HVAC Repair in San Francisco, CA
If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers San Francisco County will get in touch.
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San Francisco asks a furnace to run most of the year, not an air conditioner
Heat is on from November through May here, seven months out of the year. Summer afternoons average 70°F, mild enough that a lot of houses get by without cooling at all. Your furnace does almost all the work while the AC, if there is one, sits idle.
Winter nights average 45°F, so the burner is not fighting hard cold, but it is cycling on and off for months at a stretch. Over a season that adds up in start after start on the igniter and the burner. More than half of homes here heat with gas, so when the igniter wears out and won't light, the house goes cold and stays that way until it's replaced. The area has also seen 50 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and storms like that knock out power. A gas furnace with a standing pilot lights again on its own once power is back. One with electronic ignition needs that ignition system working to fire back up.
- 7 months
- November through May, your system heats
- 45°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 70°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
A new furnace and air conditioner would cut about $70 a year off heating and cooling for a typical San Francisco County home.
Estimates for a typical San Francisco County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, California fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Repair makes sense when one part has failed.
Replacement makes sense when the furnace's heat exchanger is cracked, the air conditioner's compressor has failed, or repairs keep coming.
California requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license comes from the Contractors State License Board, and it belongs to the contractor, not to the job. There is no separate license for a repair like this one. The contractor holds one license that covers the work they do, on this job and every other one.
For a repair to a heating and cooling system, that license is what stands behind the person doing the work. If gas piping or a gas connection is part of the repair, that connection is the part worth getting right, since a bad one is what makes the job dangerous.
Sources: California Legislative Counsel · Contractors State License Board
- Why is my heat not working?
- Check the thermostat first. Make sure it is set to heat, not cool, and that the temperature is set higher than the room. If the thermostat looks right, check your breaker panel for a tripped breaker, since a furnace that lost power will not fire even if the pilot or igniter is fine. If the furnace runs on gas, listen for the sound of it trying to start. A furnace that clicks but never lights may have a bad igniter or flame sensor, and that calls for a contractor. If nothing happens at all, the problem is likely electrical or the thermostat itself.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- Start with the air filter. A clogged filter blocks airflow across the coil, and a coil with no airflow can freeze up, which stops it from cooling the air at all. Check that supply vents around the house are open and not blocked by furniture or rugs. If the filter is clean and the vents are open, the system may be low on refrigerant, which is not something to add yourself. A contractor can check the charge and find where it is leaking from.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings first. Confirm it is on the right mode and the temperature is set where you want it, since a wrong setting looks like a broken system but is not. Next, check your breaker panel for anything tripped. Replace the air filter if you cannot remember the last time it was changed, since a dirty filter causes problems that look like bigger failures. If your system runs on gas, make sure the gas is on at the meter and at any shutoff valve near the unit. If you have checked these and the system still is not working right, a licensed contractor can diagnose what is actually wrong. California requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license through the Contractors State License Board, so ask for that license number before work begins.