I wrote a review of Hughes Air around 2013, but all my Yelp reviews from before I became a Yelp Eliter, all disappeared.
I had a horrid experience with AC "Smart" back in 2012 when my insurance Homesite finally agreed to pay for me to have a new AC unit to replace the obsolete Goettl that was damaged by the huge hailstorm. AC Smart installed my AC unit wrong, when they agreed to install it the right way, lying sales person. I filed complaint with BBB (by this time they had 33 complaints, when I first hired AC Smart, they only had 3 complaints), and if AC Smart did not pay another contractor to reinstall my AC unit RIGHT, BBB would give AC Dumb a 1 star review. So AC DUMB had to pay $1700 for me to chose my contractor to reinstall my American Standard 4 ton, the right way.
I had gotten a bid from Jim Hughes way before, for a new AC. I was intrigued that Jim believes in not using that elbow, cos you lose energy and wind velocity in the elbow. Jim likes the AC unit sitting right on top of the duct, like a hen sits on it's eggs. Jim, also at that time, had the lowest bid for a new American Standard 4 ton.
So I chose Hughes air to do the reinstallation of my AC unit the way Jim recommended, which I had to pay for a new stand that would sit directly on the roof duct.
The reason why I am giving Jim Hughes 4 stars instead of 5 stars, is because it was installed by a technician who has lotsa AC experience including with Wolfe Air, which contractors said was the best in the business (SUPER expensive!). But he had only been working for Jim for a month.
Well the 4 stars is because several years after the installation, a guy friend went up on my roof and discovered that the wire nuts that Hughes new guy in 2013 used was insufficient, and they melted off inside the junction box, causing the wires that were twisted together to be exposed and laying against the wall of the metal box they were in. If the roof were wet, and someone walked on the roof, they could get electricuted.
So I took pictures and sent them to Jim Hughes. He said he had fired that "new guy" because he was stealing business from jim, and making money on the side all in his own pocket.
But Jim sent his project supervisor over who used the proper wire nuts and resealed the entire junction box, with clear permanent caulk, so water would not get inside the box. Jim made it right. When I told another contractor about Jim's idea of not using an elbow, that contractor said they do not like to install that way because if the AC unit leaked water around where it sat, then the water would make its way down the duct and cause damage inside the house. That is exactly what happened on my second AC unit which was installed by another contractor sitting on the duct, before I bought the house. I had a lot of carpet and wall damage inside the house, because it happened when I was living in another state, and by the time I got back, it was all rotten and moldy., Jim gave me a bid to fix that issue, but it was no longer the good price he gave me the first time, which was years before. So I did not use Jim again.
I also regret that I installed the huge American Standard 4 ton the way Jim told me, because it positions the AC unit higher up on the roof, and it is a lot more visible from the street. Now I am about the only house where my AC unit is visible as some Darth Vadar from the street. But Jim says "It works better", because the cold air from AC goes directly down into the duct into the house, and does not get warmed up in the elbow. I have not had a leak from the AC unit into the house with that AC unit that Jim installed, as of yet. Next year, 2022, it will be 10 years since I had that AC installed. read more