Crystal Valley Heating & Air Conditioning Inc. began as Bontrager Heating & Insulation in 1964. Daniel D. Bontrager had an insulation business and integrated it with heating and cooling during slow cycles. Early in the 70’s the insulation business was sold and Bontrager Heating and Insulation became full time in heating and cooling only. The primary part of Bontrager Heating was the installing of hydronic systems. In 1966 Bontrager Heating became a Lennox Dealer.

Floor radiant heat was the niche that made Bontrager Heating very popular in the early 70’s with all the floor heating systems installed in Middlebury Indiana area. Floor radiant heating and installing forced air systems for new homes was the way of life for many years. In 1979 Ernie Hostetler joined the company with primary responsibility to sell and design residential replacement systems. Due to the energy crunch, emphasis was made to reduce energy consumption. Furnaces were properly sized to the house and energy use levels were greatly reduced. We had worked with utility companies for many years implementing the air source heat pump as an add-on heat pump program, initiated by the utility companies. For many years the utility companies gave homeowners refunds for installing heat pumps on their existing gas furnaces. Spring and Fall are the least efficient times for gas furnaces to operate and that is when the heat pumps are the most efficient. Heat pumps installed in this manner are still an effective way to save energy.

In 1989 Dan Bontrager decided to sell and retire. Ernie Hostetler and Ephraim Martin (both employees) bought out Bontrager Heating and changed the name to Crystal Valley Heating and Air Conditioning Inc. The legacy started by Bontrager Heating was kept in place and specialized with the floor radiant heating and Geothermal heat pump systems. The Lennox dealership was upgraded to a D5 rating (highest rating in the country) by complying with dealer qualification standards set by Lennox International. To better serve our Michigan customers, Pryor Heating in Three Rivers was purchased in 1993 and became a branch sales office and warehouse. We have sales, service, and installation working out of the Three Rivers branch to serve our customers better in Southern Michigan. With the purchase of Pryor Heating we took on the Amana line.

Crystal Valley implemented the Planned Service Agreements for our customers in 1989 and emphasized 24 hour service. The number of employees were increased to provide the services necessary to meet our customer’s expectations. There are a total of 25 employees trained to provide the quality service and installation expected by our customers. We added plumbing as a service to our customers. In 2003 Ephraim Martin sold his shares of the company to Ernie Hostetler.

    Crystal Valley is licensed and bonded to give our customers the protection they deserve with the investment they made in allowing us to install plumbing, heating, or cooling units. We added duct cleaning in 1996 to enhance the air quality for our homeowners. In 1999 we became very serious about Indoor Air Quality and invested in the Infiltrometer and training to further diagnose air quality problems for our customers. This computerized machine and training exposes dust, mold, stale air, and humidity problems that had been unable to determine in the past. Prescription without diagnoses is malpractice. We are the only heating/cooling contractor with this equipment and training in the Michiana area.

Crystal Valley Plumbing, Heating, and Air Conditioning where we make the answer “Crystal Clear.”