Kansas City runs both extremes. A rooftop unit that coasted through a mild May will be pulling full load by the second week of July, and the same equipment gets asked to hold 68 degrees through a January cold snap. Commercial HVAC here fails at the shoulder seasons and the peaks.
CEI has serviced commercial heating and cooling across the metro since 1985. We work on rooftop units, split systems, makeup air, and the controls that tie them together.
Commercial air conditioning
Most of what we service on the cooling side is packaged rooftop equipment. Common calls:
– Compressor and condenser failures
– Contactor, capacitor, and control board replacement
– Evaporator and condenser coil cleaning
– Refrigerant leak detection and repair
– TXV and metering device issues
– Economizer and damper actuator repair
– Belt, bearing, and blower motor replacement
– Full RTU replacement, including the lift and curb work
We handle refrigerant under EPA rules, and our techs carry A2L certification for the low-GWP refrigerants now replacing R-410A in new equipment. If you are running a mixed fleet of older R-22 or R-404A equipment alongside newer systems, we can tell you which units are worth repairing and which are worth replacing rather than chasing leaks.
Rooftop unit replacement
An RTU swap is a multi-trade job. Disconnect, refrigerant recovery, lift, curb adaptation, roof membrane repair around the curb, gas and condensate reconnection, wiring, charge, and commissioning.
Because CEI holds electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and roofing capability under one roof, we run the whole sequence with one crew lead and one schedule instead of coordinating four vendors.
Commercial heating
On the heating side we service gas-fired rooftop units, unit heaters, infrared tube heaters in warehouses and shops, boilers and hydronic systems, and makeup air units.
Typical calls:
– Ignition and flame sensor failures
– Gas valve and pressure switch replacement
– Heat exchanger inspection and cracked exchanger diagnosis
– Inducer motor replacement
– Thermostat and control failures
– Combustion air and venting corrections
Heat exchanger cracks are the one we get called on most in October, and they are the one worth catching early — a cracked exchanger is a combustion products problem, not just an efficiency problem.
Preventive maintenance
Most of our HVAC accounts run on a maintenance schedule rather than break-fix. A typical commercial program includes filter changes, coil cleaning, belt and bearing inspection, refrigerant charge verification, electrical connection tightening, condensate line clearing, and combustion analysis on gas equipment before heating season.
The economics are straightforward. A belt costs a few dollars. The overtime call when it snaps during dinner service does not.
Buildings we service
Restaurants and commercial kitchens, retail and strip centers, warehouses and distribution, medical and dental offices, schools and churches, apartment and multifamily properties, and office buildings across the Kansas City metro.
Frequently asked questions
Do you offer 24/7 emergency HVAC service?
Yes. Our dispatch line is staffed around the clock at 816-221-0006, and calls are routed to the on-call HVAC technician rather than a general answering service.
Should I repair or replace a rooftop unit?
It depends on age, refrigerant type, and what failed. A ten-year-old unit with a bad contactor is a repair. A eighteen-year-old R-22 unit with a failed compressor is usually a replacement, because the refrigerant is expensive and scarce and the next failure is not far behind. We will give you the number both ways.
What is A2L refrigerant and does it affect my equipment?
A2L refrigerants like R-454B and R-32 are the lower-GWP replacements now appearing in new commercial equipment. They are mildly flammable, which changes handling, leak detection, and service requirements. Existing R-410A equipment is unaffected, but new installations and any technician servicing them need A2L training. Ours have it.
Can you service equipment you didn’t install?
Yes. Most of our accounts came to us with equipment already in place from other contractors.
How often should commercial HVAC be serviced?
Twice a year is the common baseline — once before cooling season and once before heating season. Kitchens, buildings with heavy grease loading, and equipment running extended hours generally need quarterly attention.