Alternative HVAC Solutions

We had our furnace and air conditioner replaced with a heat pump system, along with adding some ducting and an attic fan. The extra ductwork was put in because the original ducting and single return register was not adequate for the house. They were able to schedule us sooner than I had imagined. The workers cleaned up after themselves; the job turned out to be trickier than expected and took 2-3 days extra, but there was no extra charge. They set up the city inspection for me and everything is now signed off on. It's working well (so far we've only used the air conditioner, since it's summer). The extra ductwork and air return have helped to get the cool air to a couple of rooms at the very end of the line that never used to get cooled adequately.

If you have or want to install a ductless mini-split system, highly recommend you hire someone who really knows what they're doing and has plenty of experience specializing in these type of systems as they can be quite complicated and difficult to repair. Alternative HVAC has decades of experience specializing in ductless HVAC systems. We went through 4 or 5 different HVAC repair companies and found it very difficult to find repair professionals who were competent and really understood how to work with ductless systems. Alternative HVAC was the only company that had the confidence and technical expertise to attempt repairs.

Agree with some of the other comments in that sometimes you have to be persistent in following up with them and their prices are a bit higher than others, but they have a bettter than industry standard labor warranty.

We eventually replaced our system and had Alternative HVAC do the new install. The installation was neat and tidy and they did good work patching the exterior and interior from the old installation.

We have used Alternative HVAC twice now, once about 2-years ago and again this winter. Both times we inquired about adding heat pumps to our all electric house, and both times they were great to work with.

We knew we wanted efficiency as our house is rather large and not super well insulated, and our research suggested that Mitsubishi was the best on the market. Alternative HVAC was the recommended Mitsubishi installer in our region and they responded quickly to our initial inquiries.

Mike is an expert on heat pumps and knows them inside and out. He came out each time and explained what sizes he would use, and where he would recommend installing the five different interior mini-split systems, where he would place the exterior units, the upsides and downsides of heat pumps and different mini-splits etc. When I called they always answered the phones or called me back, and met all of their deadlines, which I'm sure can be tough during covid and with high demand in winter (I was expecting slower service and would have been OK with slightly slower response time, so I was pleasantly surprised).

Within 2-weeks of our first call, our freezing cold house was blasting heat and using very little energy to do so.

Alternative had a GREAT team: they sent paper invoices and estimates via mail to our house (and email of course), they 100% handled all of the Peninsula Clean Energy rebates which had no issues, they appropriately sized all the equipment, they assisted with the San Mateo county permitting process, and stuck to both their pricing and service agreements with zero issues.

They also did an extremely tidy job on the installation. I am a picky person. I wanted the ducting to look super straight, clean, and with no mistakes. They were flexible with my strange requests (hiding stuff up in the closets for example), and made everything work better than I could've expected. They also had a follow-up appointment within a year due to some tiny issue which they fixed the next day, without blinking, even though our house is about 40-minutes from their office.

I probably won't need any more HVAC additions to my house, but I would certainly recommend this company to anyone who demands a professional experience and wants the best.

Outstanding job from start to finish. Alternative HVAC Solutions installed a ducted heat pump system. The complete process was thoroughly explained to us, and we were able to select the best option for our home. Getting the permits and available rebates was painless. The crew was efficient and carefully cleaned the job site (indoor and outdoor) at the end. They also took their time and patiently answered all the questions we had. I highly recommend Alternative HVAC Solutions and Mike Rebholtz.

An excellent business. Have always been impressed by the depth of knowledge and expertise.

A series of recommendations for anyone looking to install a similar system:

- Mitsubishi is the gold standard.

- 14-20 SEER is the energy efficiency band you want to shoot for as that is the most reliable. Anything in the high 20s or 30s I have read is more experimental and prone to failure.

- They are hard to come by now but spend the extra money for mini split "head" Wi-Fi adapters. Being able to control everything on your phone is excellent.

- It is very cheap to spend a little extra and have a mini split both heat and cool. At the time we installed the main compressor, it was $2,000 more to get the unit that could do both.

- If you are retrofitting an existing house, or are considering an ADU (or 2), consider first the maximum number of heads and BTUs you would need 5 years from now. We installed the 60,000 BTU compressor with a branch box, pictured in photo 3 of the review, with only two mini split heads attached at the time. Let me tell you, it was very convenient just tacking on to the branch box rather than wiring in yet another unit.

Alternative HVAC Solutions installed a ductless mini split heat pump in our house in San Carlos. I can confidently say that if you are looking to install an electric heat pump, don't waste your time with other HVAC companies. Mike Rebholtz is very knowledgeable and installs Mitsubishi heat pumps which are the best HVAC products in the market.
In our case, we got a ductless mini split system with ceiling cassettes. Both the outdoor condenser and indoor units are extremely quiet and energy efficient.
The Alternative HVAC crew was very respectful, did a great job with installation. Moreover, they handle the whole rebate and interest-free loan process from Peninsula Clean Energy!
If you are looking to get a modern, highly efficient and environmentally (and pocket) friendly HVAC system and not 50 year old technology like gas furnaces go directly to Alternative HVAC.

Contracted Alternative to install my parents HVAC and replace ducts. The install team did a poor job installing and testing.

They were contracted to replace the HVAC intake return but upon inspection it was not replaced. They had to return 3 different times to finish the work, including a simple job of configuring a google thermostat correctly. My father requested a hardcopy of their HVAC installation manual, which was not provided. They did not disclose the $300 Bayren charge for the safety inspection.

The San Carlos county inspector failed the inspection as the exhaust flue was not secured to the heating unit. They also left a bag of asbestos material on the property as part of the asbestos abatement. The HERS tester had to return 3 times with Alternative providing additional sealing and patching of the vents/returns before the HERS passed final.

You may want to reconsider using this contractor for your HVAC needs.

I very much enjoyed working with Mike Rebholtz and his technicians at Alternative HVAC Solutions (referred to me by my next-door neighbor). I needed eight Mitsubishi mini split air movers and two outdoor heat pumps installed in my Eichler home. In my quest to go COMPLETELY ELECTRIC, I had to replace my much-loved radiant heat system for heat pump generated heat and A/C. I am so glad I did this, and it is so good to finally have A/C. I wish I had done this years ago!

Wanted to give a shout out to the wonderful team at Alternative HVAC. We wanted to replace our inefficient and outdated heater, and the team did a fantastic job start to finish.

When we made the decision to get quotes, we had Maurice come to our house and examine our situation. No hard sell, great explanation of our options, and a very reasonable quote. When it came time to schedule the work, we had to do it over Christmas since it was the first available spot, but despite the holidays, everyone was right on time, and the work got done as scheduled. We also had our ductwork redone since it was very old and leaky, which involved lots of crawling around in attics and crawlspaces, and the team (Rick and Adrian) were completely professional and respectful of our living space.

Most importantly for us, they were very mindful of COVID precautions. The team wore masks the whole time, and we know that they made sure the crews were vaccinated. It was very important to us as we have family members with health problems and we could not risk getting infected.

I also want to mention that they have great follow through. After the system was installed, we got a "walk-through" with Maurice to make sure everything was working OK and to explain the maintenance to us. They clearly care about their customers and want to keep us happy.

Alternative HVAC solutions installed a heat pump hot water heater and a HVAC system for my residence. All of the workers were courteous and considerate when performing their work. Ramon was exceptional in addressing the fine details of the installation and explaining each step of the project. My neighbors commented that they could tell they were a very professional crew by the manner in which they performed the work, cleaned up and interacted with the community. The project manager and office staff were great in organizing the project and in managing the Peninsula Clean Energy rebates and Zero interest Clean Energy loan.