Aire One (Aire One) Heating & Cooling

We called the Aire One Dupont office (Toronto) for a quote on a ductless air conditioner in our 100+ year old house. The sales consultant was nice, and although he recommended buying and installing two units for our two story house, he was not pushy about it. So this is what we agreed to in the contract:

1. The condenser would be installed on the side of the house, out of the reach of our 2 year old. We even paid extra for the angle brackets for this type of install

2. The drainage line would be run to the outside of the house

3. The head would be installed at the top of the stairs, blowing down the stairs and the hallway.

We were originally scheduled for the install on a Thursday, but then we got bumped to the next day, Friday. On Friday, we received a call informing us that the installer would not be arriving until later. He did not arrive until almost noon.

Immediately, the installer wanted to install the condenser on the ground. I said no, that is not in the contract, and we had paid more for an installation on the side of the house. That should have tipped me off immediately that he was going to try and take the easy way out on the whole installation.

Next, he wanted to drain the condensate into the bathroom plumbing, rather than to the exterior of the house. He explained that it would be nicer and easier. I thought it would be a good idea too, until he said it was "not his job to tie it into the plumbing". When I stated that I was not told that I had to get a plumber, he suggested I use a bucket under the sink. I was vehemently opposed to this idea. Later, another installer from Aire One also suggested that we drain it directly into the bath tub, which would be even worse in terms of it being an eyesore and for potential staining and mold.

Finally, the installer wanted to install the head above a bedroom door that would blow directly into a wall, instead of down the stairs and hallway. Again, this would have been the shortest install route for the power and the refrigerant lines. Of course, I refused this suggestion too.

In total, the installer spent 6+ hours at our house, with nothing accomplished except for a few very clumsy holes cut (punched?) into the walls. He had spent most of that time arguing with me on the details of the contract, and trying to convince me that the easiest way for him was the best way.

They then left for the weekend. We assessed their (non) progress, and based on the fact that we 1) were still within the 10 day cooling off period for contracts 2) that NOTHING was actually installed, we decided to cancel the contract. Aire One did refund us the full deposit, although via cheque rather than credit card as we had originally used (probably to avoid the 2% fee, but they had made the excuse that their machine was broken). We also asked that they patch the holes in our walls. They did make an attempt, but the job was rushed and sloppy, and the mesh is already peeling.

Another very strange thing we found was the that installer was wearing a Home Depot ID badge. Perhaps Aire One had subcontracted out due to the high demand during hot weather? Overall, I found the installer to be lazy, argumentative and incompetent.

We were very disappointed in Aire One and will never deal with them again. Nor will we ever recommend them to anyone.