HVAC Services in San Francisco, CA
PULSE HVAC provides scheduled HVAC appointments in San Francisco, San Francisco County — heat pump installation, ductless mini-split systems, AC, and indoor air quality. Dispatched from our Carmichael headquarters with batched San Francisco routes and zero trip fees. Free in-person estimates.
HVAC Services in San Francisco
Heat Pump & Mini-Split
Working in San Francisco
- Housing stock
- Victorian and Edwardian flats dominate, and they were built with no attic, no duct chases and no cooling at all. Nearly every job here is a ductless retrofit — the question is line-set routing through a hundred-year-old lightwell, not tonnage.
- Permits
- HVAC permits run through San Francisco DBI (Department of Building Inspection), with Title-24 documentation and HERS verification where required — we handle the paperwork.
- Electricity & clean energy
- CleanPowerSF
- Heat-pump rebates
- CleanPowerSF's Electrify Your Home program (launched spring 2026) pays bill credits toward heat-pump HVAC and heat-pump water heaters, with larger credits for income-qualified households. BayREN's appliance rebates ended in 2024, TECH Clean California is waitlisted, and the federal 25C tax credit expired for equipment placed in service after 2025 — so we put the current claimable numbers in writing at the estimate.
San Francisco is the one city we serve where "air conditioning" was never part of the original design brief. Victorian and Edwardian flats went up with no attic, no duct chases, and no cooling — the fog was the cooling. Our work here is almost entirely ductless retrofit and heating modernization, dispatched from Carmichael on scheduled routes that book 1–3 business days out, with a firm two-hour arrival window and no trip fee for the distance.
A city of microclimates, not one climate
The Sunset and Richmond sit in the fog belt, where the load question is heating and humidity, not tonnage. Cross into the Mission, Bernal Heights, or Noe Valley and the afternoons run 10–15°F warmer — the handful of genuinely hot days a year land hardest there, in top-floor flats with west glass. A heat pump sized off a citywide average is wrong in both places; we run the load numbers for the building and the block it actually stands on.
Working inside pre-war walls
The craft problem in San Francisco is routing, not capacity. Line sets travel through hundred-year-old lightwells, condensate has to find a legal drain in a building that never planned for one, and outdoor units end up on roofs, rear decks, or in side setbacks measured in inches. We quote after seeing the building — every estimate is in person and free — because a photo of a Marina flat tells you nothing about what its lightwell will allow.
Can you add cooling to a San Francisco flat that has no ducts at all?
Yes — a ductless heat pump handles it without touching the plaster: wall units in the main rooms, a compact outdoor unit on the roof or in the rear yard, and no ductwork anywhere.
The same equipment then covers winter heating at two to three times the efficiency of the wall furnaces and radiators most flats still run. That's why nearly every San Francisco job we do is a heat-pump retrofit rather than a like-for-like replacement.
Permits, electrification policy, and rebates
Every mechanical permit here runs through the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection (DBI), and San Francisco is the one Bay Area city whose all-electric construction rules survived the courtroom era — the all-electric new-construction ordinance has applied since mid-2021 and was extended toward major renovations in 2025. The rebate picture is genuinely good: CleanPowerSF's Electrify Your Home program pays bill credits toward heat-pump HVAC and heat-pump water heaters, with larger credits for income-qualified households. The federal 25C tax credit expired for equipment placed in service after 2025, so we quote only CleanPowerSF's live credits — current numbers in writing at the estimate.
Getting here from Carmichael runs about 1 hour 45 minutes, which is exactly why we batch San Francisco work into full-day routes and schedule rather than promise a same-afternoon truck. For a system that is fully down, call (916) 850-2221 and we will tell you honestly whether we can fit you in or whether a local outfit will reach you faster.
HVAC FAQ — San Francisco
San Francisco appointments typically book 1–3 business days out. We dispatch from our Carmichael, CA headquarters — about 1 hour 45 minutes from San Francisco — and we batch San Francisco visits into efficient routes rather than promising same-day emergency service. When you book we give you a firm 2-hour arrival window. If your system is fully down during a heat event or cold snap, call (916) 850-2221 first — we'll be honest about whether we can fit you in or recommend a local partner who can get there faster.
Yes. PULSE HVAC holds an active California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) C-20 Warm-Air Heating, Ventilating, and Air-Conditioning license, valid statewide including San Francisco County and the city of San Francisco. We pull every required HVAC permit through San Francisco DBI (Department of Building Inspection) and coordinate Title-24 compliance documentation and HERS verification where required.
CleanPowerSF's Electrify Your Home program (launched spring 2026) pays bill credits toward heat-pump HVAC and heat-pump water heaters, with larger credits for income-qualified households. BayREN's appliance rebates ended in 2024, TECH Clean California is waitlisted, and the federal 25C tax credit expired for equipment placed in service after 2025 — so we put the current claimable numbers in writing at the estimate. We itemize every program your specific equipment actually qualifies for at the estimate, so you compare the net cost rather than the sticker.
We specialize in heat pump retrofits and ductless mini-split installations, and the Bay Area's mild marine climate and electrification rebate landscape align with what we do best. We charge zero trip fees, every estimate is in-person and free, and we're transparent: trucks dispatch from Carmichael in the morning so we batch SF + Peninsula visits into efficient routes. If a faster local option is the right call for your specific situation, we'll tell you.
In San Francisco we install and service air-source heat pumps, ductless mini-split systems, central air conditioning, smart thermostats, indoor air quality systems (HEPA filtration, fresh-air ventilation), and complete HVAC system replacements. We deliberately don't promote same-day emergency repair as a primary San Francisco offering — the drive from Carmichael doesn't support that model — so we focus on the planned-replacement and retrofit work where the value math works for both sides.
Costs vary based on system size, condition, and scope. San Francisco estimates are free, in-person, with no trip charge — we drive out so you can ask questions and we can see the actual install conditions. Every quote is firm and itemized. Financing is available for larger replacement projects, and we identify every applicable PG&E / CleanPowerSF rebate so you see the after-rebate net cost.
Ready to Stay Comfortable?
Bay Area visits are scheduled 1–3 business days out from Carmichael — free estimates on all repairs and installs.
Not sure what to book?