Heat Pump Installation
A heat pump is one system that both heats and cools, which means it replaces a furnace and an air conditioner at the same time. The Bay Area climate is close to ideal for them — mild winters mean the equipment operates in its efficient range nearly all season.
Good candidates
- Furnace and AC are both aging and due together
- Home is single-story and modestly sized
- You want to stop adding a second fuel source to the house
- Existing ductwork is in serviceable condition
- You are pursuing available electrification rebates
- Rooms or additions that ductwork never reached (ductless mini-split)
Ducted or ductless
If your ducts are sound, a ducted heat pump uses them and the house works the way it always has. If you are conditioning an addition, a converted garage, or a single problem room that the ducts never reached, a ductless mini-split serves that zone directly without tearing into walls.
Multi-zone ductless systems put individual heads on separate thermostats, which is genuinely useful in a two-story home where the upstairs and downstairs have never agreed.
The electrical side
The honest constraint on heat pump projects is panel capacity. Older homes in this area frequently have 100-amp service that is already close to full. That does not automatically mean a panel upgrade — load calculations and modern equipment often make it work — but it has to be checked before anyone quotes you a system, not after.
We look at the panel on the site visit. Anyone who quotes a heat pump without doing that is guessing on your behalf.
Want it looked at?
Flat $85 diagnostic across Contra Costa, Alameda, Solano & Napa Counties. Mon–Sat, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM.
Mon–Sat, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM · Flat $85 diagnostic · CSLB #1107541
Common Questions
Do heat pumps work in cold weather?
In this climate, comfortably. Bay Area winter lows sit well within the operating range of current cold-climate heat pumps, which hold useful capacity far below anything Contra Costa County sees.
Are heat pumps cheaper to run than a gas furnace?
It depends on your electric and gas rates, which in PG&E territory means it depends on your specific rate plan. Heat pumps are dramatically more efficient per unit of energy; whether that translates to a lower bill turns on the price of that energy. We would rather walk through your actual rate plan than promise you a number.
Can I get a rebate for installing a heat pump?
Frequently yes, though programs open, close, and exhaust their funding on their own schedules. We keep a current summary on our rebates page, with links to each program so you can verify status yourself before counting on it.
Will a heat pump work with my existing ducts?
Often, but it has to be verified. Heat pumps generally move more air at a lower temperature than a furnace does, so ducts that were marginal for heating can become the bottleneck. We measure before quoting.
Request Service
Tell us what's going on and we'll get back to you. Diagnostic visits are a flat $85. Prefer to talk? Call (925) 433-6400.