Air Conditioning & Heating System Installation

Name: Magic Touch Mechanical
Price range: $$

May 11, 2021

An air conditioning & heating system installation is the 3^rd largest purchase many people ever make… after a house & car. With high-end systems touching on $14,000 to $15,000 installed, a new air conditioning & heating system installation can be scary. Even entry-level systems can easily cost $7,000 to $8,000 or more nowadays and recent shortages combined with high demand are only driving prices up. Yes, there are still a few options for the $5,000 – $6,000 HVAC System but they’re getting rarer and fleeting.

As you read this article, keep the following in mind. The equipment and materials are the expensive part of an air conditioning & heating system installation – typically 80-90% of the cost. Labor and profit costs usually only account for 10-20% of the entire cost.

Air Conditioning & Heating System Installation and Cheap = Problems

One of the many air conditioning & heating brands Magic Touch Mechanical installs is Lennox. We’ve been installing Lennox products for 15 of the 24 years we’ve been in business. One of the reasons Lennox makes the cut of brands we recommend is their customer-centric service. They offer fantastic customer service to us, so we in turn can offer the same over-the-top service to our clients.

Over the years, I’ve asked one of Lennox’s longtime employees, Tony, to come speak to our team about customer service. I’ve always loved the analogy he uses when talking to our team about Magic Touch’s “product” being “customer service,” not “air conditioners”. He uses a car as the analogy, and the following is the gist of his story…

What if Your Car Was Delivered in Pieces & Had to be Assembled?

Imagine if when you bought a new car, truck or SUV it was shipped in pieces. The motor came in one box, the transmission in another, the dashboard, electronics, steering, brakes, airbags etc. all shipped separately.

Would you hire the cheapest person you could find to assemble something so expensive?

More importantly: Would you trust that vehicle’s dependability, longevity and safety of your family to the “low bidder”?

At this point of the training, Tony typically pauses for a moment knowing he’s struck a chord. After a moment of silence, he asks how our equipment arrives for a typical air conditioning & heating system installation.

If you don’t already know – all of the equipment & materials for an HVAC system are delivered in pieces. Dozens and dozens of pieces! Here’s where the analogy hits home for an HVAC Technician. The compressor is like the motor, the safety features in a gas furnace are like the airbags, etc.

The point of his story is to express how much value their customer service, experience, knowledge and workmanship are worth. Anyone investing that much money into their home deserves and should demand, dependability, longevity and safety from their equipment.

The point of me sharing his story with you all is to make the following point. For the same reason you wouldn’t hire the cheapest company to assemble your car…

Don’t hire the cheapest company to assemble and install your $5k, 8k or $15k air conditioning & heating system!

Air conditioning & heating system installation + cheap = Problems!

How Much Does Brand Matter?

As mentioned in the beginning of this article, we recommend many brands. If you call Magic Touch for a quote on an air conditioning & heating system installation you’ll get options! We may “install” Lennox, Bosch, Goodman, Trane, Amana / Franklin, Mitsubishi, All-Style and others but that’s not what we’re “selling”. Our “product” is customer service, installation expertise, design expertise, airflow expertise and frankly, peace of mind knowing it’s done right!

I give Tony from Lennox credit for this one as well whenever the question of brand comes up. Tony asks, what brand of brake pads are in your car? Who made the brake calipers, rotors and brake lines in your daughter or son’s car?

With the exception of a few auto mechanics, most of us don’t have the slightest clue who made our brakes. Yet we trust ours, our families and everyone on the road around us lives to an unknown “mystery” brand.

Tony’s point is obvious, despite the fact that he works for the Lennox “brand”. His point being, who installs those parts & safety components is far more important than which equipment brand it is. Let’s say they were the best brake brand money could buy but they were installed poorly – same tragic results, right?

Don’t get me wrong, there are a number of brands we won’t recommend or don’t recommend anymore. However, there are over a half-dozen brands that will serve you well when properly installed and maintained. When it comes time for a new air conditioning & heating system installation, first choose the best installer… then brand.

When’s the Best Time to Get an Air Conditioning & Heating System Installation?

I’m not just saying this because I sell air conditioning & heating system installation for a living but… right now! Here’s why:

The pandemic and its after-effects have caused drastic shortages of equipment, materials and accessories needed for new system installations. Combined with increased demand from more people staying home, as well as pent-up consumer demand, prices are increasing rapidly. Everything you’d expect to happen in a low supply – high demand scenario is happening in the HVAC industry.

Based on my 35-years in the HVAC industry and 24-years since founding Magic Touch Mechanical, I believe costs are going to continue to rise. Consumers who finished their home air conditioning & heating system installation pre-pandemic are the lucky ones. Not only are equipment costs increasing rapidly (10-25% industry wide since this time last year), now there are shortages.

Besides shipping & freight challenges (not to mention the Suez Canal debacle), there are shortages on steel, PVC, fiberglass & more. Even things like the computer chips many modern air conditioners and thermostats use can’t be made fast enough. I recently read Ford has 22,000 vehicles assembled waiting on computer chips – the same chips used in new HVAC systems.

Bottom line: I recommend “getting in line” now and replacing now rather than waiting for a breakdown (assuming your system is of age). Imagine finding out when temperatures are 100°+ you can’t get a replacement system up and running for several weeks.

The Not So Subtle Pitch for Magic Touch Mechanical

If you’re researching air conditioning & heating system installation and you live in Arizona, support the company giving free information! If you’ve spent any time reading my posts, product reviews, and DIY tips, you already see I give free, unbiased information for your benefit… and I keep the “selling” to a minimum. However, there’s no doubt my intentions are hoping homeowners near Phoenix, AZ will choose Magic Touch for their air conditioning & heating system installation!

What you can expect when you hire Magic Touch Mechanical is to find out why 3000+ past clients rate us 5-Stars on Google, Angie’s List, the BBB, etc. Why the ACCA (Air Conditioning Contractors of America) named Magic Touch the Best Residential Air Conditioning Contractor in the USA. And how in the world we can possibly offer a Lifetime Workmanship Warranty and Lifetime 5-Star Service Guarantee!