Equipment
- Goodman 3-ton high-efficiency heat pump
- Matched 3-ton indoor air handler
- New refrigerant linesets (R-410A)
- Reconnected and resealed ductwork
- Smart thermostat
- New disconnect + electrical panel work + surge protection
The starting situation
A Martinez homeowner had been nursing along an old HVAC system that was consuming too much electricity, failing to hold temperature, and racking up service calls. Our diagnostic found a failing compressor on the cooling side plus worn duct connections at the air handler. Pricing out the repair against replacement, and accounting for the fact that the existing equipment was old enough that one repair would just precede another, replacement was the obvious right answer.
We sized the new equipment to the load. A 3-ton Goodman high-efficiency heat pump matched the calculated requirement for the house. The customer wanted a single-system solution (heating + cooling on one platform) and the heat pump path delivered that with better efficiency than a furnace + AC combination.
What we installed
- Goodman 3-ton high-efficiency heat pump: outdoor condenser sized to Manual J calculation
- Matched 3-ton indoor air handler: factory-charged R-410A
- New refrigerant linesets (the existing copper wasn’t worth keeping)
- Reconnected and resealed ductwork at the air handler, sealed every joint we touched with HVAC-grade mastic
- Smart thermostat with heat-pump-aware staging
- New electrical disconnect, whip, and surge protector on the high-voltage side
- Vacuum-pulled and pressure-tested the refrigerant loop before charging
- Refrigerant charge weighed to factory subcool spec, not “guess and adjust”
The detail that mattered
This was a 16-photo install for a reason, heat-pump installations have a lot of steps, and most of them happen in places the customer never sees. The refrigerant-line work, the vacuum-pull, the electrical panel updates, the duct sealing, every one of those is a place where a cheaper install would cut a corner. Refrigerant charge by manufacturer spec instead of “feels right” is the difference between rated efficiency and 85% of rated efficiency. Mastic on duct joints instead of foil tape is the difference between 15-year hold and 2-year failure.
The system was started under load, monitored for an hour to verify steady-state operation, and the homeowner walked through how to use the new thermostat before we left.
What the homeowner got
Single-system year-round comfort with significantly lower energy consumption than the old setup. Quiet operation. Properly-sized equipment running clean cycles. Equipment under our 10-year parts + 10-year labor warranty plus Goodman factory equipment warranty.
The photos below show the original equipment removal, the install in progress (electrical, refrigerant lines, condenser placement), and the finished outdoor condenser unit.
Before
After
