HVAC Installation in Riverside, CA
A new system here will heat from November through March and cool from April through October every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Riverside County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
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A system that works almost every month of the year
Riverside County only gets a short break from running the heat or the AC. Homes here need cooling from April through October, seven months, with summer afternoons averaging 99°F. Then the furnace picks up from November through March, with winter nights averaging 42°F. That leaves the system idle only a few weeks a year, if that.
A new system here has to be sized for both jobs, not just the one that feels more urgent right now. Undersize the AC and it will run flat out all summer trying to catch up. Undersize the furnace and it will short cycle on the cold nights. Most homes in the area heat with gas, so the furnace and the air conditioner usually get installed and sized together as one job, not two.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 7 months
- April through October, it cools
- 42°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 99°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
California requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license covers the contractor's business, not this one job. The Contractors State License Board tests contractors before it licenses them and keeps a record of who holds one.
For an installation like this, the license tells you the contractor was tested and is on record with the state. It does not inspect the work once it is in your home. In most cities and counties here, replacing a furnace, air conditioner or heat pump needs a permit from the local building office, with an inspection once the work is done.
Sources: California Legislative Counsel · Contractors State License Board
- When should I replace my HVAC system?
- Replace it when repairs keep coming back or the unit is old enough that a licensed contractor tells you it's not worth patching again. A furnace or air conditioner nearing the end of its life tends to run longer to hit the same temperature, and you'll notice the utility bill creeping up before it fails outright. With cooling and heating both needed almost every month here, a system that's struggling doesn't get much of a break to recover. If a contractor says the compressor or heat exchanger is failing, that's usually the point where replacing makes more sense than repairing again.
- Should I replace my furnace and air conditioner at the same time?
- If both are old, yes, that's usually the better time to do it. They often share the same blower and ductwork, so replacing one and not the other can leave you with mismatched parts that don't perform the way the manufacturer designed them to. It also means one visit instead of two down the road. That said, if your furnace is only a few years old and just the air conditioner failed, a contractor can replace the one that needs it and confirm the two will still work together.
- What happens during an HVAC installation?
- A contractor first sizes the new equipment to your house rather than just matching what's there now, since the wrong size unit short cycles or runs constantly either way. The old furnace or air conditioner comes out, and the new one gets set in place, connected to the ductwork, gas or electrical lines, and the condensate drain. Refrigerant lines get connected and charged for a new air conditioner, and the furnace gets connected to the vent and gas line if it runs on gas. Once it's running, the contractor tests it, checks for leaks, and walks through the thermostat settings with you before leaving.