Thompson Heating & Air Conditioning

I highly recommend using Thompson Heating and Air Conditioning. We have used them for our business and at our home. They are honest, polite and give great customer service. From the first phone call to the first visit in our home, I was extremely impression with their customer service and business approach. Brian did an excellent job of explaining everything and I appreciated his kind demeanor. He was very polite and respectful. He was even patient with our dog. I would definitely give Brian 5 Stars.

I enjoyed working with Darrell, the sales rep, as he was very helpful in narrowing the brand of ductwork comparing manufacturers and distributors. I liked that they were flexible as far as installing a brand I wanted. They were not the cheapest, but they were very reasonable and I got the best value for my money considering the extra time Darrell spent. I also liked that they quoted R8 instead of R6 to keep up with the upgrade trends.
My research convinced me (after seeing horror photos online) that Thompson would do a proper installation, ie as Darrell explained, they would hang the ducts from the rafters to code using proper materials and make sure to avoid kinks and rough bends that would hamper circulation. When asked, another highly rated company stated their intention was not to adhere to this method so I chose Thompson trusting they would go the ‘extra mile’ to do a proper installation. They did a superior job from what I determined.
The installation went very smoothly thanks to the competent crew. Nate, Jeff and Mikey were right on time, courteous, thorough and attentive to cleanup laying tarps and barriers to protect carpets and clothes. They also checked the flow from the vents afterward per my request, and I was amazed how quiet it was. All in all this was a very satisfying upgrade and money well spent!

Service was fast and comprehensive! Very much appreciated the quick response and ability to address and fix the issue.

We’re all looking for a good experience with a company when we’re putting out a lot of money. Look no further than Thompson Heating and Air Conditioning. I belong to Angie’s List… I got four quotes and I went with Garrett at Thompson. Thank goodness I did. I am in North Park… have a 50 year old townhouse in a fourplex with a very unique setup for HVAC. Garrett knew EXACTLY what to do. It has worked PERFECTLY for the last three years… and you know how hot and humid our summers are becoming. Had them come out for a routine check up before this summer, and it was in excellent shape. Best thing I ever did… and you will feel the same way.

I am not easy to impress, however, I can say that from the time I met Darrell «I was impressed.» Darrell was the consultant that came to my house to explain their product and how it works; he was extremely knowledgeable and «he took the time to answer my questions. » The crew that actually installed the furnace (Nate, Mikey, and Jeff) installed it in a professional manner; they were both courteous and friendly. They also completed the job within the time frame they said they would. The furnace was installed about three or four months ago, so I have used it and I am completely satisfied with my new furnace; I would highly recommend this company and the aforementioned people to install your next furnace
(or air conditioner.)

I had the pleasure of working with Garrett this week and was just blown away with his professionalism and integrity.
Anyone looking for a great HVAC service or replacement company should give Thompson Heating a try.

Our original scope of work was to replace a 30 yr. old gas furnace that still operated but was very inefficient. Additionally, local changes in our recent summers revealed that air conditioning was becoming less of a luxury and more of a necessity to provide restful sleep at night. We considered many companies but actively pursued three bidders for this work. One company, Home Comfort USA was advertised on the local radio station and though their sales person was friendly, performed thorough inspections and answered our many questions, we never received a formal written quote (numbers on a blank sheet of paper). The other two companies were Action Air HVAC associated with Costco and Thompson Heating & Air Conditioning. Both were equally thorough with their inspections and their sales people were experienced installers who provided details that are more technical and challenges they saw. In the end, we went with Thompson for 1) price point that was lower even with the Costco incentives offered 2) we received another reduction for being a veteran (does not hurt to ask for AAARP, AAA, or whatever — never know what will work) and 3) they were a local company in Oceanside with many years of experience.
Thompsons sales person said they had moved away from offering Trane Air Conditioning products because of difficulty in supply chain support. This was a similar complaint I heard from an out of state installer who stated the Trane was a good line but difficult getting parts for service. A local distributor who more effectively supplies Thompson’s material requirements better supported the MAYTAG line.
The line of equipment we went with was Maytag. Many offerings of furnace and air conditioner styles were offered but neither Action Air or Thompsons oversold components that were in excess of our needs for our locale. Most components of HVAC systems, such as compressors, motors, etc., are commonly shared most HVAC manufacturers.
Work included installed a new 80% eff furnace, 16 SEER, 2 stage Air Conditioner, New duct work, as original ductwork was split and 30 years old, and new thermostat,
During my research HVAC systems by reading and listening to comments about various manufacturers of HVAC equipment, one theme continued to be repeated. The end result of a new HVAC system relied less upon the quality or manufacturer of the components but rather upon the quality of the installer. Most homebuilder air conditioners have errors made in installation of the equipment. This proved true on our original furnace as pointed out to us by all three sales persons. Our original homebuilder installed our furnace so that part of the inlet to the intake was blocked because it was too hard to realign to the outlet plenum.
Which brings me to my next point, that the personnel that we dealt with at Thompson were excellent. From the service, experienced sales person, to the two experienced, polite, efficient installers and to the professional administrative person scheduling the crews, managing the back office issues and communicating with customers and crews, the experience could not have been any smoother. The words I would use to describe our experience are professional, personable, effective, clean, punctual, efficient, informative, good listeners.

The guys at Thompson Heating and Air Conditioning in Oceanside, Ca. are top notch. They were professional with a capital P. I highly recommend them as the first choice for any new heating and/​or air conditioning jobs. They are highly knowledgeable, pleasant to work with, helpful, all around the best team I’ve come across.

If you go back a couple of reviews on my page, you will see that I was burned by another highly rated HVAC company. I happened to call them first before Thompson, and I wish I hadn’t.
The house I rent (for 8 years) had it’s original furnace from when it was built nearly 30 years ago. Talk about a long run. After tinkering with parts and banging on it to get it to work, it finally crapped out… right during El Nino of course! Darrell came out to do the estimate and was super knowledgable. He talked about things the «other guys» didn’t even mention, like the HERS testing and permitting… something other contractors leave out in order to underbid. It is important to do this step for resale value! He also looked at the ductwork which the «other guys» didn’t even bother to do before giving us a quote, and wouldn’t you know it, it was all pretty much destroyed. My landlord got 3 quotes before going with Thompson, and not because they were the cheapest, but because they really know what they are doing. In addition to the heater replacement, my landlord also decided to put in AC since it was already plummed for it, bonus!
The job took four days instead of the 1.5 quoted because of some problems they encountered, but not their fault. The are consummate professionals! Taking care to lay tarp and mats as to not dirty the floors when they are in and out, very polite and communicative. The office calls to confirm all appointments, the tech’s call when they are on their way, and they called after the service was complete to make sure we were satisfied.
Extra special thank to Darryl because my landlord is THOROUGH and I know she put him through the ringer with questions, and quotes, etc. They handled it like pros. Even though I am not a homeowner, I know many people that are and hope to be myself one day, I would not contact or refer any one else for my HVAC needs.

We needed something a bit unusual a whole house humidifier to keep the air from getting too dry in the winter. Thompson sent their estimator, who came over, checked our existing HVAC system and provided a quote. I agreed with it and esigned up over the internet. All seemed well. When the agreed upon installation day came, they took a quick look, told my wife that they could do the installation but it was tight, and immediately left. I called the office and was told I would be contacted soon, but I was not. I sent email and called again, but no response. I suppose they changed their mind and didn‘t want to do the job, but I think that at least they should have had the courtesy to respond to my email and calls.

It was time to replace my aged furnace and horrible duct work. The furnace just didn’t work anymore. As long as I was doing that I decided to add AC especially after that hot summer we had just suffered thru.
I got three estimates but decided to go with Thompson (there’s wasn’t lowest) because of a referral from a friend. I wasn’t disappointed.
Their representative, Mr Thompson (not the current owner) came out right on schedule and discussed my options. He was extremely knowledgable and courteous.
Since my furnace wasn’t working, they put in the new furnace the very next day so I could have heat. Because of their busy schedule they returned about a week later to replace the duct work and AC. I couldn’t have asked for better service.
The whole job went smoothly and neatly. It was an expert installation by their crew, Nate, Jeff, Mike and Mr Thompson. Veronica, at the office was helpful letting me know when the crew would arrive, etc.
All in all this was an extremely professional and satisfying experience.
Thanks Thompson Heating and Air!!!

After my previous experience, got a very nice apology note from Garrett, the owner, who is on Unilocal.Garrett offered us a free wireless thermostat install for the inconvenience, which we thought was super generous.
Had Darryl come by and do the thermostat install. He was extremely outgoing and friendly, walked me through some options for eventually replacing my now working furnace as well as options for air conditioning to be added on in the future. We ran through some potential complications to the install and discussed them in detail. Very positive experience. Certainly a 5-​star experience today. Will average out the two experiences to 4-​stars.
Hopefully we will see them again in the future when it comes time to replace the furnace and tack on AC.

After having 5 different companies give us quotes, we chose Thompson to replace our furnace. They did not provide us the cheapest quote, so here is why we chose to use them:
Daryl was very thorough in his walk through and explanation of the process we would be going through, answering every question my husband could throw at him with expert knowledge. He also helped my husband choose the best furnace (fyi not necessarily the cheapest) for our home.
Mikey was our installation guy and worked really hard for two days. He did a good job of keeping our floors and stairs clean and took care moving through our house with the big furnace pieces.
The rain delayed the completion of our installation, and Thompson came out to finish everything the minute it was dry enough to get up on the roof. They were also very considerate in calling before anyone came out, and respecting my kids nap time! Daryl returned once everything was complete to do a final inspection and ensure everything was completed as it should be.
Overall we had a great experience.
Our advice is to do your research ahead of time. Take notes as each company comes through as some point out things that others will not. Lastly, make sure the company you chooses provides the necessary permits and HERS testing.

Got a recommendation for Thompson from another heating company who couldn’t get to me soon enough. They highly recommended Thompson. Thompson came out and verified the problem that the gas company had discovered. They then quickly got the part (control board) and scheduled the repair. Repairman was responsive, courteous, and took the time to not only replace the control board but to check the rest of the system. When he discovered that the thermostat was also bad; something you can’t check with a bad control board, he offered to remove the control board and replace the old one, in case the problem was JUST the thermostat.
Turns out both parts (control board and thermostat) were bad. He suggested I could go get my own thermostat from Lowe’s or Home Depot but my family had been without heat since the start of the season so I had him install the thermostat. Heater is up and running with a year guarantee on the parts.
It was my fault for not checking the heater earlier in the year but Thompson resolved the issue. I appreciate them doing the troubleshooting to make sure I wasn’t being sold a control board if it wasn’t needed. I also appreciate them offering to save me a few bucks by suggesting I purchase and install my own thermostat. Integrity is important to me and is sometimes difficult to find; especially when the customer is vulnerable, because of equipment problems. I highly recommend Thompson Heating.

Brian was on-​time, thorough and informative. I called 2 companies and Thompson H&AC had the lower price.

Great Air Conditioner! Have had it now for almost a year and it’s done well. We were new home owners and went the first year without air conditioning and were determined to get air conditioning for the following summer. Shopped around. We wanted a good price but wanted quality.
Garret came by and listened to our needs. We mentioned we would probably be adding on rooms in a few years and would need something that would accommodate the new space and extended ductwork when that time came.
He also suggested we add a new vent in our dining room since our one vent in our living room would take really long to cool such a large area (kitchen, dining and living room).
We also discussed placement of this huge air conditioning system that would be an eye sore. We decided to place it behind a fence on the side of the house where it would be hidden from sight.
We also needed to add a fridge line (I think that’s what it was called) that would run on the outside of the house. We talked about running it below so again it would be out of sight.
Garrett gave us a few different quotes with varying equipment etc, by our request, till we found something that was a right fit for our budget.
The installers were two very friendly gentlemen. Very funny and personable. An electric guy also came out earlier to set electrical stuff up. And someone else to drop off machine.
The staff as well was very friendly and accommodating with all phone calls. They do get busy though. I remember our actual install date was scheduled a few weeks out from when we actually green lighted the project. So just be prepared for that, schedule just depends on how busy they are (we were getting ours right before summer so I’m guessing this was one of there busiest seasons).
I do love my air conditioning and have been happy with the service and would highly recommend them!

We have gotten a few estimates, and Thompson has been the most professional and knowledgeable of all. Even the SDG&E guy wrongfully assumed our air conditioning was 5 tons, as did all the other contractors, but Thompson investigated and found out that we have a proper 3.5 tons.
One contractor was low-​balling, and I learned that his estimate did not cover the permit process, and without that, we could be up a creek if there was ever an insurance problem. They have been in business locally for I think since the 1980’s? For now, it is just a matter of convincing my husband to go ahead, as space heaters are not going to be adequate soon.
I will update once the work is done.

I personally know the owner of this Company and he is awesome. It’s not often that I’m able to refer my real estate clients to a reliable source for heating and air-​conditioning where I have 100% confidence that my clients will be treated great. If you haven’t used Garrett and his team you really need to consider doing that. As soon as you use them you’ll be hooked and you’ll find that their level of customer service is far beyond that of a normal company in heating and air-​conditioning. Then on top of that there knowledge and expertise just makes it an easy decision to use them. If you haven’t done so already you need to give them a try!

I wish I could give them 10 stars! One of those numbers I will store permanently in my phone and refer to anyone I know.
I called Garett for help with an issue I was having with my AC unit. He was extremely helpful and honest. Even after the first phone, I knew he was sincere and so knowledgeable. He set an appointment right away.
I had my AC unit installed by another company last year. My tenant started having issues with the AC unit and ducting a year later. In short, that company turned out to be extremely dishonest, neglectful, and literally put my tenants in danger with their poor workmanship. They were going to charge me an ridiculous amount of money, and something just didn’t seem right with them — especially the technician. My tenant also independently had the same feeling.
Garett identified exposed wires and other issues left by the previous AC company I used in a very professional manner. He and his team fixed all issues, fixed my ducting, and his prices were extremely fair and on-​point (I worry if it is too high or low).
I am so thankful to have found them and value their professional and personal ethics. Thank you!!!

We found Thompson on Unilocal!We also contacted several other highly rated companies on Unilocal!for quotes… One had a website issue, one was selling their Angie’s list rating as a premium to their system… It was a mess. Thompson was the first company on the scene, and the most responsive during the quote process, thanks to Darrell and Veronica (who called me twice just to schedule the quote. And was super sweet throughout)
During the quote, Darrell explained HVAC to me, what to expect, what the SEER ratings mean, etc. Thompson was the only company to even mention or include permitting in their quote, which is significant for resale value. He also did a very detailed inspection of our existing thermostat/​ducting — our house was plumbed for AC (more about that later…) but it had never been installed.
Because I had perfect/​magical timing before the first July heat wave — I was able to have the system installed within a week. Chris, Mikey and Nate did an awesome job on the install, left the house cleaner than they found it, and were able to complete the install of a new furnace, the AC and duct work the same day. Chris cut the AC pad down for us to perfectly fit our side yard, while complying with permitting, which was awesome!
So — on to the «plumbed for AC». It turns out, our plumbers who installed copper piping the year before had cut off the AC condensate line (basically the drain) straight into a stud in the garage. But had left a note that the condensate was complete. So, my AC was draining into a stud for over two weeks when we noticed a puddle and moldy smell. What earned Thompson 5 stars was not just the awesome quoting/​install process — but also the way they handled the leak and necessary drywall repairs. They took care of everything, even thought the leak and drywall repairs were probably the Plumbers liability, and made sure that we were completely satisfied customers!
Huge kudos to Chris, and Veronica in the office, for being super responsive (they came out the same day we reported the leak). And for a job very well done. Not only did Thompson have the most cost effective and comprehensive quote, but they treated us like family — and that’s always worth a 5 star rating!