Air Conditioning Installation
A premium AC installed poorly will perform worse than a budget unit installed perfectly. We engineer every installation using physics and strict thermal dynamics to guarantee comfort, efficiency, and longevity.
Why 70% of ACs are Installed Incorrectly
Most contractors use an outdated "rule of thumb" based strictly on your home's square footage to size a new system. This almost always results in an oversized system.
An oversized AC blasts your house with cold air, satisfies the thermostat in 5 minutes, and shuts off before it has a chance to remove humidity. This "short-cycling" leaves you feeling clammy, creates large temperature variations between rooms, and burns out the compressor years before its time.
The Los Angeles Heating & Air Solution
We engineer every installation using strict load calculations. We evaluate your site climate, construction materials, insulation condition, and orientation to calculate the exact cooling load required for the hottest days of the year. It's physics, not guesswork.
Guaranteed
Permitted & Approved
What "correctly sized" actually means
Sizing is not a judgement call. The load calculation produces a number, and there are defined limits for how far the equipment may sit either side of it. These are the ones we work to.
| Requirement | Limit |
|---|---|
| Heating not too small | Capacity no less than the calculated load |
| Furnace not too large | No more than 6 kBtuh over load |
| Heat pump not too large | No more than 12 kBtuh over load |
| Cooling not too large | No more than 6 kBtuh over load, or airflow at least 400 CFM per ton |
| Variable or multi-speed turndown | Low speed no more than 80% of load |
Note that the tolerance is not symmetrical. Undersizing is treated as a hard floor — capacity may not fall below the load — while a defined amount of oversizing is permitted. That is deliberate: undersizing is rare, and oversizing is very common.
An undersized system underperforms on the handful of extreme days a year. An oversized one underperforms on all but those days — it satisfies the thermostat before it has run long enough to control humidity, short cycles, distributes temperature poorly, and wears out sooner for it.
Why one room is always the wrong temperature
Almost every house has one. The west-facing bedroom nobody can sleep in during summer, or the corner of the kitchen that never warms up. It gets blamed on the equipment, and the equipment is usually fine.
It is an air balance problem, and there is a straightforward test for it.
The principle
Airflow should be proportional to load. A room's share of the total system airflow should match its share of the total cooling load.
Put plainly: if a room accounts for 10% of the cooling load, it should receive 10% of the air.
So the test is: take the room-by-room load calculation, work out what share of the total that problem room represents, measure the total system airflow and the airflow actually reaching that room, and compare the two percentages.
A variance of more than 20% either way is the threshold worth acting on. Past that, the supply duct serving the room is the thing to look at — usually it needs to be larger.
This is why we ask which rooms are uncomfortable before we design anything. It is also why replacing equipment rarely fixes it. A larger system pushes proportionally more air everywhere, including into the room that was already getting its share — the imbalance is unchanged, and now you have an oversizing problem as well.
Our Commissioning Standard
We don't just plug the system in and turn it on. We meticulously test, measure, and calibrate every component to ensure microscopic precision.
Deep Vacuum Decay Test
Microscopic leaks destroy efficiency. We purge lines with nitrogen and use a vacuum pump to pull the system below 50-100 microns. If it holds below 800 microns for 5 minutes, we know the system is perfectly sealed.
Room-by-Room Air Balance
We don't guess airflow. If our load calculation determines your kitchen accounts for 15.5% of the cooling load, we measure the ducts to ensure exactly 15.5% of the total system airflow is delivered to that room.
Precision Refrigerant Charge
Proper charge is critical to achieving design capacity. We verify a minimum airflow of 350 cfm per ton, then test subcooling or superheat to ensure the factory charge perfectly matches your specific lineset length.
Upgrade to a Heat Pump and Save
California is electrifying. Heat pumps are three times as efficient as natural gas furnaces and provide both cooling and heating without consuming fossil fuels. Rebates and tax credits can help offset the cost.
Learn more about Heat Pumps →Before you choose a system
Sizing and duct capacity decide whether a new system performs. Both are settled before anything is installed.
The 'Static Pressure' Secret: Why Your HVAC System is Suffocating
The most common reason an AC runs all day without cooling has nothing to do with refrigerant.
Read the article →What Size Furnace Do I Need? Why Bigger Is Never Better
An oversized furnace costs more, wears out faster and heats less evenly. Here is why.
Read the article →The AC 'Temperature Split' Test: How We Know Your System is Failing
One measurement tells you whether your system is actually working. Here is how to read it.
Read the article →Installation FAQs
How do you determine what size air conditioner my house needs?
We perform a comprehensive load calculation based on ACCA Manual J algorithms. An oversized AC is a very common problem that causes poor humidity control, large temperature variations between rooms, and shortened equipment life. We calculate the exact cooling load of your home to ensure the equipment perfectly matches your needs.
Do you install heat pumps instead of traditional ACs?
Yes. Heat pumps provide both heating and cooling, are highly efficient, and do not consume fossil fuels. California is moving toward electrification, and there are many rebates and tax credits available to offset the cost of a heat pump installation.
How do you ensure the refrigerant won't leak out of my new system?
We perform a rigorous system evacuation process. We purge the lines with nitrogen, pressure test all connections with a 'bubble test,' and then use a vacuum pump to evacuate the system to below 50-100 microns. We then observe a 5-minute vacuum decay test to ensure the pressure holds below 800 microns, proving there are no microscopic leaks.
How do you guarantee every room gets enough cold air?
We perform an Air Balance Test. If our load calculation determines that a master bedroom accounts for 13.3% of the total cooling load, we design and measure the system to ensure that exact room receives exactly 13.3% of the system's total airflow. We verify this with specialized airflow measurement tools.
How much bigger than my load can the new system be?
There are defined limits. Cooling capacity should sit no more than six thousand Btuh over the calculated load, or the system must deliver at least four hundred CFM per ton. A heat pump gets more latitude on heating, at twelve thousand Btuh over load.
Why is one room always hotter than the rest of the house?
Almost always air balance rather than equipment. Airflow should be proportional to load, so a room representing ten percent of the cooling load should get ten percent of the air. We measure the variance, and anything beyond twenty percent points at the duct serving it.
Will a bigger air conditioner fix my hot room?
No, and it usually makes things worse. A larger system pushes proportionally more air everywhere, so the room that was already short stays short relative to the others. You have kept the imbalance and added an oversizing problem on top of it.
Should I replace my system with the same size I have now?
Not without checking. The existing system was very likely sized by an outdated rule of thumb rather than a calculation, and your home may have changed since — new windows, insulation or an extension all move the number. Like-for-like repeats somebody else's guess.
Do you pull permits for AC installations in Los Angeles?
Yes, absolutely. HVAC permits are required by law, and failing to pull one can result in substandard work, future liability when you sell your home, and your insurance declining coverage. We pull and close all permits with the local building department.
Sources
The code requirements and thresholds on this page come from the following. All are public — check them yourself.
California Energy Commission
Title 24 residential duct sealing and HERS verification requirementsDuct leakage verification triggered by equipment replacement, and the allowed leakage thresholds.