When your furnace quits in January or the AC dies during a Santa Clara heat wave, the question is not which company has the nicest website. It is who can get someone to your door today, and what that visit is going to cost. Bellows has been licensed in California since 1984, and our Campbell shop sits about ten minutes from most Santa Clara addresses.
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A properly installed central AC system generally runs $8,500 to $20,000 or more, depending on whether the lineset, electrical and drain are already in place. Replacement estimates are free.
Failures cluster in the first serious heat of the year. Air that is not cold usually means refrigerant loss, which means a leak that needs finding rather than topping up. Diagnostic is $189, waived if you proceed with the repair.
Duct cleaning is worth doing after a remodel, a rodent problem, or when registers visibly blow dust. It is not an annual necessity, and we will say so if your ducts do not need it.
The air handler moves conditioned air through the house. When it fails you get weak airflow, odd noises, or a system that runs without changing the temperature. We repair and replace all major brands.
New ductwork for additions, retrofits and homes where the original runs were never sized correctly. Common in Old Quad houses where ducting was added long after the house was built.
Ductless mini splits heat and cool rooms that ducted systems never reached well, including additions, converted garages and ADUs. As a Mitsubishi Elite Dealer we stock the parts, so most repairs finish on the first visit.
Evaporator coils ice up, corrode or leak refrigerant. If we find a coil problem during maintenance we will tell you whether it is worth repairing or whether the age of the system argues for replacement.
A whole house fan pulls cool evening air through the house and pushes hot air out of the attic. In Santa Clara’s inland summers it can cut how hard the AC has to work.
Dry indoor air causes static, cracked woodwork and irritated sinuses, and it gets worse when the furnace runs. A whole house humidifier works with your existing system rather than room by room.
Filtration, UV treatment and ventilation for homes dealing with allergies, wildfire smoke or persistent odours. We assess what is actually in your air before recommending equipment to treat it.
A clogged filter is the single most common cause of furnace failure we see. It makes the heat exchanger overheat and trip the safety limit. We supply the right filter for your system and can handle replacement on a schedule.
Heat pumps handle both heating and cooling from one system. In Santa Clara, Silicon Valley Power rebates run up to $10,000 when one replaces a gas furnace, which changes the maths considerably.
Repair, maintenance and replacement for gas furnaces. Most Santa Clara furnace calls come down to a clogged filter, a failed ignitor or a dirty flame sensor, and a technician can identify which in about half an hour.
No heat in January, no cooling in a heat wave, a breaker tripping every time the system starts. We answer the phone twenty four hours a day and tell you the after hours charge before we dispatch.
Forced air is what most Santa Clara homes run. We install, repair and balance these systems, and we check the ductwork before quoting a replacement rather than after.
Leaky or undersized ducts will make a brand new system underperform. In mid century ranch homes the ducting is usually the oldest part of the system and the first thing worth testing.
We answer the phone around the clock, every day of the year, and most Santa Clara calls get a technician the same day. If your heat is out in winter, or the AC has failed in a house with someone elderly or a young baby in it, say so when you call and we will move you up the schedule.
A furnace that shuts off and will not restart, or one that keeps short cycling. An AC unit running continuously without the house getting cooler. A breaker that trips every time the system starts. Water pooling around the indoor unit. Any burning smell that persists past the first few minutes of the heating season.
If you smell gas anywhere near the equipment, shut the gas off at the meter and call the utility before you call us.
The diagnostic visit is $189, waived if you go ahead with the repair. Maintenance plan members pay nothing.
After hours costs more, and here is exactly how much. Between 5pm and 7pm adds $375. Between 7pm and 9pm, $475. After 9pm, $550. Weekends add $279. All of those are $0 for members. Replacement estimates are always free.
Most companies will not put this in writing. We would rather you know before you call than find out when the invoice arrives.
Santa Clara furnaces work less hard than furnaces in colder parts of the country, which sounds like good news and is not entirely. Equipment that runs intermittently for four months a year tends to go untouched for the other eight, and most of the furnace calls we take are for systems nobody has looked at since the last time they broke.
The faults we see most often are unglamorous. A filter so clogged the heat exchanger overheats and trips the limit switch. A cracked or failed hot surface ignitor. A flame sensor coated in enough residue that the furnace lights, runs for thirty seconds and shuts down. A thermostat that lost its programming or its batteries. Blower motors and control boards fail too, and those cost real money, but they are not where the odds sit. A technician can tell you which of those it is in about half an hour.
The rule of thumb most of the trade uses: multiply the age of the unit in years by the cost of the repair. If the answer is over $5,000, replacement usually makes more financial sense. A twelve year old furnace facing a $600 repair comes to $7,200, so that one is worth a conversation. The same repair on a four year old unit is an easy fix.
That is a guideline, not a law. A well maintained twenty year old furnace with one failed part can be worth repairing, and we will tell you when that is the case rather than steering you toward a sale. Every new installation carries a one year no questions asked warranty either way.
Our prevention plan is for clients who want reliability and efficiency without the surprises. Membership is $300 a year, and it takes the $189 diagnostic fee to zero, including after hours and weekend calls. One evening breakdown in Santa Clara and it has paid for itself twice over.
Schedule your appointment online or by phone. Our team is ready to provide fast, friendly support and help you get the service you need.
Our technicians arrive on time, fully prepared to handle all your plumbing, heating, cooling, and electrical needs with professional, reliable solutions.
Replacement estimates are free. For repairs, the technician will diagnose the issue and provide a transparent quote. The diagnostic fee is waived if you proceed with the repair.
All of our service technicians and installers are continually factory-trained and will work hard to restore your heating or cooling system quickly and at the best possible cost. Most repairs can be done the same day thanks to our trucks that are stocked like mini-warehouses and carry a variety of parts.
We have been doing this in the South Bay since 1984, which is longer than most of our competitors have existed. Our technicians are NATE certified and complete around 100 hours of hands on training. Everyone who comes to your door has been background checked and arrives in a marked vehicle.
We will not promise you a specific technician. We are a large team and scheduling moves. What we will promise is that whoever arrives holds the same licence and the same training. Recent customers have said it better than we can: Krista was called out for a Generac service and was described as on time, proficient, and thorough about explaining the work before leaving. Zach sorted a hot water problem in an ADU. Steve was called knowledgeable and polite. Alfredo, experienced and efficient.
Santa Clara is not a PG&E customer. The city runs its own municipal electric utility, Silicon Valley Power, and SVP has its own rebate programme that PG&E customers cannot access. The numbers are substantially larger.
Amounts as SVP listed them on 7 July 2026: up to $10,000 for a heat pump HVAC system replacing a gas furnace, at $3,000 per ton, or $1,000 per system where it replaces electric resistance heat. A heat pump water heater converting from gas is $5,500. A smart electric panel is up to $4,000, a main service panel upgrade $1,500, and an HVAC tune up $75. Income qualified households through FRAP or LIHEAP receive an additional $50 to $1,000 depending on the measure.
One thing worth knowing before you plan around the heat pump figure. SVP closed that rebate on 31 January 2026 and told applicants to check back on 1 July. It is listed as open again, but SVP’s own programme rules document still shows it as closed, so confirm the position directly before you commit to a system.
Two conditions matter. You must be a City of Santa Clara resident receiving electricity from SVP, so check your bill rather than assuming. And SVP only reimburses work performed by a licensed or qualified contractor. Our California licence is 483881, covering C20 HVAC and C36 plumbing.
We do not administer the rebate and cannot promise you will qualify. What we can do is size and install a system that meets the programme requirements and give you the documentation SVP asks for. Amounts and rules change, so confirm current terms with Silicon Valley Power directly. Rebate figures last reviewed 26 August 2026.
Santa Clara sits inland enough to get genuinely hot. Systems here run hard from June through September, and failures cluster in the first serious heat of the year when equipment that sat idle all winter is asked to work at full output.
Common calls: the system runs but blows air that is not cold, which usually means refrigerant loss and therefore a leak that needs finding rather than topping up. Ice on the refrigerant line. A condenser fan that will not start. Breakers tripping under load. Drain lines backing up and shutting the system down on a float switch.
On replacement, a properly installed central AC system generally starts around $8,500 and runs to $20,000 or more, depending on whether your home already has the lineset, electrical and condensate drain in place, and on the efficiency tier you choose. Homes needing new infrastructure land higher.
The age of your house usually predicts the problem before a technician opens anything
Find out why we’re considered the favorite HVAC service in the Bay Area by our satisfied customers!
Old Quad. Downtown Santa Clara is largely early 1900s Craftsman and Victorian housing. Most of these homes were never built around ducted forced air, so what is in them now is a retrofit, sometimes a good one and sometimes decades of compromise. Duct runs get squeezed into spaces never meant to carry them, and returns are often undersized. If you are considering a heat pump here, electrical panel capacity is usually the first question, not the equipment.
Central Santa Clara and San Tomas. Mid century ranch homes, roughly 1950 to 1970. These do have original ducting, and the ducting is typically the oldest part of the system. Plenty of these houses have had the furnace replaced twice while the ducts stayed put. Leaky or undersized ducts will make a brand new system underperform, which is why we look at them before quoting a replacement.
Rivermark. Built in the early 2000s. The systems that went in with these homes are now reaching the age where replacement conversations start, and because the infrastructure is modern and already in place, changeouts here are usually straightforward and land at the lower end of the cost range.
Northside and Lawrence Station. Mixed, with older ranch homes next to newer builds and a good deal of townhome and condo stock. Which of those you own changes the permit path.
Permits. The City of Santa Clara requires a permit for HVAC work and runs a Simple Permits process for like for like furnace, air conditioner and ductwork replacement, typically approved within one to two business days. The part that catches people out: Simple Permits are only available for single family homes, duplexes and ADUs. Townhomes, apartments and condominiums are excluded and go through the standard process. If you own a condo near Lawrence Station or a townhome on the north side, expect a longer timeline than your neighbour in a ranch house. We pull permits as part of the job.
Here are answers to some of the top questions about our services:
The diagnostic visit is $189, and we waive it if you go ahead with the repair. Maintenance plan members pay nothing for the diagnostic.
The repair itself depends on the part. Nationally, furnace repairs average between $125 and $480, with control boards and blower motors running higher than ignitors or flame sensors. A technician diagnoses the actual fault and gives you a written price before starting work, so nothing on the invoice is a surprise.
For context, HVAC diagnostic visits in the Bay Area generally run between $75 and $200.
Yes, and we tell you the amount before we dispatch rather than after.
A call between 5pm and 7pm adds $375 to the $189 diagnostic. Between 7pm and 9pm, $475. After 9pm, $550. Weekends add $279.
Maintenance plan members pay none of these. The plan is $300 a year, so a single after hours call covers the cost of membership more than twice over.
Multiply the furnace age in years by the cost of the proposed repair. If the result is over $5,000, replacing usually makes more financial sense than repairing.
A twelve year old furnace facing a $600 repair works out at $7,200, so that one is worth a conversation. The same repair on a four year old unit is an easy fix.
It is a guideline rather than a rule. A well maintained twenty year old furnace with one failed part can still be worth repairing, and we will say so rather than steering you toward a sale.
Restricted airflow from a dirty filter, which makes the heat exchanger overheat and trip the safety limit switch. After that, failed hot surface ignitors, flame sensors coated in enough residue that the furnace lights and then shuts down after about thirty seconds, and thermostats that have lost their programming or their batteries.
Blower motors and control boards do fail, and those cost real money, but they are not where the odds sit. Most furnace calls are not catastrophic.
Santa Clara furnaces run intermittently for about four months a year and get ignored for the other eight, which is why so many of the calls we take are for systems nobody has looked at since the last time they broke.
Check two things first, because they cost nothing. Is the thermostat set to heat, with a target temperature above what the room currently reads, and does it have working batteries? Is the filter visibly grey?
If neither of those fixes it, call a licensed HVAC contractor.
If you smell gas, leave the house first and call the gas utility, not us.
Santa Clara is not a PG&E customer. The city runs its own municipal electric utility, Silicon Valley Power, and SVP has its own rebate programme that PG&E customers cannot access. The amounts are substantially larger.
Amounts as SVP listed them on 7 July 2026: up to $10,000 for a heat pump HVAC system replacing a gas furnace ($3,000 per ton), $1,000 per system when replacing electric resistance heat, $5,500 for a heat pump water heater converting from gas, up to $4,000 for a smart electric panel, $1,500 for a main service panel upgrade and $75 for an HVAC tune up. Income qualified households through FRAP or LIHEAP receive an additional $50 to $1,000 depending on the measure.
SVP closed the heat pump HVAC rebate on 31 January 2026 and told applicants to check back on 1 July. It is listed as open again, but SVP’s own programme rules document still shows it as closed, so confirm the position before you commit to a system.
Two conditions matter. You must be a City of Santa Clara resident receiving electricity from SVP, so check your bill rather than assuming. And SVP only reimburses work performed by a licensed or qualified contractor. Our California licence is 483881, covering C20 HVAC and C36 plumbing.
We do not administer the rebate and cannot promise you will qualify. What we can do is size and install a system that meets the requirements and give you the documentation SVP asks for. Amounts and rules change, so confirm current terms with SVP directly.
Yes. The City of Santa Clara requires a permit for HVAC work, and runs a Simple Permits process for like for like furnace, air conditioner and ductwork replacement. Those are typically approved within one to two business days.
The part that catches people out: Simple Permits are only available for single family homes, duplexes and ADUs. Townhomes, apartments and condominiums are excluded and go through the standard permit process instead. If you own a condo near Lawrence Station or a townhome on the north side, expect a longer timeline than your neighbour in a ranch house.
We pull permits as part of the job. If you want to confirm anything directly, the city’s Permit Center is 408-615-2420.
Most Santa Clara calls get a technician the same day, often within a few hours. Our Campbell shop at 100 Cristich Lane is roughly ten minutes from most Santa Clara addresses, and we answer the phone twenty four hours a day.
If your heat is out in winter, or the AC has failed in a house with someone elderly or a young baby in it, say so when you call and we will move you up the schedule.
Sometimes the schedule changes or a job runs longer than anticipated. When that happens we will tell you as soon as we know.
Bellows’ Annual Home Protection Plan is a membership programme covering your home’s plumbing, heating and AC equipment, keeping it maintained and running properly.
Membership is $300 a year. It takes the $189 diagnostic fee to zero, including after hours and weekend calls, and members get priority scheduling and value rate pricing on repairs.
Yes. We have held our C36 plumbing licence since 1984, and have since added C20 for HVAC and C10 for electrical. We are insured, bonded, and carry workers compensation insurance. CA Lic# 483881.
Our technicians are NATE certified, factory trained by the manufacturers we install, and undergo regular technical and safety training.
In home repair there can always be defective parts, installer error, and occasionally the unexplainable. We guarantee all of our work and offer a one year no questions asked test drive on any new product install.
If you do not like how the system performs in that first year, we deal with it.
We screen, interview and background check every employee, and technicians arrive in marked vehicles. Bellows is a family owned and operated business, and we would not employ anyone we would not trust in our own homes.
We will not promise you a specific technician. We are a large team and scheduling moves. What we will promise is that whoever arrives holds the same licence and the same training.
We take cash, check, Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express.
For jobs up to $1,000 we accept credit cards with no processing fee. Above $1,000 we take checks, or credit cards with a 2.5% processing fee.
We also offer financing on certain plumbing and HVAC installations. The plans change, so call to find out which one fits your project.
We are happy to install customer supplied fixtures. The exceptions are pipe, fittings, valves, water heaters and all HVAC equipment such as furnaces, air conditioners and ductless mini splits.
Please see our warranty page for warranty restrictions on customer supplied materials.
For expert HVAC service in the SF Bay Area, pick up the phone and call us today!