It sounds like you may have duct work issues. Duct work may have come apart or stepped on as the new furnace was being installed. If you or your husband is not up to the task hire a reputable company to specifically check the duct work. As far as the "freon", yes it is possible you have a leak, however I would address the airflow issue first. Once that has been repaired then have a tech with the proper tools determine if the system is low or not. If it is low, then you may have a leak or it may not have been filled properly when your new furnace was installed (assuming you had a new evaporator installed). Basic rule of thumb, a cooling system does not consume refrigerant. The only way it gets low is if someone releases it (this can happen when attaching and removing manifold gauges to check the system). Or if it has a leak.

"They claimed that there was air coming out of the vents when they left."

How much air? Cold air? You might want to get them back for a "No cooling" return visit. If they can't figure it out on the return visit, then get someone else. Be sure to be there when they come so that you can ask the questions and judge their responses.

My husband and I bought a beach townhouse in the winter. Over memorial day the furnace broke. The motor just completely died, so we replaced the entire unit.

Unfortunately Jen, all we can do is guess in this situation as there is not near enough information yet. You say the furnace was replaced because a motor died? How old was the furnace and what kind of furnace is it?

Was the furnace gas? Was it an Electric air handler?

The reason this is important is that most electric air handlers contain a AC evaporator coil which would require refrigerant work of the AC to replace the furnace in that instance. If you have a gas furnace, then there is no refrigerant work needed to replace the furnace.

Yes, a evap coil can freeze and restrict air flow. And one solution is to add some freon.

If you can't see the coil itself, then you can move the AC/HEAT/OFF switch to OFF and move the Fan switch from AUTO to ON. The blower should run and defrost the coil. After a while you should feel warm air at all the vents.

The furnace was very old (about 15 years old). It is electric. It was replaced with a Goodman furnace.

Ok, the proper term in this case would be electric AH (air handler). Really only so when talking people know it's not gas furnace.

Because AH's are sold with the indoor coil, it makes it more easier known that refrigerant work was done in the replacing of this Electric Furnace as you put it.

The problem in this mess you have is that your warranty is with who installed the AH. Another company is not going to come in and honor the 1 year warranty provided by the opposing company. Brand doesn't matter, incompetence among service people comes with any brand.

Because these original installation people came back out and topped off refrigerant, they should have been tasked to look for the refrigerant leak. Your service warranty is with them, not another company. You only muddy the waters in running to another service company.

OR in other terms, create 3 party conflicts of interest. The two parties are the service companies and you are the 3rd party. Guess who loses in a 3rd party arrangement. The 3rd party.

You need to get the original installer out there to fix the mess. That is your best option. After your year is up with the original installer, only then look for a new service company.

I service the Katy, Texas area.

I live in CA, a permit is required for AC installation, included in the requirements is a load calculation which determines the sizing of the equipment.

Jen, first it was that you had a new AH installed. That air handler would have provided you with a new evap coil, new valve at the time it was installed.

You claim the problem was identified as a bad valve after you decided to no longer use the first company, then you replaced a bad valve, but now it's evolved into another new coil in an AH that was installed new around memorial day.

At this point there is no way in my right mind that I could say what you have right now was done correctly. If it's not done right, it will not work. (You can lay insulation 10 feet thick over it, if the AC doesn't work right the additional insulation will make little difference.)

The way most HVAC companies are run is that the most knowledgeable person sits behind a desk and tells people with little to no experience to work on your equipment. This is a dangerous combination when it comes to HVAC retrofit repairs.

How much you paid doesn't matter if it doesn't work. The word 'pro' is tossed around these days as meaning nothing.

This is why I said jumping to a new company 'early on' after equipment has been replaced is a bad idea.

This is good learning experience for you, out side of that good luck.

I'm curious if these companies are affiliated with a home warranty company? Was this house covered under a home warranty?

I service the Katy, Texas area.

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Jim Mat, retrofit repair typically does not require a permit. A load calculation would do nothing because repairing the system, the size of it (capacity) stays the same.