Approximately three years ago, Mid-Florida Heating and Air customer Jimmy Anuszewski experienced an all-too-familiar scenario to many Florida families when his home air conditioning system stopped blowing cold air in the heat of summer. He called Mid-Florida Heating and Air to diagnose the problem.
“After going through the attic and examining everything, they showed me the exact problems and laid out my options. Basically, we could Band-Aid the problem and have potentially more issues down the road, or we could have a new system installed,” Anuszewski said.
“My wife and I decided a new system would be better. They gave us several options that would benefit us, all based on the size of our house, our needs and how we could benefit from each option. We picked the system we felt was right, and they proceeded to install it with no problems.”
A year later, Anuszewski learned just how comprehensive Mid-Florida’s level of service could be. During a routine inspection of his home, Mid-Florida’s technicians noticed mold growing in the Anuszewski’s air handler.
“We knew immediately that we had to have that taken care of along with any other preventive tools they recommended,” Anuszewski said. “We could have opted in for this service when the system was installed so we learned a valuable lesson to listen to the experts at Mid-Florida.”
Mid-Florida went through their complete air duct system, made sure there were no leaks, cleaned all the ducts and vents, installed a UV light and did everything else to prevent mildew.
“Mid-Florida treats you like a family, and I’ve even become friends with some of the employees,” Anuszewski said. “Mid-Florida has good people that provide good service and a family atmosphere. I’ve come to know (vice president) Travis Lyons as a friend, and not only is he knowledgeable about his business and craft, but from what I can tell, he treats his employees like his family. That’s a class act.”
Anyone who has lived in the Gainesville and the North Florida community has seen the orange trucks driving around that belong to family-owned Mid-Florida Heating and Air. Mid-Florida is family built, grown and operated and has been committed to a personalized level of customer service since 1983.
In fact, the company’s slogan — “Building Customers for Life Since 1983” — can be directly tied to the history of the company. When Kevin Lyons founded Mid-Florida, the company primarily provided heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to new construction in the area. After 10 years, the company decided to shift its business model because it couldn’t keep up with the growing maintenance demands of its customers with units already installed in the early years of new construction.
It was this shift to focusing on the needs of its customers that drove the heart of the business and continues today, said Travis Lyons, son of company founder Kevin Lyons.
Travis was born and raised in Greater Gainesville, and he takes pride in the culture established at Mid-Florida Heating and Air. The next generation will continue to grow the company.
“We pride ourselves on always striving for three main wins — for our customers, our team members and our company — in that order,” Travis said.
“Many of the HVAC business standards we see in our community now originated with Mid-Florida Heating and Air. The 24-hour, seven-day-a-week original flat diagnostic rate was ours first. We don’t charge overtime, and we don’t charge per visit. We charge our customers once and do whatever we need to do to get the job done.
“We know that our business is not just based on HVAC; it’s about establishing and ensuring our customers’ trust and satisfaction.”
Since its beginning, the company has grown and evolved into a full-service HVAC, energy conservation company, capable of handling a wide variety of installation, service and repair jobs.
Mid-Florida Heating and Air has installed more than 59,000 heating and air conditioning systems and serviced more than 260,000. It provides heating and air conditioning service to Gainesville, High Springs, Newberry, Alachua, Hawthorne, Ocala, Summerfield, Belleview, The Villages, Lady Lake and all surrounding areas in Central Florida.
Opening its third location in the Villages in May enabled Mid-Florida to expand its coverage area and recruit and employ team members from more diverse areas.
The company’s growth in territory has not meant a sacrifice in service; its only expanded its level of commitment to customers, Lyons said. What makes Mid-Florida different is that with each customer visit, the company’s technicians do not just look for a quick Band-Aid. They offer customized solutions with a whole home approach.
“From our perspective, we see air, insulation and ventilation as the three legs of the HVAC home performance stool,” Lyons said. “So, when we go to a customer’s home or business, we go in with an unbiased approach and evaluate and audit the system as a whole.”
Mid-Florida is not only committed to service but also to the most modern and efficient operations. Its free energy audits provide customers with a no-obligation evaluation of their home system.
The company has teamed with the Building Performance Institute (BPI) to ensure that its team members know the latest about energy-saving techniques and products.
Technicians who have been trained, tested and certified to these nationally recognized standards work to improve the performance of existing homes. This has been an approach proven to reduce homeowner annual utility bills by as much as 20 percent.
“At Mid-Florida, we understand that, especially in Florida, things are going to go wrong, and we understand the level of urgency that goes along with that,” Kevin said. “So, along with our 24/7 flat fee approach to fix urgent problems, we also want to take as much time as we can to prevent them.”
“By conducting a thorough examination of energy usage at your home, we can listen to your concerns about rooms that are too hot or drafty and check things like your system’s efficiency, air leakage and humidity. Every audit will include an estimate of how much you can expect to save, allowing you to figure out the return on your energy investment.”
What makes Mid-Florida’s energy audit unique as a heating and
air conditioning contractor is technicians are educated on the whole-home approach, which is not just the heating and cooling system (equipment and ductwork) alone.
“We are able to identify inefficiencies in the home with various technologies like blower door and duct testing, infrared imaging, telescopic imaging and the most up-to-date load calculations available to solve comfort and energy concerns.
“We apply our experience to residential and commercial buildings. Not only can we identify the energy problems and comfort concerns, but we offer all the upgrades to correct them,” Lyons said.
As a leader of Mid-Florida Heating and Air, Kevin knows that simply following the trends in the industry isn’t enough. The company has built itself on staying ahead of the curve to have the highest level of expertise in the area and the state to ensure its customers are receiving the most knowledgeable level of service to save time and money.
In, Travis was elected president of Gainesville Air Conditioning Contractors Association (GACCA), and in 2017 he was named to the Board of Directors of Florida Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Contractors Association (FRACCA).
“GACCA was influential with its recommendation to the City of Gainesville on implementing virtual inspection processes to help with the shortage of qualified field inspectors,” Travis said.
“While increasing the productivity of the field inspectors currently performing commercial and residential inspections, we want to help all parties involved.”
Committed to innovation, Mid-Florida was the first HVAC company in town to provide duct cleanings and source removals in the mid-1990s. It is currently the only Aeroseal dealer in the Gainesville market, employing a process that seals ductwork from the inside out and provides energy-saving, allergen-reducing technology to the HVAC system.
“Fifteen percent of a new home’s heating and air can be wasted on duct loss with current standards, and for an older home, most average a 25 to 30 percent energy leak,” Lyons said. “Our state-of-the-art Aeroseal process has been shown to reduce energy leakage to as low as 2 percent. That’s a huge energy and cost savings to our customers for heating and cooling.”
Craig Mikell, agency manager at Alachua Farm Bureau Insurance, has been a Mid-Florida customer for both his home and business for 25 years for a two simple reasons: dependability and consistency.
“They show up when I need them and when they say they will,” Mikell said. “Their technicians are professional and thorough, and they fix the problems, plain and simple.
“These types of issues never happen when it’s convenient. They happen on weekends and nights and after hours. It’s comforting to know that at Mid-Florida Heating and Air, they will always respond and provide excellent service.”
As a family-owned business, Mid-Florida shows the same level of responsibility and and commitment to their employees.
For Mid-Florida Heating and Air, the tradition of excellence and commitment to its customers and employees continues to inspire their business’s future.
“We are proud to be here as long as we have been and proud that we are here to stay,” Kevin said. “Whether its modern technology or tried-and-true standards, we are committed to always finding the best practices. “Mid-Florida Heating and Air will never waver from our true mission — ensuring low-cost, quality products and service for families and businesses throughout our service area. Our customers and our communities are our friends, and we are always loyal to their needs.”