Tempstar® Elite Dealer
The highest factory rating Tempstar awards. Reserved for installers who’ve proven skill and customer service over the long haul — and it’s why we can offer the 10-Year Labor Warranty.
About Advance
Family-owned. Locally-known. Built on doing it right.
Benton Young started Advance Heating & Air in 1986 with one truck and a simple rule: do the work like it’s going in your own house. Almost four decades later, we’re on the second generation of techs — and the rule hasn’t changed.
Our Story
Four decades. Two generations. One promise.
Benton Young started out in the heating and air conditioning industry over 40 years ago as a duct installer. He then moved up to a service technician, eventually buying out two partners and founding Advance Heating & Air, Inc. in 1999.
Serving neighbors in and around Sumter, the work spoke for itself — clean installs, honest diagnoses, and a phone number that always reached an actual person. The customer base grew the way trust grows: one referral at a time. The company has earned the Tempstar® Elite Dealer designation — Tempstar’s highest factory rating, reserved for installers who’ve proven their skill and customer service over time. Today, Advance is going on its second generation of service technicians, every one trained as an installer first so they understand how the systems they’re diagnosing should have been put in. We’re still based on Warehouse Blvd. We still answer the phone in person. And we still measure success by whether the customer would call us back.
Read what our customers say →
Tempstar® Elite Dealer
NATE-Certified Technicians
10-Year Labor Warranty
Our Process
How we approach every single job.
Repair, install, tune-up — the steps don't change. They're the reason we still hear from customers we served 20 years ago.
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01
Listen first
Before we diagnose anything, we hear what the customer noticed, when it started, and what they’ve already tried.
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02
Diagnose, don't guess
Every call gets actual measurements and tests. We name the root cause, not just the symptom.
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03
Honest options in writing
Repair price, alternative paths, and our recommendation — before any work happens.
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04
Clean work, respected home
Floor protection, tidy worksites, no torn-up landscaping. We treat your home like our own.
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05
Stand behind it
Workmanship guarantees, warranty registration, and a follow-up to make sure it stuck.
Meet The Team
The people who actually show up.
Founders, technicians, dispatchers, and the office crew that makes the whole thing run. Real headshots and bios drop in here as the client provides them — until then, the silhouettes mark where each card lands.
Founder · Since 1986
Benton Young.
"We hire people we plan on keeping. The math has worked for almost forty years."
Benton started Advance Heating & Air in 1986 with one truck and a clear standard: do the work like it's going in your own house. The company is on its second generation of technicians, and most of the people answering the phone or pulling into your driveway have been here for at least a decade.
2gen
Of service technicians
100%
NATE-certified field techs
38+ yrs
Family ownership
10+ yr
Average tenure on the crew
Service Technicians
NATE-certified field techs who diagnose and repair every major HVAC brand. Each one started as an installer first, so they understand how the systems they're repairing should have been put in.
Install Crew
Mitsubishi-trained for ductless work, Tempstar-certified on residential and light commercial. They handle the install-day work — line sets, ductwork, gas piping, commissioning.
Service Manager
Routes dispatch, handles the trickier diagnostic calls, and owns the long-term customer relationships that make the maintenance plan work.
Office & Dispatch
The voice you hear when you call. Schedules visits, sends confirmations, follows up after every job, and keeps the trucks moving.
Real headshots and individual bios will replace these descriptions when client photography is ready. The structure stays — names and faces drop in.
Credentials & Affiliations
The paperwork that backs up the promise.
Anyone can call themselves an HVAC company. Here's what we've actually earned — and what each one means for you when we show up.
NATE-Certified Technicians
North American Technician Excellence is the industry’s gold standard for HVAC technician knowledge. Every Advance tech earns and maintains certification.
Mitsubishi-Trained Installer
Authorized to install and warranty-service Mitsubishi ductless and multi-zone systems — the category leader for mini-splits.
EPA Section 608 Certified
Federally required for anyone handling refrigerants. Confirms our techs are licensed to recover, recycle, and dispose of refrigerant safely and legally.
SC State Mechanical License
Licensed by the State of South Carolina as an independent mechanical contractor — meaning we’re permitted to install and service nearly all heating and cooling equipment.
Family-Owned & Operated
Not a credential on paper — but the most important one anyway. The owner answers the phone. The same techs return on the next call. No franchise call center in the middle.
Frequently Asked
About the company, the team, and what we do.
Are you really family-owned, or is “family” just marketing?
Genuinely family-owned and going on the second generation of technicians who grew up around the business. We’re not a franchise, not part of a roll-up, not owned by private equity. The owner answers the phone. The same techs return for the next call.
Do you only install Tempstar systems?
No. We’re a Tempstar® Elite Dealer because we install and service a lot of Tempstar — but we work on every major brand: Carrier, Trane, Lennox, Goodman, Rheem, Ruud, York, Amana, Mitsubishi, Daikin, Fujitsu, Bryant, Heil, Comfortmaker, Payne, and the rest. Repairs are brand-agnostic; installations we’ll recommend based on what’s right for your home.
How long has Advance Heating & Air been in business?
Since 1986 — nearly four decades. Benton Young founded the company in Sumter and built it from a one-truck operation to a Tempstar® Elite Dealer with a full crew of NATE-certified technicians.
What areas do you serve?
Sumter and the surrounding communities — Dalzell, Manning, Camden, Mayesville, Pinewood, Rembert, Shaw AFB, Summerton, Wedgefield, and the rural addresses in between. See the full service area map →
What does “Tempstar® Elite Dealer” actually mean?
It’s Tempstar’s highest dealer designation — earned by installers who meet strict standards for technical proficiency, ongoing training, and customer satisfaction over time. Practically, it means we have direct factory support, can offer Tempstar’s extended warranties (including the 10-Year Labor Warranty), and stay current on every new product they release.
What’s NATE certification?
North American Technician Excellence (NATE) is the largest non-profit technician certification in the HVAC industry. NATE-certified techs have passed rigorous exams covering theory, diagnostics, and installation practices — and they have to recertify periodically to stay current.
It’s the industry standard for proving a tech actually knows what they’re doing.
Ready when you are
A team that means it. Just a call away.
Whether it’s a quick repair, a tune-up, or a full system replacement, you’ll get the same Advance approach — listen, diagnose, options, do it right, stand behind it.