Furnace & heating
AC repair
Heat pumps
Ductless mini splits
Carrier
Trane
GoodmanSeasonal tune-up and full diagnostic on your Carrier, Trane, or Goodman system - readings shown to you before any repair is proposed
Diagnosis first, numbers second - you approve the repair price before a single part goes in.
Get your free estimateFast, Reliable AC Installation Across San Antonio
AC installation in San Antonio typically runs $3,500 – $7,500 for a complete system, and most families can get a written quote within 24 hours. The brutal combination of 100°F summers and high humidity means you’re not shopping for a luxury here, you’re securing the room where your kids sleep and your dog hides from the heat. Our crews know San Antonio’s older homes, its clay soil, and its cranky ductwork. If your system is struggling, call (254) 271-2545 and a live person answers, day or night.
Why Meadowsweet Heating and Air San Antonio Is San Antonio’s Preferred AC Installation Company
We’re part of the Cedarwell family of HVAC companies, built since 2004 around one non-negotiable promise: a written price before any work starts. Not a verbal range. Not a “we’ll see when we get in there.” A written number you can hold. Led by Luis Serrano, our San Antonio team works across nine equipment brands and backs every installation with the 365-Day Done Right Promise. That means if something isn’t done right, we make it right. No runarounds, no fine print.
San Antonio homeowners tell us the same thing after every visit: the crew left the house cleaner than they found it. That’s not accidental. Our technicians follow the C.A.R.E. values code, Clean up like it’s their own home, Ask before moving anything, Respect the family’s time and quiet hours, Explain the price before the work. Shoe covers and drop cloths go down before any tools come out. Before the crew leaves, you get a photo of the clean-up. Every job, included. Not an upsell.
We answer the phone 24/7. A live person, not a voicemail queue. When your AC dies on a Sunday in August and the house hits 90°F by noon, you don’t need a callback. You need a schedule. We coordinate dispatch from our San Antonio office and send background-checked, uniformed technicians to every corner of the city, from Monte Vista to Stone Oak.
Styles & brands we work with
Ductless Mini Split Installation in San Antonio
Ductless Mini Split Installation in San Antonio is the right move when a home’s original ductwork has been compromised by age, rodents, or foundation movement. Older bungalows in neighborhoods like Alta Vista and Beacon Hill often have crawlspace ducts that leak 20 – 30% of conditioned air before it reaches a single vent. A ductless system skips that problem entirely. We mount a slim indoor unit on the wall, connect it to an outdoor condenser through a small three-inch opening, and you get zoned cooling without touching a single duct.
What you’ll pay for a ductless system in San Antonio falls in the same $3,500 – $7,500 range as a conventional install, depending on how many indoor heads you need. A single-zone setup for a hot back bedroom or a converted garage apartment runs toward the lower end. A four-zone system covering a whole 1950s ranch house lands higher.
When a Ductless System Makes Sense
We often recommend ductless for San Antonio homes with pier-and-beam foundations, where shifting clay soil has separated duct runs from their boots. Rather than tearing out and resealing an entire crawlspace network, you can isolate the problem rooms and cool them directly. It’s also the cleanest option for bonus rooms, sunrooms, and garages converted into home offices.
What the Installation Actually Looks Like
The outdoor unit sits on a small pad or wall bracket, and the indoor head mounts high on a wall, out of the path of kids and pets. Refrigerant lines run through a slim conduit we can paint to match the exterior. We run a dedicated electrical circuit, set the condensate drain, and test everything before we leave. Most San Antonio installs take one day.
AC Replacement in San Antonio
AC Replacement in San Antonio is rarely a simple like-for-like swap, and that’s the biggest mistake we see homeowners make. You could pull out a 1995 Goodman and drop in a new 3-ton unit in the same spot, but if the original ductwork is undersized or leaking, you’ve just spent $5,000 for the same hot spots and the same short-cycling. A proper replacement starts with a load calculation and a hard look at the ducts. Then we match the equipment to the house, not the other way around.
A full AC replacement in San Antonio runs $3,500 – $7,500. That’s the honest range. The final number depends on tonnage, efficiency, whether the ducts need sealing or replacement, and whether your electrical panel can handle the new draw. We’ll give you the written number before any work starts.
Why a Load Calculation Changes the Quote
In San Antonio’s older homes, the original system was often oversized by a full ton or more. The thinking was “bigger is better,” but an oversized unit cools the air fast and shuts off before it removes humidity. You get a cold, clammy house and a blower motor that burns out early. A Manual J load calculation uses square footage, ceiling height, window orientation, insulation, and even tree cover to right-size the system. It takes about an hour, and it’s included in our estimate.
Replacement Without the Mess
We know what a full system swap means in a lived-in house: the crew has to get into the attic or crawlspace, the old unit has to come out without scraping your door frames, and there’s a window of time when your house has no cooling at all. We schedule replacements in the morning when possible, lay drop cloths on every interior path, and clean up before we leave. You get a photo of the finished site. The 365-Day Done Right Promise means we stand behind the whole job, not just the equipment.
Trusted Brands We Service in San Antonio
Our technicians are qualified to service equipment from nine major brands, and when you’re replacing a system in San Antonio, we’ll help you choose from the ones that hold up best in this climate. Goodman and Rheem are two we frequently install because their mid-range heat pumps deliver strong SEER ratings at a fairer price point. For homes with humidity control needs, a variable-speed Daikin or York system often makes more sense. We keep common replacement parts in local stock for San Antonio customers, which means a failed capacitor or contactor doesn’t turn into a three-day wait. If you have a brand preference, we’ll tell you honestly whether it fits the house, the budget, and the ductwork. AC Installation is what we do.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterCommon AC Installation Problems We See in San Antonio Homes
- Undersized or leaky original ductwork. In pre-1980s homes around Monte Vista and Alta Vista, we regularly find duct runs that have pulled apart at the boots, leaking cooled air into crawlspaces and attics. Putting a new high-efficiency unit on those ducts is like buying new tires for a car with a bent axle.
- Wrong tonnage from a like-for-like swap. Foundation movement in San Antonio’s clay soil shifts walls and floors over decades, changing the effective volume of a room. A load calculation run on the current footprint, not the original floorplan, catches this before you spend thousands on the wrong size.
- Electrical panels that can’t handle a modern heat pump. Many 1960s through 1980s homes in San Antonio still run on 100-amp service. A new variable-speed system draws more at startup, and the panel may not support the dedicated circuit you need. We check this during the estimate, not after the unit arrives.
- Condenser coils choked with live oak leaves. San Antonio’s live oaks drop leaves and pollen from March through May, and the debris packs into the outdoor coil fins. On installs, we position the condenser where it gets adequate airflow and recommend a simple seasonal rinse schedule you can do with a garden hose.
Pricing for AC Installation in San Antonio, TX
Here’s what you can expect to budget for a new system in San Antonio. These are the real numbers we quote, not a teaser range designed to get you on the phone.
| Service | San Antonio Price Range |
|---|---|
| AC Installation | $3,500 – $7,500 |
| AC Replacement | $3,500 – $7,500 |
| Ductless Mini Split Installation | $3,500 – $7,500 |
| AC Repair | $150 – $650 |
| Furnace Repair | $150 – $700 |
| Tune-Up | $80 – $200 |
What moves the number within that range? Efficiency level, tonnage, ductwork condition, and any electrical panel work. A 2-ton single-stage replacement in a well-sealed 1990s home lands near the bottom. A 5-ton variable-speed system with a new ducted return and a panel upgrade in a 1930s Monte Vista bungalow lands near the top. You’ll know your exact number before anything is ordered. Estimates are free, and the price we write is the price you pay.
We Also Serve Cities Near San Antonio
Our crews regularly run installations in Converse, Universal City, and New Braunfels, where the same clay soil and summer heat shape the work. If you’re just outside the city limits, you still get the same written price, the same C.A.R.E. values, and the same 365-Day Done Right Promise. AC Installation in San Antonio is what we do best, and we extend that standard to the surrounding communities.
Serving San Antonio, TX - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Antonio area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About AC Installation in San Antonio
A load calculation is non-negotiable in San Antonio because the city’s older housing stock was rarely sized correctly to begin with, and decades of foundation movement on clay soil have changed the real heating and cooling loads. The calculation measures your home’s actual square footage, ceiling height, window area, insulation, and orientation to determine the right tonnage. Skipping it is how you end up with a system that short-cycles in July and leaves rooms five degrees warmer than the thermostat says. We include a Manual J calculation with every estimate, and it takes about an hour. Call (254) 271-2545 for an exact quote, it’s free.
Sometimes, but not always. Many San Antonio homes built between 1960 and 1985 still have 100-amp electrical service, and a modern high-efficiency heat pump with a variable-speed compressor can draw more current than the panel was designed to deliver. We check the panel size, the breaker space, and the wire gauge during the estimate. If an upgrade is needed, we’ll tell you the exact cost before you commit to equipment. Some installs get by with a dedicated circuit and no panel replacement. The only way to know is a site visit.
In most Monte Vista and Alta Vista homes from the 1920s – 1940s, yes, or at minimum the ducts should be tested and sealed. The original crawlspace ducts in those houses have often pulled apart at the boots due to foundation settling, and the seams leak enough air to wipe out the efficiency gains of any new system. In Monte Vista, our crew replaced a 1990s Goodman unit in a 1930s bungalow whose original ducts had separated at the boots. We ran a static pressure test, sealed the trunk with mastic, and installed a 3-ton variable-speed heat pump with a new ducted return. The homeowner finally holds 72°F in every room. A duct inspection is part of our replacement estimate, and we’ll show you the leakage numbers before recommending any work.
A heat pump both cools and heats, which makes it a practical choice for San Antonio homes where winter lows dip into the 30s but rarely stay there for long. Traditional AC units cool only and require a separate furnace for heat. A heat pump uses the same refrigerant cycle in reverse to pull heat from outdoor air, and modern units work efficiently down to around 25°F, which covers almost all San Antonio winter weather. If your home has an old furnace you’re also thinking about replacing, bundling a heat pump into the install can save you a separate replacement down the line. We’ll quote both options and explain the difference on your actual utility bill, not just in theory.
San Antonio’s expansive clay soils and limestone bedrock cause foundation movement that shifts duct connections, stresses refrigerant lines, and can even tilt an outdoor condenser pad out of level. This movement is constant, seasonal, and far more pronounced in San Antonio than in Austin or Houston, which sit on different geology. A crew that doesn’t understand this will install a unit, check it once, and leave. Our installers check duct connections for separation, route refrigerant lines with flex loops where movement is likely, and set condenser pads with leveling adjustments that can be corrected as the ground shifts. It’s not dramatic work, but it’s the difference between a system that lasts 12 years and one that leaks refrigerant every other summer. Call us at (254) 271-2545 to schedule your estimate.
Written by Luis Serrano, Owner at Meadowsweet Heating and Air San Antonio, serving San Antonio homes with the Cedarwell Care Promise.