Residential HVAC · Oakland, CA
We design and install heat pump systems for Oakland houses, from pre-war bungalows in the flats to hillside homes with stairs and crawlspaces. Every job starts with a Manual J load calculation, followed by equipment selection and duct design that fit the house you actually have.
Remodels · Retrofits · Heat Pumps · Multi-Zone Systems
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Oakland scopes
Most Oakland calls fall into a handful of jobs: a gas furnace that needs replacing, a house with no cooling, a hillside home with an uneven floor-to-floor temperature, or a unit being added behind the main house. These are the scopes we price and build.
Replacement
Take out a tired gas furnace and AC and put in a ducted heat pump sized from the room-by-room load, with panel and gas work planned in the same permit.
Replacement & conversionDuctless
Many Oakland bungalows heat with wall furnaces and have never had cooling. Ductless or concealed fan-coil systems give them both without opening every wall.
Ductless & multi-zoneZoned
Multi-zone and split ducted layouts for houses stacked over two or three floors, where heat rises and the top floor runs hot.
Heat pump installationSmall unit
A right-sized, quiet system for a backyard cottage, basement unit or garage conversion, with the load calculation the permit asks for.
ADU heating & coolingCoordinated
Duct routing, line sets and equipment pads laid out with your architect or builder before framing and drywall close things in.
HVAC for remodelsDesign
Load-calculated sizing for the systems we install, plus ERV, HRV and upgraded filtration for tight houses and homes that get wildfire smoke.
Manual J load calculationsRecent Oakland project
Heat Pump Conversion
This Oakland home was heated by two gas furnaces: one in the attic for the upper floor and one in the crawlspace for the lower floor. The ductwork was in good condition, so we kept it and swapped each furnace for its own Mitsubishi ducted heat pump. Each floor now has its own outdoor unit, air handler and thermostat, with heating and cooling from one system per floor and no gas combustion.
Both gas furnaces are gone. The house runs on two independent R-454B heat pumps, so each floor heats and cools on its own schedule from its own thermostat. The City of Oakland final inspection passed.
Completed 2026 in Oakland. Photos and full details on the project page.
View projectLocal projects
Real jobs our own crew designed and installed. Street names only — we keep clients' addresses private.
Mitsubishi ductless heat pump system replacing gas heat, installed and finaled with the City of Piedmont. Homeowner left a 5-star review.
Mitsubishi Diamond Contractor →Removed the old gas furnace, crawlspace asbestos abatement, new 240V circuit and a 58-gallon LG heat pump water heater (3.93 UEF) under a Piedmont permit.
Heat pump installation →Full mechanical scope for a whole-house renovation: heat pump heating and cooling, new supply and return ducting, and dedicated ventilation ducting coordinated with the GC.
Full system replacement →Mitsubishi 60k multi-zone with branch box feeding a 12k slim ducted unit, an 18k vertical air handler and 9k one-way ceiling cassettes, with fabricated return plenums.
Mitsubishi Diamond Contractor →Oakland housing
A flatlands stucco house, a Rockridge brown shingle and a Montclair hillside home can sit a few miles apart and need completely different systems. Age, orientation, ceiling height, crawlspace access and how many floors the house stacks all push the design in different directions.
We measure the house, run the load calculation, and only then talk about ducted or ductless. Starting from the old furnace’s size is how people end up with a loud, short-cycling system.
Oakland’s hills also bring wildfire smoke concerns and stair-heavy access. We plan filtration and equipment delivery routes at the start, not on install day.
Raised foundations, plaster walls and wall furnaces are common. Crawlspace ducts or a ductless layout usually beat tearing into finished plaster.
Steep stairs, retaining walls and narrow side yards decide where the outdoor unit can sit and how heavy equipment gets there.
A converted garage or cottage should get its own system and load calc rather than borrowing capacity from the main house.
Houses near open space benefit from higher-grade filtration and a sealed return, planned with the air handler instead of bolted on afterward.
HVAC design in Oakland
A flatlands bungalow near the bay and a hillside house above Highway 13 do not heat and cool the same way, even with the same square footage. Oakland jobs for us run from Rockridge brown shingles and Craftsman bungalows to stucco homes in the flats, hillside houses with stairs and crawlspaces, and apartments over garages. We size each one from its own load, then choose ducted, ductless or mixed equipment to match.
ACCA design conditions for Oakland are about 40°F for heating and 78°F for cooling. The Oakland Museum station near downtown lists a wider range, 36°F and 86°F, which is a fair picture of what the hills and warmer inland blocks can see. Same city, different sizing inputs. We pick the station and the house’s exposure that match the address.
ACCA Manual J design data · Oakland Metropolitan AP
Much of Oakland’s flatland and mid-hill housing is pre-war: raised foundations, plaster walls, wall furnaces or gravity-fed heat, and attic space that is already full of knob-and-tube remnants, storage or a finished room. Ducts, if they exist, were often added later and squeezed in.
Hillside lots add their own rules. Steep stairs, narrow side yards, retaining walls and crawlspaces with limited height all decide where an outdoor unit and an air handler can go before any equipment is picked.
Many Oakland houses also have a second unit: a converted garage, a basement apartment or a backyard cottage. Those are usually better served by their own small system than by stretching the main house’s ducts.
Street-facing glass, a west-facing living room or an uninsulated cathedral ceiling can swing a room’s load by a lot. We build the model from windows, walls, ceilings and floors as they actually exist, then compare it to what the old system was moving.
Replacing a 100,000 BTU furnace one-for-one with a heat pump is the wrong starting point. We select capacity from the heating and cooling loads, including the heat pump’s output at design temperature, and check the manufacturer’s data rather than the nameplate.
Oakland attics often have limited height and crawlspaces have pipes and beams in the way. We size ducts for the airflow each room needs, look at low-profile air handlers and compact trunks, and move to ductless where a good duct path simply does not exist.
Hillside homes near open space can see smoke on bad fire days. Better filtration, a sealed return and a ventilation plan are worth discussing early, because they change the air handler and cabinet choice.
Remove a forced-air furnace or wall heater, cap the gas and put in a heat pump system sized to the house, with the electrical work scoped alongside it.
Replacement & conversion →New or repaired duct systems in attics and crawlspaces, with returns and balancing designed in rather than added on.
Heat pump installation →Ductless and multi-zone layouts for houses spread over several levels, where one thermostat cannot serve every floor.
Ductless & multi-zone →A dedicated heat pump for a backyard cottage or converted garage, with its own load calculation for the permit.
ADU heating & cooling →Manual J numbers for the systems we design and install, coordinated with your architect’s plan set.
Manual J load calculations →ERV, HRV and upgraded filtration for tighter houses and smoke-prone hillside homes.
Ventilation & IAQ →Mechanical and electrical permits in Oakland go through the City’s Planning and Building Department. We prepare the equipment data, the load calculation and the site information the permit file needs, and we schedule the inspections.
Oakland customers get electricity generation from Ava Community Energy by default, with PG&E handling delivery and the lines. Heat pump incentives from programs like TECH Clean California, BayREN and utility offers open and close, so we check what is available at the time of your project.
Rockridge, Temescal, Montclair, Piedmont Avenue, Grand Lake, Fruitvale, Dimond, Laurel and the Oakland hills, plus neighbors in Piedmont, Emeryville and Berkeley.
Homeowner reviews
207 Google reviews
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Mitsubishi mini-split installed with outstanding care. Indoor and outdoor units done right. High efficiency meant a meaningful federal tax credit too.
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Devin and his crew did a fantastic job installing AC for our whole house. High quality Mitsubishi equipment and a clean installation throughout.
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Devin is meticulous, methodical, and knowledgeable. Professional crew and a heat pump install we trust completely.
Photos from the installs above
Read all 207 reviewsOakland project steps
From first call to final inspection, the order is always load first, equipment second, ducts third. The house decides, not the catalog.
We look at the existing system, the attic and crawlspace, the panel, the stairs and yard access, and what you want to change.
Room-by-room heating and cooling loads from your windows, insulation and orientation, using Oakland design temperatures.
Capacity matched to the load and checked against manufacturer performance data at Oakland’s design conditions.
Duct sizes and routes, or refrigerant lines for ductless, drawn up and submitted with the City of Oakland mechanical and electrical permits.
Old equipment out, gas capped, new system in, with ducts sealed and condensate and electrical done to the plan.
Airflow and charge verified, controls set up, inspections passed, and a walkthrough so you know how to run it.
What the job includes
We plan the stair carry, the pad or bracket, the condensate drain, the panel capacity and the gas shutoff together so there are no surprise change orders partway through.
Before we leave, we verify airflow, refrigerant charge and controls, then walk you through how to run it.
Tell us about the projectEquipment path, outdoor location and indoor mounting settled before delivery.
Furnace or wall heater removed, gas line capped and flue dealt with.
Panel capacity checked and dedicated circuits added under permit.
Airflow, charge and controls tested and documented for you and the inspector.
Cost
Two Oakland houses with the same square footage can price very differently. A clean attic with good duct paths is one job. A hillside house with a long stair carry, a small panel and a crawlspace full of obstructions is another. We give a scope-based estimate after we see the house.
Prices as of November 2026. Complex whole-home and design-build projects can exceed these ranges. Rebates and incentives may reduce your net project cost.
Oakland estimates
Tell us the neighborhood, what you have now, what is not working and whether you are remodeling. Photos of the panel, the furnace and the outdoor space help us scope it faster.
Project Inquiry
Thanks — your project details are on their way to 3rdGen. We’ll review them and follow up about the next step.
Working with your team
If you are remodeling an Oakland house, we can work from your architect’s plans and your contractor’s schedule. If you are working directly with us, we handle the design and permits ourselves.
We work with project teams across Oakland and the East Bay, or directly with homeowners.
Mechanical systems coordinated around architecture, ceiling conditions, equipment locations, routing, and finish requirements.
Explore HVAC for architectsClear scope, scheduling, rough-in coordination, submittals, inspections, startup, and project handoff.
Explore HVAC for builders & GCsField execution, equipment selection, controls coordination, submittals, installation, and commissioning aligned with the mechanical design.
Explore engineering coordinationAlready assembling your own project team? We can take ownership of the mechanical scope and coordinate directly with the other professionals involved.
Start a residential projectMitsubishi Electric
As a Mitsubishi Electric Diamond Contractor, we design and install ducted, ductless, and multi-zone systems for Bay Area homes, with factory-trained crews and longer warranty options on qualifying residential installs.
Mitsubishi is not automatically the answer to every home. We start with what the project requires and recommend the system that makes sense.
12 Year Parts &
Compressor Warranty
Extended parts & compressor coverage on qualifying Diamond installations.
Ongoing manufacturer training on the latest hyper-heat systems.
Direct factory escalation if anything ever needs attention.
FAQ
Common questions from Oakland homeowners about sizing, permits, panels and equipment.
Often yes. Hill homes tend to be multi-level, with different loads on each floor and harder equipment access. We model each level separately and may split the system into zones. The Oakland Museum design station is cooler in winter and warmer in summer than the airport station, and we use the one that fits your location.
Either a ductless or concealed fan-coil system, or new ducts in the crawlspace or attic if there is room. We check both against the load calc and what you want to see on your walls.
Yes. Oakland requires mechanical and typically electrical permits for this work. We prepare and submit them and schedule inspections.
Ava Community Energy is the default generation provider in Oakland, and PG&E delivers it. Rebates such as TECH Clean California and BayREN programs change, so we confirm what is open when we quote. We do not promise amounts.
Many older Oakland panels are 100 amps or less. We do a load calculation on the panel itself. Often a heat pump fits with a small change, but we plan any upgrade before ordering equipment.
Yes. ADUs usually get a single-zone or small multi-zone system with its own Manual J. This keeps the unit comfortable without loading the main house’s ducts.
In the hills it can be. A higher-grade filter, a sealed return and a plan for recirculating air on smoky days all affect the air handler and cabinet we pick. We can include that in the design.
Nearby service areas
Project Inquiry
Thanks — your project details are on their way to 3rdGen. We’ll review them and follow up about the next step.
