There are advantages to installing equipment yourself, and there are advantages to hiring a contractor to install it for you. When making your decision between the two, consider :

Do-it-Yourself - Advantages  

• Save hundreds or even thousands of dollars    
• Quality of workmanship known
• Personal satisfaction of completing
  your own home project

Contractor - Advantages

• Labor warranty provided by contractor
• Professional installation
• Someone else does the work

If you have a basic set of tools and you are comfortable performing mechanical home projects, you will likely find installing most of the hundreds of equipment items sold on our site a straightforward job.

To assist you, air conditioning kits, condensing units, and split-system heat pumps include a free one hour installation DVD. You can view a 4 minute sample video online. Or, see our online Step-by-Step Air Conditioning Installation Guide. All products include manufacturer’s printed installation instructions. And our friendly staff of customer consultants will gladly answer any of your installation questions before or after your purchase.

The two exceptions to installing equipment yourself are:

1. Furnaces – For safety reasons, have a professional install a furnace for you. Please click to read an important notice  about this.   We will help you find a contractor in your area to perform this work by personally contacting ten of them on your behalf after you make your equipment purchase. (To learn more about contractor assistance, please click here: Contractor Assistance.)
2. Last 10% of central air conditioning and split-system heat pumps -If you choose to install this equipment yourself, the work consists of two primary parts: what you can do on your own, which is about 90% of the project, and what your local heating and air conditioning contractor should do for you.  Due to laws pertaining to handling of Freon (R-22 refrigerant), as well as special tools needed, the completion of the project is to be done by an air conditioning professional.  For more information on handling refrigerant, please click here.   Assistance from a contractor for this equipment will cost you on average about $100 to $300 depending on the extent of the work that remains and local labor costs.  We will help you find a contractor in your area to perform this work by personally contacting ten of them on your behalf after you make your equipment purchase. (To learn more about contractor assistance, please click here: Contractor Assistance.)

The bulk of the work, though, can be done by you, which translates into significant savings. This also typically ensures the job will be done as carefully (if not more so) than if it were done by a professional, since homeowners tend to take special care of their own home projects.

In conclusion, you have several money-saving options, depending on the equipment you buy and your own preferences. Buy direct from Alpine and your choices are:

• Have a contractor do the complete installation
• Have a contractor finish your installation
• Have a contractor inspect and start up your self-installation
• Perform the entire installation yourself

For whichever option you choose, though, when you buy direct from Alpine you can save hundreds or thousands of dollars on your heating and cooling equipment purchase and installation.

Notice to Texans