Heating & cooling
AC & HVAC repair in Berkeley.
Heating-first HVAC for a city the fog keeps cool, from the West Berkeley flats to the hills.
Berkeley is the coolest city we serve in summer. The marine layer rolls in most evenings, the flats rarely break 75, and central air conditioning is close to nonexistent because for a century nobody needed it. That makes Berkeley a heating town, and the heating stock is the oldest we work on anywhere: 1900s through 1930s bungalows and brown-shingles in North and South Berkeley, apartment buildings through the flatlands, and hill houses that climb above the fog line.
What lives inside those houses is the real subject. Wall furnaces, floor furnaces, gravity conversions in basements, and a large share of homes with no ductwork at all. When that equipment fails, the standard suburban playbook does not apply, and a shop that only knows how to drop in a 80,000 BTU furnace with new ducts is going to quote you the wrong job.
We work our six Berkeley ZIPs (94703, 94704, 94705, 94707, 94708, 94709) out of San Ramon, seven days a week. The diagnostic is $75, waived when you book the repair, with a written, itemized quote before any work begins. EPA Section 608 Universal certified, CSLB #1136642.
The heating stock we walk into
Floor furnaces and wall furnaces are still doing real work in South and West Berkeley, and we service them: thermocouples, gas valves, pilot assemblies, and the safety checks that old open-combustion equipment demands. Ducted furnaces in the hills bring the usual faults, igniters, flame sensors, and inducer motors, plus heat exchanger inspections on anything with real age. See furnace repair for that side of the work.
Our position on old equipment is simple. If it is safe and a part fixes it, we repair it and you keep your money. When it is unsafe or genuinely done, we put that in writing and quote the realistic paths, which in Berkeley usually means a ductless heat pump rather than another gas unit.
Electrification with the panel checked first
More Berkeley homeowners are moving off gas than anywhere else we work, and ductless heat pumps are the natural fit for houses that never had ducts. A head or two covers a bungalow, the heating is better than the floor furnace ever was, and you gain cooling for the few hot days and the smoke weeks. We install Mitsubishi and Daikin, with factory training behind both.
The honest first step is the electrical panel. Plenty of Berkeley homes still run 60 or 100 amp services, some with original wiring, and that constrains what can be added without an upgrade. We assess the panel at the estimate and put the answer in the quote, because finding out on install day helps nobody.
Rebates, and what Berkeley projects actually cost
Berkeley is in Ava Community Energy territory, and heat pump conversions can draw on Ava, BayREN, and PG&E programs plus manufacturer instant rebates. Funding moves by cycle, so we confirm what is actually paying when we write your estimate rather than promising numbers that expired last quarter.
Every project starts the same way: a $75 diagnostic that comes off the bill when you book the work, and a written, itemized quote. For full conversions see HVAC installation; installs carry a 10 year parts and labor warranty.
Common questions, Berkeley.
- My Berkeley bungalow has a floor furnace and no ducts. What do you recommend?
We can usually repair the floor furnace if it is safe, and we say so when it is. For replacement, a ductless heat pump is the standard Berkeley answer: one or two wall heads heat the house better than the floor furnace did, add cooling for hot days and smoke weeks, and require no ductwork. We check your electrical panel first, since older services can constrain the project.
- Do heat pumps work well in Berkeley's cool, foggy climate?
Very well. Mild winters are the easiest possible duty for a modern inverter heat pump, and Berkeley's design temperatures are nowhere near the point where cold-climate performance becomes a question. The mild climate that made AC unnecessary makes heat pumps efficient.
- What does a visit cost, and are you certified?
The diagnostic is $75, and we waive it when you book the repair with us. Quotes are written and itemized before work starts. We are EPA Section 608 Universal certified and CSLB licensed under #1136642, with Daikin factory training and completed Mitsubishi Electric factory courses.
Heating & cooling