Company Facts
Empire Heating & Air Conditioning at a Glance
The work
- Best for
- replacing or repairing aging systems in older intown Atlanta and Decatur homes
- Primary service
- HVAC
Where
- Headquarters
- Atlanta, GA
- Service area
- 2 cities
- Emergency service
- Business hours only
Money and guarantees
- Free estimates
- Not advertised
- Financing
- Not advertised
Editorial Review
Our Take on Empire Heating & Air Conditioning
Four decades in one market and a 4.9 rating across more than a thousand Google reviews is about as solid a track record as an Atlanta HVAC company can show, and the Decatur base fits the older intown housing stock well. The one thing we would nail down first is after-hours cover, because the published hours stop at 5 PM on weekdays and midday Saturday, which is not much comfort during a July failure. Worth a call early in the season rather than mid-crisis.
Best for: replacing or repairing aging systems in older intown Atlanta and Decatur homes
What We Like
- 4.9 rating from 1,165 reviews on its Google Business Profile, read September 18, 2026
- Trading since 1985 from a Decatur base, per its own website
- Full range covered: AC, furnaces, heat pumps, ductless, zoning and ductwork
- Senior technicians described as NATE-certified, with background checks claimed
- Financing and a planned maintenance agreement both offered
- Light commercial installation and maintenance listed alongside residential
Things to Consider
- Published hours end at 5 PM weekdays with only a Saturday morning window and no Sunday listing, so confirm emergency cover
- Pricing, labour warranty terms and call-out fees are not published
- Service area is broad, so scheduling in outer suburbs may differ from intown response times
Google Reviews for Empire Heating & Air Conditioning
Customer ratings shown here come from Google. They are separate from our editorial review above.
Google rating
4.9
Based on 1165 Google reviews
Review data updated September 19, 2026
Rating Distribution
- 5 stars95%
- 4 stars2%
- 3 stars0%
- 2 stars1%
- 1 star2%
iAbout this distribution
The distribution reflects the 1165 Google reviews available when this profile's review data was last refreshed on September 19, 2026. Ratings and counts change continuously on Google, so figures here may lag the live profile slightly. We publish only the values returned by the source, never estimates for missing bands.
Recent Google Reviews
- Roy Rogers5.0Excellent work and great timing!!! :-) :-)September 2026Google
- Renee Haas5.0Amazed how responsive this company is. I asked for an expedited call because I had visitors. The technician arrived within 30 minutes, diagnosed the problem and had everything working in an hour. AmazingSeptember 2026Google
- Graham Kerr5.0Mr. Wilson completed the service call quickly and efficiently. He also gave me advice about how to keep the drain line clear. Thank you.September 2026Google
- Mike K1.0Stay away. Terrible experience. Had used them for a few years, was a repeat customer, and thought I could trust Empire. I was wrong. My AC unit was malfunctioning, and I scheduled myself to be their first appointment with arrival between 8am and 9am. 9am came and went, and no one from Empire contacted me. I contacted Empire and spoke with Mason, who informed me that they had erred and a technician would be at my house by 9:45am. 9:45am came and went, and no technician had arrived. I called Empire again and said that if they wanted to keep me as a customer, they now needed to do the project at cost. They had screwed up twice with a repeat customer and needed to make it right. They informed me that was not possible, and I canceled the job and went with a different provider. Awful customer service. I wouldn't be surprised if the Empire team responds to this review with a long response apologizing for their error but also defending their approach towards pricing. If you're a potential customer, take note of this. This is how you will be treated. Stay away.September 2026Google
- joseph mcnamara5.0Very efficient. Knew exactly what I needed and did it quickly.September 2026Google
- Marsha Durlin5.0Zeke was great—friendly, knowledgeable, efficient, and patient answering my questions. He spent a long time and clearly wanted to get it right. Zeke inspired confidence.August 2026Google
Editorial Ranking
Why Empire Heating & Air Conditioning Made Our Top 10
It holds position 5 in Best HVAC Companies in Atlanta, GA.
Services Offered
Areas Served
Based in Atlanta, GA.
- Atlanta, GA · HQ
- Decatur, GA
iAbout service coverage
Coverage is as the business describes it, cross-checked against where its recent documented work is. A company will often travel beyond the areas listed here for a large job and decline a small one at the same distance, so confirm your address before scheduling.
About Empire Heating & Air Conditioning
Atlanta's climate gives HVAC contractors a long, punishing cooling season and a short, awkward heating one. Systems run hard from May into October, then sit mostly idle until a January cold snap exposes whatever quietly failed over the summer. That pattern shapes the work here: condenser coils clogged with pollen and Georgia clay dust, condensate drains backing up in attic air handlers, refrigerant leaks that show up as a slow loss of capacity rather than an outright failure, and gas furnaces that have not been looked at since the last time it dipped below freezing. Empire heating air conditioning covers both ends of that cycle, along with heat pumps, which are common across metro Atlanta because the winters rarely justify a full gas furnace.
The service list runs from straightforward AC repair and furnace repair through to full installation and replacement, ductless mini split work, thermostats and zoning, ventilation, humidification, ductwork renovation and indoor air quality equipment. Commercial installation and commercial maintenance are listed separately, which suggests light commercial work sits alongside the residential side rather than being the main event. A planned maintenance agreement is offered, and financing is advertised on the site, which matters when a replacement system in this market can reach five figures.
Who does this suit? Homeowners in the intown neighbourhoods and the older inner suburbs are an obvious fit. Decatur, Druid Hills, Kirkwood, Grant Park, Virginia Highland and Morningside are full of houses built long before central air was standard, and the retrofits done in the 1970s and 1980s are now on their second or third system. Those jobs are rarely a simple swap. Undersized returns, duct runs through unconditioned crawl spaces, knob-and-tube era electrical panels and attics with no room to work all complicate the pricing. A company that has been operating out of Decatur since 1985 has almost certainly seen every version of that. The listed service area also reaches the northern suburbs, so Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, Roswell, Johns Creek and Duluth are covered too.
The published hours are worth reading carefully before you call. Weekdays are 8 AM to 5 PM, Saturday is a three-hour morning window, and Sunday shows as closed. Plenty of HVAC firms in the metro run after-hours dispatch that does not appear on their Google listing, and this one may as well, but the brief does not confirm it. If your compressor dies on a Saturday afternoon in July, ask directly about weekend and evening availability and what the call-out charge looks like outside normal hours. That single question separates a smooth week from a miserable one.
On evidence, the Google Business Profile shows 4.9 from 1,165 reviews as of September 18, 2026. A review count in the four figures is not something a company accumulates quickly, and the rating holding at that level across that volume says the routine service calls generally land well. The company's own claims are that senior technicians are NATE-certified, that employees are background checked, and that the team's combined experience exceeds 200 years. NATE certification is a real, third-party HVAC credential rather than an in-house badge, so it is reasonable to ask which technician is coming and whether they hold it.
Before signing anything on a replacement, ask for a written load calculation rather than a system sized off the old equipment, because oversized air conditioners in humid Atreplace air poorly and short-cycle. Ask what the manufacturer warranty covers, how long the labour warranty runs, and whether registration is handled for you, since unregistered equipment often drops to a shorter term. Ask whether the quote includes a new line set, pad, disconnect and condensate management, or whether those appear later as extras. On duct work, ask whether static pressure was measured. And ask who pulls the permit, because Decatur, DeKalb County and the City of Atlanta all handle mechanical permitting separately and an unpermitted changeout can surface awkwardly at resale.
Compared with the alternatives, metro Atlanta has three broad tiers: the large franchised outfits with heavy advertising and commission-based selling, small two-truck operations that are excellent but hard to book in a heat wave, and established mid-sized independents. Empire heating air conditioning reads as the third kind, long-established and locally rooted, with enough depth to handle installs and a maintenance programme, without the volume-sales feel of the national brands. Get a second quote on any full system replacement regardless. It is standard practice, and reputable contractors expect it.
iWhere this information comes from
Company history, ownership and capability details on this page are provided by the business and reviewed by our editors for plausibility and consistency. They are not the same as the credentials block, where each item carries its own verification status and source.
Credentials
- NATE Certification (senior technicians)NATEReported
iWhat verified means here
Verified means we checked the credential against the authority that issues it and recorded the date. Reported means the business told us and we could not independently confirm it. We publish both, labelled, rather than dropping what we could not check.
Reputation by Source
We show each source separately rather than blending them into a single score, because they measure different things.
Google
4.9/ 5
1165 customer reviews
TenBestFind
Editorially reviewed
Ranked #5 in Atlanta hvac, September 2026
Local Market Pricing
What Atlanta homeowners generally pay, independent of this company.
- AC replacement, existing ductwork
- $5,500–$9,500
- Heat pump replacement
- $7,500–$13,800
- Furnace replacement
- $3,500–$7,500
- Repair call
- $150–$600
Project Photos
Business-submitted, reviewed by our editors
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Empire Heating & Air Conditioning FAQs
What areas around Atlanta does Empire cover?
The greater Atlanta metro, based out of Decatur. Its site lists service areas including Decatur, Druid Hills, Avondale Estates, Kirkwood, Grant Park, East Atlanta, Inman Park, Virginia Highland, Midtown, Buckhead, Brookhaven, Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Tucker, Stone Mountain, Lilburn, Norcross, Duluth, Johns Creek, Suwanee and Roswell. If you are on the far edge of that list, confirm scheduling when you call.
Do they offer emergency or after-hours HVAC service?
The brief does not confirm it. Published hours are Monday to Friday 8 AM to 5 PM, Saturday 9 AM to 12 PM and closed Sunday. Many Atlanta HVAC firms run after-hours dispatch that is not reflected in listed hours, so ask on the phone about evening and weekend availability and what the out-of-hours call-out charge is before you need it.
How long has Empire Heating & Air Conditioning been in business?
Since 1985, according to its own website. That is roughly four decades in the same market, and the company also states that its team's combined HVAC experience exceeds 200 years. Longevity is not a guarantee of anything on a given job, but it does mean the crews have worked on the full spread of Atlanta housing stock.
Are the technicians certified?
The company says its senior technicians are NATE-certified and that technicians receive continuous training. NATE is an independent North American HVAC certification, so it is a meaningful credential rather than an internal title. It also states it performs employee background checks and operates a drug-free workplace. These are the company's own claims, so ask which technician is assigned to your job.
Is financing available for a new system?
Yes, financing is advertised on the company's website, along with special offers and a planned maintenance agreement. Terms, lenders and rates are not published in what we have seen, so treat it as a starting point for a conversation rather than a fixed offer, and ask what the total cost of credit works out to.
What should I ask before agreeing to a full system replacement?
Ask for a written load calculation, not a size copied from the old unit. Oversized air conditioners short-cycle and leave Atlanta's humidity in the house. Also confirm what the quote includes, such as line set, pad, electrical disconnect and condensate handling, plus the manufacturer warranty length, whether registration is done for you, the labour warranty period, and who pulls the mechanical permit with the relevant city or DeKalb County office.
How is the company rated?
It holds 4.9 from 1,165 reviews on its Google Business Profile, read on September 18, 2026. A review count that high takes years to build, and the rating staying at that level across that volume suggests routine service calls generally go well. Read a handful of the more recent reviews for the detail on scheduling and pricing.
Is Empire Heating & Air Conditioning licensed and insured?
We checked 0 of 1 credentials against the issuing authority. Verified items carry the date we checked; reported items are what the business told us and we could not independently confirm.
What areas does Empire Heating & Air Conditioning serve?
Atlanta, Decatur. Coverage is as the business describes it, cross-checked against where its recent documented work is. Confirm your address before scheduling, particularly at the edge of a service area.
Does Empire Heating & Air Conditioning offer emergency service?
Emergency availability is not listed for this company. If you need an urgent call-out, check the ranking for companies that do list it.
What warranty do they offer?
Warranty terms are not on file. Ask for them in writing before work starts.
How was this profile built?
Credentials come from issuing authorities, ratings from the company's Google Business Profile with the date we read them, and the editorial take from our own review of estimates, warranty documents and public feedback. Anything the business told us is labelled as reported.
Can a business pay to improve its profile?
A business can subscribe to manage its own listing details, and it can buy a labelled sponsored placement. Neither changes a ranking position or the editorial assessment on this page.
Is Something Incorrect?
Business information changes. Tell us about an address, phone, website, service area, credential or ownership change, or let us know if this company has closed.
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About This Business Profile
- Last reviewed
- September 2026
- Profile last updated
- September 19, 2026
- Google review data updated
- September 19, 2026
- Sources checked
- Issuing authorities, Google Business Profile, Company website
- Sponsorship status
- No commercial relationship