HVAC reviews in Santee, California

I called SS to inspect my AC before the long Labor Day weekend. It was making a buzzing sound. I thought this might be a failing capacitor, which I shared with Melissa who helpfully dispatched Aaron to my house right away.

Aaron inspected the system and said that while the relay was failing and the whole system would need to be replaced within the year, all I needed to last the rest of the summer was a refrigerant recharge. I paid $600 for that. I noticed a “membership” charge for $100. I let Aaron keep it on as long as the recurring billing was turned off.

Two days later, the system completely stopped blowing cold air. I had Aaron come back to inspect and he said the compressor was bad and quoted me a few complete HVAC system replacements. I asked why this didn’t come up two days prior and he said, “Things happen.”

I called in two other companies to inspect SS’s work. They both said adding refrigerant to the system, which was blowing cold air before SS touched it, caused a high pressure condition that finished off the compressor. So I ended up in the exact situation I was trying to avoid: Labor Day weekend with no AC and being forced to replace the HVAC system now.

I won’t be doing business with SS again.

Straight shooter heating and air conditioning too many splits at my house and they worked great. The work was very professional. I am extremely happy.

Everyone I interacted with at Straight Shooter Heating and Cooling were very friendly and knowledgeable. They provided great service, value, and got my ac installation done quickly. Dillon and Ray did the install and they were very helpful and willing to answer all my questions. Will definitely use them again in the future.

From the start when I spoke with Michael upon viewing my home for upgrading my furnace which had gone out, and adding A/C to my 60yr old home they Eric, Ray and Dylan all were competent in their ability to get it done. I had several other HVAC folks come over and basically tell me in order to add A/C to my home I would need to have the Line-set A/C lines run thru the ceiling of my living room! Not an ideal thing to have un-sightly lines thru the interior of the home. Straight Shooter was able to run those lines thru the short attic space with little to no fan fare. Kudos to the all these guys I mentioned, They are the real deal. 👏🏼

I just had Straight Shooter repair my older whole house AC unit that was having issues. The technician was extremely knowledgeable and replaced several parts on my older system for a very reasonable price. I was not pushed to get a new unit or anything like that. I would definitely recommend them. I had no interest in switching to a heat pump so repair was the better option.

Jordan Peters came out this morning and was a wonderful representative of the company. He was kind and courteous while providing my semi-annual maintenance. Enjoyed conversing with this polite employee.

Rich came out today and fixed my leaking A/C unit like a pro! He evaluated my unit and gave us 6 different options so we could decide what we wanted to fix / optimize today. Will definitely work with Straight Shooter again. Thank you!

I purchased a furnace from them august 2025, it quit working friday night. Called to have someone check it. Jordon came to fix it on Saturday from Carlsbad and did a great job getting it done. Greeat job

I had Rich from Straight Shooter come out to our house today after we got an astronomical quote from another company Com**** Bro*). I went over the original quote with Rich because 1) the costs were so high and 2) so much of what they had said we needed seemed excessive. Rich patiently listened and looked at the quote and did his own full diagnostic of my AC system, furnace and my attic/ducts. He really reassured me on what I actually needed vs what seemed like add on sales. By the time he was done and fixed what was a must fix, he saved me over $3,000 today. He also gave me a quote for an air purifier system that was significantly less than the other company and helped me with an awesome duct replacement quote.
I think its rare these days to meet such honest reps and I really really appreciate everything Rich did today to make sure we had a proper HVAC system and kept our budget in mind. I highly recommend this company!

Straight Shooter Heating and Cooling is an excellent company from top to bottom. I’ve had interactions with people of all levels of this company and I have been sincerely impressed by all. They do what they say they are going to do, My technician, Mike showed up early and on time. I was sent a text telling me he was on the way. Mike arrived and explained in layman’s terms what he was going to do. He did it by diagnosing and then repairing the problem. Answered all of our questions. The great part is all this was done for a very reasonable price. Give them a call. You will not be disappointed. Five out of five stars.

Highly recommend Straight Shooter for any and all of your HVAC needs. Mike came out when our AC went out, had it working in no time (it was old and needed to be replaced) , and then helped us go through all of our options for replacement and helped us set up a time to have the new system installed. Rayy, Kenneth, Frankie, and Mario had our old system out and the new system and duct work in a couple days later and did an absolutelyamazing job. They were all super friendly, very professional

I needed someone to service my AC unit. I was having a problem with the condensation pipe. I found Straight Shooter on yelp and decided to call them hoping they will do justice to their name. They didn’t disappoint. Excellent, fast, and honest service. No gimmicks and good pricing. I will continue to service my AC and furnace with them.

I had a maintenance technician (from another company) come out to my house. He told me that our AC unit needed to get our capacitor replaced...it would cost an additional $300+

I said let me think about it. Long story short, I found this company (Straight Shooter) and the OWNER came out and he took a look at told me that the capacitor DID NOT need to be replaced and he did not charge me a dime.

Such honesty is not common enough and I will for sure be using this company moving forward!

Highly recommend for their expertise, experience and character 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽

I called for a clogged dryer duct and spoke to Ken, he was easy to talk to and was very responsive. He told me how much he thought it would cost and was able to come to my home the same day. He brought an associate Scott who was professional and really nice as well. Also, which I find important, is that they did a really good job cleaning up, when they completed the job. I would definitely use them again.

New update (1/7/2026): I needed to replace my HVAC, contacted a few companies, again Straight shooter gave us a very reasonable quote. Since I had good experience with them for the water heater, I didn't hesitate much and signed the contract. Two days later, Rayy, Kenneth and Johnny showed up on time and completed the work within a day. Great experience again. Highly recommend them

1/2/2025 Exceptional Experience with Straight Shooter Heating and Cooling (yes, they also do plumbing!)

After consulting with five plumbing companies, Straight Shooter was the final one we reached out to, and they truly exceeded our expectations. Scott came to provide a quote for replacing our natural gas-powered water heater with a heat pump hybrid electric water heater. His expertise and honesty were immediately apparent. He meticulously explained the differences between Bradford and Rheem, highlighting why one was more expensive than the other, and ultimately recommended the more cost-effective option with equivalent specifications.
What truly sets this company apart is their deep knowledge of the Golden State rebates and TECH Clean rebates. They handled all the paperwork seamlessly and applied the rebates upfront, making the process hassle-free. Scott's quote was incredibly reasonable—one of the lowest among the six quotes we received. Additionally, he offered fantastic deals to replace our old water valves.
We decided to hire them for both the water heater and valves replacement. They scheduled the water heater replacement within three days and completed the job in just four hours, including the installation of a 240V outlet. The team left the area spotless, with no trash left behind.
Although there was a minor miscommunication regarding the water valves replacement, they promptly returned within a day or two to complete the job. Replacing the old valves was a challenging task, but they handled every surprise with professionalism and without any additional cost. This speaks volumes about Scott and the company's integrity, honesty, and straightforward communication.
Straight Shooter Plumbing is a rare gem in the industry, and I wholeheartedly recommend them for their exceptional service and dedication to customer satisfaction.

Very satisfied with the job done. Very thorough and respectful of our time. Scott was honest about what was critical and what could wait. He took pictures of the troubled areas with a thorough explanation of each area. Chuck and Oscar did a great job of installation. They answered any questions that we had and did not hesitate to do what we asked. Upon my inspection all work looked professionally done. ✅

Praise be to Adrian! This company is AMAZING. My AC unit suddenly stopped working and has been down for almost two weeks while I was trying to find a trustworthy company. I changed out the filter and cleaned some of the dust out thinking that would do something but that did nothing. I found Straight Shooter and called them to come out for an inspection free of charge just to better understand what I’m dealing with. Adrian Chavez was my technician. He came out and within 4 minutes already knew the problem. Talk about being a professional! He told me the system was clogged in two different areas and he’d send a quote and we could move forward from there. The quote was in my opinion extremely flexible for them and worked perfectly in my budget. He showed up today and did an extensive cleaning, welding and even taught me a good amount of knowledge regarding my AC unit. When I tell you this guy knows his job I’m serious. By the time he was done my air conditioning worked wonders. It hasn’t felt this powerful and cold since 2016 when I got my house. This company is absolutely LEGIT the name Straight Shooter is perfect because they don’t mess around and skip over the hassle of other companies. Definitely recommend giving them a call if you have a problem!

Aaron worked with us to find the right fit for our needs, unlike other places who wouldn’t listen and just tried to sell me the most expensive thing they could. Kenneth and Oscar came on a Friday and worked all day to get everything installed and working perfectly in one day.

Straight shooter previously repaired my old ac unit to get us by when every other company claimed they couldn’t. If you want honesty use this company.

Excellent experience. Nick and his partner J (Jordan?) we're both very professional and knowledgeable. I have had my system repaired by two other companies and did not receive the kind of service I got from Straight Shooter. Nick was informative with the issues of my system without any pushy sales routines. I'll definitely be going to them when it's time for a new system.

The company and its employees lived up to the name "straight shooters" at every step of installation of AC unit at my house. The quotation provided by Michal(VP) was the most competitive price which no other vendor matched. Eric, Ozzy and Oscar who executed the installation did impeccable job and extremely efficiently.

I highly recommend them.

Carlos was very friendly and helpful with selecting a new furnance. Dillion and Ray did an excellent job. My furnace needed to be replaced but my A/C didn't. Everyone was very professional.