First contact was great! They came out quickly and fixed a problem for very reasonable price, and even on a weekend when other companies were not open. I was so impressed that I bought a new HVAC system from Five Star. My old system was on its last legs.
From day one, the AC has not dehumified. It was installed in January so, to be fair, the AC really couldn't be tested then. Once cooling season started, the Five Star team did a wellness check report card. I had concerns about humidity and a few other things. My concerns were ignored and the report card indicated that I had not reported any complaints or concerns.
Next, some guy who claimed his name was Joe came out. He identified himself as the service manager. Joe told me that the 62% humidity I have with the new HVAC system is near the normal range of 50-60% (everyone else seems to think normal humidity is 30-50%). When I asked about checking the AC adjustments, something that couldn't be done during cold weather, and asked about static pressure check, Joe said" That should have been done before the installation and we'll do that.". Static pressure check STILL has not been done. Then Joe told me that the fan speed on my system cannot be adjusted (the install manual has details on setting the fan speed).
I also had concerns about the ac fan blower turning on and off every five minutes or less. Joe said this is normal. Joe left without doing anything to fix the problem. He chose to pretend that there is no problem.
On my third attempt to get the HVAC installation completed correctly, a technician doing the one year review told me something very surprising: the Merit series from Lennox is not designed to dehumidify. I wish the salesman had told me that in the beginning. The salesperson, Caleb, said this new system would dehumidify better than the old one. The folks at Five Star should at least try to agree on which lie they will tell customers.
So far I have a new HVAC system that can dehumidify to 62%. My old system, a worn out 20-year old Goodman system, could get humidity down to 50%. The new unit has a delta T of 10 degrees and now runs for three hours or more in the evening when I turn the temp down one degree from 71 to 70. The old system, even when it was nearing end of life, had delta T of 15 degress and would run for 20 to 50 minutes. I could turn the temp down to 68 with the old system. The new system struggles now to maintain 70.
In summary, I have a new 12 thousand dollar Lennox HVAC system that does not perform as well as the worn, over 20-year old Goodman system that it replaces. I made at least three attempts during the warranty period to get the problem fixed. Five Star chose to tell me lies and pretend the problem doesn't exist.
Now I have a new problem starting this week: the ac runs for hours at a time. I used the clock to time it, up to 3 or 4 hours. It used to cut off and on every five minutes or a bit less. In hot months, when I dialed the thermostat down to 70 at night, the Lennox system would run for maybe ten minutes, 15 at most, then back the five minute off and on cycle. Now, the whole house dehumidifier, a Santa Fe 98 pint unit, runs nonstop. Even then the humidity is 53%. It was 47% until about a week ago. I think the AC is actually creating humidity now because the system setup was never completed. I think the freon is leaking out. The tech used push on solderless connectors to attach the refrigerant lines and said he would put leak detecting dye in. Smart thinking, I guess he knew these solderless connectors would leak. (All three HVAC professionals I talked to said the solderless connectors leak and are no good, and all three rolled their eyes when I said I did business with Five Star.).
Now I see all the bad reviews and see that other people have the same problem: Five Star seemingly will not do testing or investigation into a problem they created and certainly won't fix it. This is the most aggravating and disappointing experience I've ever had with a vendor. They should call it "Lie Star" instead of Five Star. How do they stay in business?
I think the installation had a one year warranty. Did the Five Star team used stall tactics to run down the warranty clock so they could charge me for work that should've included with the installation charge? It seems that way.
I have zero confidence that Five Star will be of any help. They have told me different lies on at least three occasions. I do think they have some very knowledgeable repair techs but corporate policy is apparently to just jerk customers around and not stand behind their products or their work. Btw, Five Star is owned by a private equity firm, Southern HVAC Corporation, which explains a lot.
FYI, Lennox does not have much faith in their own products. The parts warranty is only three years and there is no warranty on labor. At estimated $500/hr for labor, even warranty work by 5 star will be expensive! read more