AC and Heat Pump Installation in Mountain View

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Adding or replacing air conditioning in Mountain View now comes with a real choice: a conventional central AC paired with your gas furnace, or an electric heat pump that handles cooling and heating in one system. Cool Aid has installed both since long before heat pumps were the norm, and we will help you pick the one that fits your house, your budget, and the rebates available to you.

Central AC or heat pump?

A heat pump looks and installs much like a central air conditioner, but it can run in reverse to heat the home in winter. For Mountain View, where winters are mild and cold snaps are short, a properly sized heat pump can carry the full heating load for most homes.

• Central AC makes sense if your gas furnace is fairly new and in good shape and you only need cooling now.
• A heat pump makes sense if the furnace is aging, if you want to move away from gas, or if you want to use the SVCE rebate described below.

Either way, we work with Daikin, Amana, Goodman, York, Trane and Carrier equipment, and our technicians are trained on the low-GWP refrigerants (R-32, R-454B and R-290) that current systems use. Our general residential HVAC installation and HVAC replacement pages explain the equipment options in more detail.

Planning around Mountain View homes

1950s and 1960s houses

A lot of the city's mid-century homes were built without central air. Installing it for the first time means checking whether the existing ducts can carry cooling airflow, finding a legal and quiet spot for the outdoor unit, and confirming the electrical panel has room for a new circuit. We run a load calculation instead of guessing tonnage from square footage, because an oversized system in a small older house short-cycles and leaves rooms clammy.

Newer townhomes

Townhomes usually already have ducted systems, so the work is mostly a replacement. The limits are physical: tight patios, rooftop or balcony pads, closet air handlers, and HOA rules about where equipment can sit and how it looks. Newer, variable-speed units are often quieter, which matters when the condenser sits a few feet from a neighbor's bedroom window.

The SVCE heat pump rebate

Mountain View is in the service area of Silicon Valley Clean Energy, the community electricity provider for the city, with PG&E delivering power and supplying gas. SVCE's heat pump HVAC rebate is the main incentive for Mountain View homeowners (source):

• $2,000 when a heat pump replaces a gas furnace
• $3,000 for income-qualified households replacing a gas furnace
• $500 when a heat pump replaces electric resistance heating

Our Bay Area heat pump rebate guide covers how these programs compare across the region.

Permits: Mountain View's Same-Day process

Every AC or heat pump installation needs a building permit, and Mountain View offers a streamlined route. Its Same-Day (Express) permits cover AC unit replacements and all-electric heat pump HVAC installations and replacements, and they are issued online without plans when the project meets code (source). The city's ePermits portal has a dedicated application for heat pump HVAC work (source).

A California HVAC changeout may also require HERS verification, where an independent rater tests items such as duct leakage or refrigerant charge before the permit is closed (source). We schedule that as part of the job.

How an installation with us works

• Home visit. We look at the existing equipment, ducts, panel, and outdoor space, and run a load calculation.
• Options in writing. Central AC, heat pump, or both, with the rebate and permit steps for each.
• Rebate and permit. You apply for the SVCE rebate if it applies; we file the Same-Day permit.
• Installation. Our C-20 licensed crew installs, charges, and tests the system, then walks you through the controls.
• Inspection and verification. City inspection and any required HERS test.

Every installation carries our 1-year parts and labor warranty, on top of the manufacturer's equipment warranty.

Not sure you need a new system yet?

If your current AC is simply underperforming, a repair may buy several more years; start with our Mountain View AC repair page. If your furnace is the weak link, see furnace repair in Mountain View. Once a new system is in, our AC maintenance tips for Mountain View will help it last. You can also compare other contractors in our Mountain View HVAC company guide, or return to our Mountain View HVAC services overview.

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Frequently asked questions

Written and reviewed by Jim McKinny, owner of Cool Aid Air Conditioning & Refrigeration — California C-20 and C-38 licensed, EPA Universal certified, second generation of a family business serving the Bay Area since 1966. Every job we complete is backed by our 1-year parts & labor warranty.