Action Air Conditioning is a family-owned heating and air conditioning company that has served the Tampa Bay area since 1988. Built on the motto “Honesty, Integrity and Reliability is what we stand for,” we install and service all major HVAC brands, hold Florida license CAC042730, and are proud to be a Lennox Premier Dealer.
From our shop at 8926 N Armenia Ave in Tampa, our team serves homeowners on both sides of the bay: Hillsborough County at (813) 935-6644 and Pinellas and Pasco counties at (727) 545-9998.
Who Is Action Air Conditioning?
David Russell founded Action Air Conditioning in 1988 the way a lot of real Tampa businesses get started: on a credit card, out of the house, with his wife Susan answering the phone while holding their daughter. Dave sold the jobs, ran the service calls, and did the installs himself, reachable by pager and a pocket full of quarters. He still keeps a display case of those old pagers and early flip phones at the shop, and he uses it with new hires to make a simple point: the technology keeps changing, but talking straight with people never goes out of date.
The craft behind the company goes back further than the company itself. Dave started in air conditioning in 1974 as a high school student in Key West, bused to the Navy base where retired Navy instructors taught the trade. By 1979 he was working for one of Tampa’s largest air conditioning companies, where a mentor named Wayne English put him in charge of four crews and taught him how to run a company within a company. In the early 1990s, Frank Lipp, a Tampa Bay equipment dealer roughly forty years Dave’s senior who had worked alongside a business partner of Willis Carrier, the inventor of modern air conditioning, took the young company under his wing and eventually moved Action Air into his own building. His mentorship helped Action Air grow and prosper.
In 1993, David made the decision to sell only energy-efficient systems that carried strong manufacturer warranties. Business has quadrupled since that commitment, and Action Air has earned numerous awards and national recognition for outstanding performance, including the Lennox Centennial Award, which places the company among the top 100 Lennox dealers in America and is judged on customer satisfaction, not sales volume. Nearly four decades on, the company remains one of the most established HVAC dealers on Florida’s West Coast.
Who Runs Action Air Today?
Dave’s son Christopher Russell runs the company day to day, and he did not inherit a desk. He grew up riding along to job sites, then spent high school summers cleaning the warehouse and doing every entry-level job in the building before earning his way into the trade. Today Christopher is a licensed mechanical contractor and licensed plumbing contractor, and he is currently working toward his electrical license. Every Tuesday morning he runs a short team meeting so every coworker knows what is going on in the company and the industry.
When Dave bought the current Armenia Avenue building in the early 2000s, he made the decision only after asking Christopher, then about twelve years old, whether he wanted to take over the business someday. Christopher said yes. That is why Action Air is still family-owned while so many Tampa Bay AC companies have been sold to corporate buyers, and why the plan is a third generation, not a sale.
What Do We Believe?
Quality before price, from day one. Our long-standing rule is customer first, coworker second, owner third, and all three have to win on every job. We are honest about what that means: we are never the cheapest bid in Tampa Bay and we do not try to be. We compete on doing the job right, standing behind it, and answering the phone the next time you call.
Longevity is part of the proof. Action Air has operated through every downturn since 1988, including the 2007 to 2008 crash that closed a large share of the industry, and in all that time the company has never missed payroll or borrowed money to keep the doors open. When the owners hold the licenses and sign the work, stability is not an accident.
Why Do Tampa Bay Homeowners Choose a Family-Owned Company?
Because with a family-owned company, the people who set the standards are the same people whose name rides on the truck. Both owners hold their own qualifying licenses, which means the person accountable for your job is a person who actually knows how to fix it, and you can reach us directly.
Upfront Written Pricing
24/7 Emergency Line
Technicians Who Care
That accountability covers our full range of air conditioning and heating services, from AC repair to complete system installation, across our entire Tampa Bay service area.
Can I Visit the Action Air Showroom?
Yes. Tampa Bay residents are welcome at our showroom at 8926 N Armenia Ave in Tampa, where you can see working Lennox models in person before you buy. A full matched system is set up on display, including the heat pump, air handler, air cleaner, and thermostat, so you can look, listen, and understand exactly what you are investing in. We also carry Honeywell dehumidifiers and UV light systems for Tampa Bay summer humidity relief.
You would not buy a car without a test drive, and our Comfort Consultants take the same view of your indoor comfort. They will walk you through SEER ratings, refrigerant systems, and the differences between models in terms you can understand, so you can make an educated decision on one of the largest investments in your home.
Ready to work with a Tampa Bay original? Call (813) 935-6644 or request a free estimate today.