options, walked us through every step of the way and made a bad situation better. In the end - WE choose to replace both A/C and Furnace - but it was seemless, done right, done quick and we're finally enjoying some cool nights.

There's something to be said for dealing directly with an owner who takes pride in both his work and his company's level of customer service. It's always worth doing your own research - but these guys should at least be invited to the table...

I was very satisfied with the job done by Richard and his associate. Our A/C stopped working on Sunday and so we did a bit of research on Homestars and decided to give CoreTemp a call. Richard called back right away and even though we were a bit outside their service area, he said he'd be out the next day. They were on time, polite and knowledgable. They fixed the faulty part and left me with a cool house. As a new homeowner, I'm using Homestars to find good contractors to work on my house. I'm pleased to say that CoreTemp does a great job and I wouldn't hesitate to call them again.

During a recent heat wave we discovered that our air conditioner was not working. We first called a company who told us the air conditioner could not be repaired and that a new condenser would cost us about $3000. For that price, we called for a second opinion and were amazed when Richard from CoreTemp identified the source of our problem: the evaporator was plugged and simply needed to be cleaned out. Richard did this promptly, with courtesy and good humor, and at a remarkably low cost. He also called back to make sure the system was working well and that there were no more problems. We were delighted to tell him that, since his repair, the air conditioner has worked like new and we could not be more satisfied.

Recently our air conditioner stopped working. As it was old we felt we probably should replace it. We proceded to get estimates for both the furance and air conditioner as both were old. 3 companies said both needed to be replaced that there was almost nil, freeon and a big leak. When the furnace was turned on rather strange noise. Our last estimate was from Coretemp. Richard asked if he could look at the air conditioner and furnace, I said certainly. His technician checked the freeon and said it was just a little low, compared to the day before which was apparently non existant for the most part. Richard had it topped up and went to check the furnace. He said you hear that noise, I said yes. He said that is not your air conditioner that is the problem, but the blower fan motor on the furnace. He asked if we had a HIP Plan, I said yes, but as the air conditioner was quite old we did not bother to check it out. He said call them. I did while he was in the house and he talked to them, to make it clear what the problem was. They came out the next day and it turned out it was not the blower fan, but the capacitor that runs the fans for both the furnace and air conditioner. That was replaced, but still did not come on after shutting off. The repair man said that the thermostat was not receiving the signal from the air conditioner he replaced the thermostat with a much better one and to this date, our air conditioner is working perfectly, he said it is 55 degrees most new ones are only 60. He said thank Core temp for being so honest the gentleman saved you thousands of dollar.

Thanks to Richard and his honesty, and pointing out the problem and adding freeon, we have our airconditioner working and are very happy. We know down the road it will have to be replaced as possibly the furnace in a couple of years, by the way the repair man said it is a good furnace does not need to be replaced. When both do, we definitely will be contacting Core Temp and Richard. His honesty and immediate help in identifying the problem we had saved us immeasurable time and dollars. Thank you again Richard for your help it is so greatly appreciatd.

My A/C has worked flawlessly for the past 10+ years until this weekend when Murphy's Law kicked in and the unit stopped. A call to Richard on Sunday evening set up a Monday morning appointment, and within 20 minutes I was up and running again!

This is the second go-around with CoreTemp, Richard installed a new furnace last year and I have been more than pleased with their service and support.

I would highly recommend CoreTemp for all HVAC needs, and i will certainly be using their services again in the future.

Professional, knowledgeable and meticulous service. Provided additional coolant and service without charging us. Prior to coming to our home he volunteered to help my husband troubleshoot over the phone to see if we could fix the problem ourselves. Would not hesitate to recommend CoreTemp to my own family and friends.

A/C suddenly stopped working over the weekend when the weather was climbing upto 40 degree celcius with the heat wave warning. I contacted 3 "top rated" companies here on homestars, CoreTemp (Janice) was the first one to reply my email and gave me Richard's phone #. I called Richard immediately, explaining to him what happened and what I have diagnosed myself. He came in with his associate today, run a quick check on the A/C unit because I was suspecting its the capacitor or contactor. After a quick test, Richard discovered it is the "fuse", and I am sure he felt bad for me because I ran some diagnostic myself and thought it wasn't the fuse. It was 1 bad fuse out of 2, hence when I tested with a volt tester, it shows current, but with Richard's multimeter, he only see 10V instead of 24V, hence the condenser wouldn't start up. Richard was very nice and since he was here already, he check my freon level and found it low, so he recharged it at a very good price, that made my life feel easier because he (probably) didn't want me to feel awful for paying $125 to find out it was a fuse problem.

I have to say Richard and his associate at CoreTemp is very honest, helpful, and nice people. A+++ Service! I hope not, but if I or my friends and family ever need HVAC help, we will not hesitate to contact Richard at CoreTemp again. He has earned my trust and long-term business.