We hired Paulson in San Diego to replace a 3-ton compressor for our Bankers Hill condo, trusting their status as a (former) HOA-preferred vendor. Instead, they installed an undersized 2.5-ton unit without performing a standard heat load calculation. The Technical Failure: For months, our system failed to cool. Paulson's technicians repeatedly blamed our ducting--which had never been an issue--rather than admitting the unit was undersized. The error was officially documented during our home sale when the unit failed inspection. The HOA's new preferred HVAC vendor confirmed the mismatch, leaving us to deal with the fallout during escrow. The Customer Service Experience: Dishonesty: When presented with a professional load calculation, management dismissed it, claiming I had simply "plugged it into the internet" rather than acknowledging the data from a licensed contractor. Zero Accountability: Management refused a refund, hiding behind "you signed the contract" to avoid taking responsibility for their own sizing error. The Financial Impact: This negligence cost over $8,000 for the initial mismatched installation, plus several thousand more for a correct replacement required to close the sale. There is a reason the Laurel Bay HOA in Bankers Hill no longer contracts with this company. It takes more than one bad job to lose HOA-preferred vendor status. Save yourself the $8k+ nightmare and hire a firm that performs industry-standard tests before installing equipment. Do not trust their "judgment" over actual data. read more

Paulson AC was very helpful in optimizing our HVAC. we used them for a whole-house re-duct, because prior owners had put additions on the house without upsizing many of the ducts, resulting in uneven heating/cooling. They were responsive and reasonably priced. We would use them again for HVAC needs. read more

Paulson A/C installed a Fujitsu mini-split system in early 2024 for $12,500 that has never worked properly. It only blew warm air. Over more than a year, multiple service visits were made (with frequent no-call/no-shows), but technicians repeatedly recharged refrigerant instead of fixing the underlying problem, resulting in only temporary cooling. A technician eventually confirmed a refrigerant leak at the compressor, showing the system was defective since installation. Despite this, Paulson A/C has refused to honor the installation warranty and is requiring payment for further repairs. As a result, I am now forced to hire a different licensed HVAC company to remove and replace Paulson A/C's faulty installation in order to have a functioning system. This has been the worst experience I've ever with a contractor. Nothing but excuses and lots of wasted money. And still no working air conditioning or heater. read more

Working with Paulson was one of the worst contractor experiences I've ever had. We hired them to replace our 3-ton compressor, trusting them as the HOA's preferred vendor. Instead, without any consultation or proper testing, they installed a smaller 2.5-ton unit. Standard practice requires a heat load calculation to confirm sizing, but they skipped that step entirely. What followed was months of frustration, with their technicians unable to figure out why the system wouldn't cool properly. The real issue only came to light when we were in escrow to sell our condo--another HVAC company ran the proper test and confirmed what should have been obvious: we needed a 3-ton, not a 2.5-ton. When we confronted Paulson, they dodged responsibility, tried to redirect the blame, and refused to acknowledge their mistake. I asked for a refund just to move forward, but instead was met with condescension and more misleading responses. Their mishandling created unnecessary stress for my family during a critical time, and I ultimately had no choice but to take legal action. Paulson cut corners, misled us, and left us with a unit that never worked. Save yourself the nightmare--stay far away from this company. read more

Heat not working after paying for repairs, messages ignored, refused to return to check temperature.

We had the same experience as the others who gave poor reviews. They replaced our old furnace and the new one has never worked properly. The rooms are now completely unbalanced with over 5 degree difference between parts of the house. The old system was never like that. read more

We have had the pleasure of working with Brian at Paulson AC on multiple occasions, and each experience has been outstanding. Brian and team is incredibly helpful and reliable, consistently delivering top-notch service. Paulson AC deep cleaned our mini split units last year and most recently repaired our HVAC system after the system stopped working. Brian's knowledge, attention to detail and commitment to quality are evident in every interaction. Brian is not only skilled but also courteous and professional. We highly recommend Paulson AC for any HVAC needs. Their expertise and dedication to customer satisfaction make them a go-to choice for anyone seeking dependable and efficient service. read more

UPDATE- Air Conditioning Repair: I went back to Paulson to repair my Air Conditioning Unit this time. Prior ( for research), I did receive a quote of $6,000 for a new installation from another competitor. Brian from Paulson came on a Sunday and actually REPAIRED my A/C and saved me thousands of dollars! This with repairs and adding Freon. He is so knowledgeable, very efficient, amicable and professional. He knows his stuff and got it done quickly. My A/C is working perfectly now. Also a mention to Yesenia, who quickly got back to my calls and was so responsive with solutions. Thank you! read more

DO NOT HIRE. Complete and utter scam. Do not let these people touch your AC. They hire unqualified and unsupervised technicians to come out and "fix" your AC, make it even worse, charge you, and give you the runaround when you try to get them to actually fix it. They misquoted us by hundred of dollars too. We ended up having to go to a different company to get our unit fixed. Paulson overall just did very sloppy work. I'm guessing they're having a hard time finding qualified people to perform the work? No idea, but they need to reevaluate their hiring and training processes. Yesenia and Adriana gave us the runaround and kept saying they'd get it fixed, but their techs lacked the skills to actually get the job done. Edit to respond to Owner: Owner replied "How convenient Cherryl has a review for our ex employee who left the company and stole customers. I don't see any details about what was wrong and what the other company actually fixed. We'll figure out who this person is and give them a chance to clear up the connection to Red and "Surf bros ac" non the less we've done research on this matter as we take all reviews seriously." I don't have anything to do with whatever other companies you compete with. I've hired several other AC companies previously (Progressive and Carini). I watched as the other company fixed the unit, they showed me exactly what was put back incorrectly, they fixed the issue, and ran the machine to show me it was working properly. read more

Paulson Air Conditioning - Picture of our Air Conditioner - Heating & Air Conditioning/HVAC Near Me - San Diego, California

My new NEST thermostat wasn't working in the middle of summer and I really looked out calling Paulson. Their technician was able to come same day, diagnose what is going on and fix everything. Super happy and wanted to thank them. read more

Paulson Air Conditioning - Technician was the best - Heating & Air Conditioning/HVAC Near Me - San Diego, California

I've used Paulson twice now. Once for my business and once for my home. They are incredibly responsive and quick to get estimates and get you scheduled. read more

Our air conditioning unit went out and we were desperate to get it fixed asap. Paulson set up an eval a few days out. John Paul arrived and gave a thorough evaluation of the unit. We had to replace the entire unit and Wes, Christian, and Isaac came out the next day. They were friendly, professional and efficient. We are very please with the excellent service, fair upfront pricing, and quick turn around! Karen S. read more

John Paul serviced & checked my A/C and filter checked air duct A/C unit at the backyard cleaned checked Freon with good charge All levels good. John Paul arrived on time. Very knowledgeable and courteous. Very professional with his job While explaining what's going to be performed. I plan on requesting for him again in future services. Thank you John Paul. Keep it going! read more

I am so pleased with the products, the staff, workmanship, and ethics of PAULSON/AC that I am taking the time to ask Yelp to help me support this air-conditioning company. I just got my faulty system replaced with a brand-new Daikin ductless/split. The job was completed within a week of calling them. A special thanks to Tyler for his honesty and the extra effort he made in researching my technical questions. And also thanks to Jessica for being on the other end of the line to keep me posted of developments. But most of all, thanks to Miguel and Sergio, who did the hard work. They were courteous, professional, efficient and neat! I highly recommend PAULSON/AC to anyone looking for installation or service of their heating and air-conditioning systems. read more

I called Paulson Air Conditioning in the morning and they were able to send a technician that same day to diagnose my mini-split AC unit that had stopped cooling. The technician was able to quickly discover a leak, repair it, and get the AC working again. Paulson was responsive, nice, and competent. Great job overall! read more

Our A/C all of a sudden stopped putting out cool air. I called Paulson and the person answering the phone was perfect. Good questions and getting my info. She was able to schedule us the next morning. The gentleman who came out was professional, curious, and absolutely knew what he was doing. I am mechanically inclined, so hung with him while he did his diagnostics. He was bang on and found the issue. He suggested some upgrades which I agreed on, as we love our A/C running smooth. He was informative during the whole visit and made sure I understood the issue and more than once asked if I had any questions. I would 100% use this company again if needed. read more

Had super efficient York heat pump as well as Daikin split mini installed. Both will save me a lot of money on energy bills. Great on helping to research the best options, come up with economical yet efficient choice of equipment and carry out a high quality installation. Permits, however, took forever. Really forever. Partly due to city permitting process being slow, but mostly because an employee wasn't on it. Minus one star. Excellent choice, just don't assume they'll get all the permitting work done automatically. read more

Paulson AC did a great job with fixing our AC. We called and they came out to help us right away. They give great service for a great value. Thank you read more

Paulson serviced and repaired my air-conditioning system and did a fantastic job. They were very responsive, answered all my questions, made great recommendations and completed the job in a timely fashion. 5 stars!! Our tech, Jan Paul Sanchez, was outstanding. He listened, diagnosed and completed the job within the agreed upon timeframe and price and was a pleasure to work with. Excellent service!! read more

Do not do business with these people. The owner of this company lied to me about their business practices and totally ruined my home HVAC. These folks are running a sham operation, I had to call in a different company to fix their mistakes. These people are negligent and avoided all responsibility. Totally unprofessional. I am following suit with the better business bureau. I highly recommend you avoid this company at all costs. read more

Used Paulson Air Conditioning to install a ductless minisplit system in our older home. They came out for a quote (arrived early) - Tyler was great. Very knowledgeable and good personality. Walked us through what to expect, what we needed, etc. Provided a quote that same day via email. After several other quotes we decided to go with Paulson. They installed a Samsung unit. It is working great - very quiet. A big improvement over the window AC unit we were using. The install took about 5-6 hours. The installers/technicians were respectful of our home/property, cleaned up everything when done. We did have a bit of confusion with info from the installers about the WiFi, but got it cleared up and Paulson handled everything very professionally. Tyler called us and cleared up the info while the installers were still here and then came over the following day and made sure everything was set up and working for us (non-techy people!). Tyler's office staff is wonderful. Vicki is a great asset to the company. Would recommend this company if you are looking for HVAC work. read more

Super quick response, like I messaged them on a Sunday and they came out the next day! The guy came on time and really knew what he was talking about. It really helped us figure out next steps. Thank you! read more

If there were more stars I would give more. Unbelievable story - my A/C was spewing hot air. The three other companies that came out all said the entire unit had to be replaced. Two of the places advertise lots on TV. Cost quoted was between $12k and $17k. Ouch. Then along came Red from Paulson - his was the only company I researched using Yelp. Long story made short, problem was the thermostat NOT the entire unit. He replaced it for $250. OMG! BTW it's been almost a week and still working fine. I wll not use companies that advertise on TV because consumer has to pay. Not many companies work in downtown, so it took extra effort and lots of "no's" to find a Yelp recommended company to come out. BTW did you know that most service people that come out are paid a commission? That explains lots. Good luck read more

They came out for a free quote right away for a residential ductless AC install on my 100 year old home and stuck with the price that was quoted. For the install, Miguel, Keane, and Matt were all very professional and knowledgeable. You can tell they really cared about doing a good clean job on all the wiring and everything. Came out looking clean and working great. They made sure everything was operating as it should, showed me how to work everything, and cleaned up all their mess before taking off. Would definitely recommend their work to anyone looking to complete a similar project. Thanks again! read more

Paulson Air Conditioning - Samsung mini split - Heating & Air Conditioning/HVAC Near Me - San Diego, California

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My mini-split was blinking green and these guys were able to send out Red on a service call to my rental the same afternoon we spoke. He was able to get it going with essentially a "reset" but since we hadn't really identified the problem, he not only checked the coolant pressure but also called another friend who suggested what the problem turned out to be - with two zones, having one on cool and the other hot was too much internal conflict! Not only is it working but I have at least some confidence that when this happens again I can at least take the first step towards restoring it myself. Excellent work. read more

I was very impressed with these guys. The owner came out on a Friday, quoted the job over the weekend and installed the unit on Tuesday. They were quick, professional, on time, and the work looks great. I highly recommend read more

Fantastic service. I'm so impressed. Brent not only discussed our AC issues in detail but also showed us how to put in new filters. I had put some bins next to the furnace not understanding that was a huge fire hazard. He had to move all of the bins and discuss that with me. I was a bit embarrassed I should have known not to put bins there. What a nice guy!! Before repairing anything he was detailed about what needed repaired and why. Gave us the cost of the parts and then had to leave and go get them. I can't express how grateful I am to finally find a great AC company that is trustworthy. Now we have an AC company we can finally recommend to friends and family. If you are in the East County and want to support a great small business I highly recommend Paulson Air Conditioning. read more

I'm a Commercial/Residential Contractor that has projects from San Diego to San Jose and almost all of them require HVAC work. Tyler "PAC" is the Only company I use.. I've been in business for 10years and have dealt with many other companies... I have to say nothing has made my life easier/less stressful than knowing I have PAC on the job and know it will get done right everytime. As a Contractor and Small business owner we all know peace of mind is hard to find. So yes! Tyler is you guy and PAC is your company... you won't regret it. read more

Tyler and the team at Paulson Air Conditioning did an excellent job at my house in Pacific Beach, CA! I was weighing the options on whether or not to install AC at my place but after breaking down the costs with Tyler we decided that because of the size of my house and location that it would be much more cost-effective to install a whole house fan. And boy was he right! I've had the whole house fan running at night in my house for the past two weeks and there's a noticeable drop in temperature. Bonus points for having it installed in one day and I couldn't be happier with the customer service, cost, and professionalism. Thanks again! read more

Had a leaking air conditioning unit in our home. The service provided fixed the problem quickly and for a great price. The technician was a great guy and I would highly recommend Paulson Air Conditioning. read more

Highly recommend this company esp Bryan our tech that helped us fix our ac!! Very reliable, respectful and very good at his job! Cannot imagine the hardwork that they do in the midst of humidity and in the middle of summer!! Good job Bryan! read more

Mike came over and I was so worried my AC was going to be a serious issue, luckily it was something minor, nonetheless I still got some very useful tips and information on how to keep my ac functioning long term. Thank Mr. Mike for being so genuine and helpful. read more

An incredible experience start to finish. VERY Responsive on Yelp. Straightforward and clear with pricing. Great follow up and follow through with office staff. Tyler was running ahead on his schedule, he called 30min before arrival (as promised) and we were able to take care of things earlier than expected. Professional, courteous, honest, and knowledgeable. I highly recommend this company for AC needs. I'm very impressed. read more

Tyler (owner) is extremely knowledgeable. He is also very honest and upfront. I came across Paulson AC after getting a ridiculous quote from one of the big popular AC installers in the area. I randomly messaged Paulson, and received a response to visit my property right away. Tyler and Jimmy were so accommodating to my funky schedule, from estimate time to installation time they were super understanding. Jimmy and Tyler are responsible, hard working, and just really easy to deal with. I ended up saving thousands going with Tyler's recommended plan. And I am SO thrilled with my new ductless split AC system. Tyler cares so much about customer satisfaction. He provides fair and transparent pricing, and believes in doing an excellent job. His goal is a happy customer, and he does not disappoint! read more

Wow! Such a great company! My a/c recently went out at my house and this place was recommended to me from a buddy. I have been very disappointed with other a/c companies and their service in the past. When this sweetheart of a receptionist Emily answered and was so caring and nice on the phone I knew I was going to be taken care of. She literally helped with everything and made the whole situation very easy. Any questions I had she answered right away and was very professional. She got someone out to me the next day for the repair and they were extremely efficient. Will definitely be recommending this company to all my friends! Keep up the great work guys! read more

Tyler did a great job so far. He was able to schedule me last min for a quote and emailed me all the details days before it was to be expected. I've been very impressed. Thank you Tyler!!! read more

Paulson AC saved me in a crunch! My home AC system went down and we got a quote from another company that was super high. Paulson had a tech come in and they diagnosed the problem and saved us money. They were literally two thousand dollars cheaper I was shocked. Tyler called me and got me scheduled for a replacement asap and we were up and running just before my in laws got to town. Thank you Paulson AC. read more

Very efficient , we hired them to help service our commercial building, they were able to check the problem and get it handled quickly. They were very quick in setting appointment, showed up during their arrival time and made sure problem was fixed prior to leaving. Highly recommend and will continue to use their services for my personal residence as well. read more

These guys are great. They came out really rapidly and were able to help me with all of my AC + heat needs. Tyler is a nice guy, he was very personable and Clearly an expert in his field. I definitely recommend them to anyone who is looking for a reliable company that does great work. read more

Returning customer, needed early service at our house as the Summer heat is already starting in April. A week later got a quick quote for our rental property and scheduled to have a new York A/C system installed with a new WiFi Ecobee to be placed in as well. Paulson's Service is impeccable, felt bad as it was over 98 degrees outside and the crew was up in the attic for the installation of the furnace and new coil. Can't imagine how hot it was up there but in a short time they came down, great attitude and smiles to run the final test and cool off. Thank you for another great job, really appreciate having an HVAC company like this that I can trust and refer out to my friends and family knowing they always to such a great job!! read more