Sila Heating & Air Conditioning

After our horrible experience with C&C (see review for details!) we decided to switch HVAC companies. I saw Sila had the «real deal pricing» and we had Richard come out to check on our heat. He was SUPER friendly and was kind to my father who was over visiting (he is QUITE the chatty cathy) but he was really over for a tune-​up. Our hvac system is only 2 years old so we assumed nothing was wrong but we wanted to make sure.
Then sila had a «get a heating tune up get the ac tune up for free» and again we figured nothing was wrong with the new sysrem but its better to be safe than sorry.
We had Dino come out this time (it was last week) and he was also super friendly, on time, and efficient. After Dino came we got a hand written letter thanking us for our business — which I thought was very sweet.
We havent had any problems with our HVAC system yet but I am so happy to have the customer service we finally deserve. I hope i don’t have to call Sila for any major problems, but if they occur, I will definitely call Sila.

After a kerfuffle over the units replaced and week of worry, Sila came out (as soon as they were called) and straightened everything out. They were gracious, patient and understanding. They are large enough to do the work to which they commit quickly and efficiently and correct any issues, minor or major, quickly even in the hottest weather. Kudos, Sila.
I was EXTREMELY impressed with the company’s interest in getting things right.
We will be getting the installation we wanted and needed without further hassle.
THAT’S a company committed to Customer Service and Consumer Satisfaction.
No fly-​by-​night operation, this. I believe you can trust them.

Please do yourself a favor and get a second opinion/​quote before you have Sila do any work for you. These guys may as well have shown up wearing masks and carrying duffel bags, because the way they treated me was akin to an old fashioned stick up.
I own a rental property in the city, and the AC went out. I had Sila service things before, so called them out to diagnose the issue. The tech didn’t even look at anything according to my tenants. Called me and said that the coil was frozen over and that he’d have to sit there for 2 hours while it thawed. Estimated cost was $ 1500 just to diagnose and fix. He suggested it was better to purchase a new system rather than pay the cost to repair. I had the Sila sales guy come out the same day, and they quoted me $ 8000 to replace the system. They charged me $ 120 to tell me the coil was frozen. They assumed that because my AC was out and that my tenants were a bit upset that I would do whatever to have it fixed.
I called another company out to give me a second opinion. The tech said the same thing about the frozen coil, but he was able to have it thawed in less than 15 minutes. He went on the roof and replaced two electrical components on the condenser, and everything was back to working order in under 2 hours. Total cost for the diagnosis and repair was $ 325.
After reading other reviews, this seems to be a common scenario. They will attempt to take advantage of you in any way possible. Honestly, I have no idea how Sila is still in business today. If you care about your money and the longevity of your system, I would suggest using another company. There are too many honest and competent other service providers in the area to do business with these crooks. I will never call Sila again to service my system.

We have worked with SILA since 1999, when the company was still Unique Indoor Comfort. The initial job was the installation of high velocity A/​C in the 2^nd and 3^rd floors our 1907 home that had forced air/​oil heat. We could not have been happier with the initial installation and the ongoing service we continue to receive. We stuck with our original contact person Steve Jordan when the company split and Steve went with SILA. Best decision we ever made. In the past two years, Steve and the great team that work with him, have done major work in our home as we accomplished a large-​scale renovation. They helped us convert our home from oil to gas heat (we’ve already realized HUGE savings from this conversion), installed a fabulous Mitsubishi, ceiling based mini-​split heat pump/​AC system in our renovated first floor, re-​routed all of our basement duct work as necessitated by our reno and most recently, after 16 years of great AC from our original system, when the system needed to be replaced, Steve made sure our new system was ordered and installed in less than 5 days! Even offered us the use of a window unit for our bedroom for the few days we were without air. We declined but I know it would have been here had we asked. Everyone we come in contact with — office staff, installers, estimators, supervisors, etc. — is never less than professional and kind. They are VERY neat, respectful of our home, and clean up completely on completion of their work. When looking for a contractor for our reno, most wanted to use all of their own subs. I refused to work with anyone who wouldn’t let me work with Steve and SILA and it was completely the right decision. I don’t know how they compare price-​wise with their competitors, but I agree with a previous reviewer, you get what you pay for and we have never felt their prices were out of line. The annual service contracts they offer are completely reasonable and when we have had to use them for normal maintenance and the occasional small problem, they have been prompt in meeting our needs. I can happily recommend SILA and Steve Jordan unconditionally and without reservation. And I often do.

Be careful of the bait and switch. I received a postcard saying they were offering a Mitsubishi Mini split system installed for $ 1995. So I made an appointment. The day before the appointment they called and said, they were out of those units. The old Bait and Switch sales strategy is still being used.

They said a leak search and repair could cost two to three thousand dollars and that it would probably just be better to replace the whole system. It’s a central air system they installed and provided service for.
Again: Two to three thousand dollars for a leak search and repair. They encouraged me to buy a completely new central AC system. The only problem was a condenser fan motor.
I still get mail from them, and occasional calls. I’ve asked to speak with a manager about this experience but I’ve never heard from one.
They sure do have a lot of advertising though.

The Sila foks were a pleasure to deal with right from the start. They installed high velocity central air conditioning in our turn of the 20^th Century home that has radiators and no ducts. Ralph explained the entire process in the initial encounter, provided pricing quickly and made sure everything was scheduled properly. Huang provided a layout for the job that was so unobtrusive that it’s not even noticeable, something that was very important to us. The installers, Huy and Lam were top notch craftsmen who had the utmost respect for our home over the 5.5 days they were here. Joe came out to start up the system and everything is good to go for the warm weather. We couldn’t be more satisfied with Sila. Highly recommend!!!

Mike F. and Trevor were here today and did a great job. They were on time, very professional and explained their work thoroughly. Very professional and courteous and I am pleased with their work. Thank you.
Kate V.

Extremely professional, but SO overpriced. My AC stopped working and I had a service repairman come out on a Saturday to find out the issue and give me an estimate. The cost for that was $ 277. The serviceman told me that I had a freon leak so I scheduled another appointment for someone to come out to test out the HVAC and see where the leak was. The new repairman said it actually was not a freon leak and that my fans were actually clogged with dog hair/​dirt and that he had to clean it out– that ended up being $ 805! So it ended up being almost 1100 bucks to fix my AC which I thought was pretty insane. Although my AC works wonderfully now, I don’t think I’ll be using Sila again.

For all of your heating and cooling needs, this is the place to call. Tom Camerote and the entire staff are all very professional.

Sila has always given us excellent service. Everyone we’ve ever dealt with there has been extremely polite and knowledgable. They are a bit more expensive, but we feel the high quality work is worth it.

I have worked with Sila for about ten years. They installed my heat pump, UV system, water heater, steam humidifier, and split system. With only one exception that entire time, everyone on the phone to every technician sent has been incredibly polite, professional, and knowledgable. The repair, installation, and maintenance personnel really listen to problems that are occurring. If they can’t personally fix the issue, they send an expert. I don’t know how they continually provide exceptional service, but they do. They will probably never be the least expensive, but you get what you pay for, by far.

Had them come out to my house to check out a minor leak in a pipe in my baseboard hot water heating system. All that was needed was some minor soldering and a new copper elbow fitting. The tech said it should be «a couple hundred dollars». Once he called into the main office they changed the rate to $ 675. When asked why the cost increased so much it was explained that the parts cost $ 200 (these «parts» were two two-​inch pieces of copper pipe) and they had a higher city rate than the suburbs (even though when I set up the appointment and asked about rates they quoted me the suburb rates but made no mention of there being a difference between city/​suburb rates). Needless to say I did not use them and will never recommend them.

Spring of 2001 — May 2012
The former Unique Heating and Cooling of the same location installed central AC in 2001 with efficiency and care. I was amazed by their attention to detail and cleanliness. They were profession and courteous. They’ve inspected and repaired my water heater and heater with focused professionalism. I’ve maintained a service contract for several years. I’ve had many different technicians performing various duties in and outside my home without issue. I will retain their heating and cooling services.

So our HVAC system wasn’t working during the first heat wave of the season. It would turn on and blow air, but couldn’t cool our condo below 74 degrees. It also felt muggy inside. We called these guys after someone else was not able to figure out the problem.
The tech came on time and was professional but was not able to correctly diagnose the problem. He said the air coming from the ducts was 56 degrees or something, so our place should cool. He adjusted the fan speed from medium to high and told us to keep the doors open to our bedrooms to help keep the rooms cool. He said our place should be cooled down to the programed temp of 68 degrees by the next day. We were charged about $ 250.00
Two days later we had the same problem. Our place still wasn’t cooling lower than 74 degrees, and it felt muggy. We called them back and they said they would send out someone else to see what the problem was. We scheduled a new appointment. However, we got a call back later canceling the appointment and saying that our HVAC unit was on the small side for our condo and that they wanted to send someone out from their sales department to talk to us about getting a new, larger HVAC system.
I kept insisting that the HVAC was only 3 years old, it had cooled adequately before, so I didn’t think we needed a new system, which would cost at least 5k! They insisted that I needed a new HVAC. I told them not to bother.
FINALLY I found another company that came out and diagnosed the problem in minutes. The condisate drain was blocked and needed to be cleaned out. Within 15 minutes the unit was fixed for less than $ 300. We told him about our experience with Unique and he told us we should ask for our money back, because checking the condisate drain is part of a basic diagnostic inspection. My husband did call and ask for a refund and they refused to give us our money back. They had no explanation as to why I would be told to get a new HVAC system for 5K when all I needed was a simple condisate drain cleaning for $ 300.