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Diagnosis first, numbers second - you approve the repair price before a single part goes in.
Get your free estimateTrusted Furnace Repair for San Francisco Homeowners
Furnace Repair - San Francisco typically costs between $175 and $825, and most common fixes are completed the same day. When your heat cuts out in the middle of a fog-chilled night in the Richmond or a January cold snap on Twin Peaks, you need someone who answers the phone and tells you exactly who’s coming to your door. Brandt HVAC Co San Francisco has been fixing furnaces in this city since 2003, and our technicians arrive uniformed, background-checked, and introduced to you by name before they ever ring the bell. Devin Marlowe and the team answer live at (559) 245-8807, 24 hours a day.
What Furnace Repair Actually Costs in San Francisco
Most furnace repairs in San Francisco run between $175 and $825, depending on the part and how long the fix takes. Here’s what that looks like in real dollars:
- Igniter replacement: $150 – $300, parts and labor included
- Flame sensor cleaning or replacement: $120 – $220
- Blower motor repair: $300 – $600
- Gas valve replacement: $250 – $500
- Thermostat replacement: $150 – $400
- Heat exchanger inspection and minor repair: $400 – $825
You get a written price before any work starts. No exceptions, no surprises, no “while we’re in there” add-ons. If the repair fails within 365 days, we come back at no charge under the 365-Day Done Right Promise.
Written by Devin Marlowe, Owner at Brandt HVAC Co San Francisco, serving San Francisco since 2003.
Styles & brands we work with
Furnace Maintenance
Furnace Maintenance is the routine service that keeps your system from failing when you need it most, and it’s the single best way to avoid a $825 emergency repair on the coldest night of the year. In San Francisco, we recommend a tune-up every fall before the damp, cool season sets in, especially in fog-prone neighborhoods like the Sunset and Ingleside where furnaces cycle more often. Brandt HVAC Co San Francisco performs a full maintenance visit that costs $95 to $235, and it includes a written report of what we found and what actually needs attention, not a manufactured list of upsells. Our technicians aren’t paid on what they sell, so the recommendations you get are the ones your furnace genuinely needs.
What Gets Checked
We clean the flame sensor, test the ignition sequence, inspect the heat exchanger for cracks, check gas pressure, and measure airflow through your ducts. Each of these has a specific pass/fail threshold, and we show you the numbers rather than just telling you things look fine. A cracked heat exchanger is a carbon monoxide risk, so we treat that inspection as non-negotiable on every maintenance visit.
When to Schedule Yours
Book your maintenance in September or October, before the first real cold stretch hits and every HVAC company in San Francisco gets booked solid. If you have an older furnace in a home near the ocean in the Outer Richmond or Pacifica-adjacent areas, salt air corrosion means twice-a-year checks are worth considering. The $95 to $235 you spend on maintenance is almost always less than the emergency repair it prevents.
Heat Pump Repair
Heat Pump Repair covers systems that both heat and cool your home, and in San Francisco’s mild climate, they’re common in newer construction and ADUs across neighborhoods like Noe Valley and the Mission. Heat pumps fail differently than furnaces because they run year-round, which means parts like reversing valves and defrost boards wear out even when you’re not thinking about heat. Brandt HVAC Co San Francisco repairs heat pumps for the same $175 to $825 range as furnaces, with a written price before any work begins and a 365-day guarantee on every fix we make.
Common Heat Pump Failures
The reversing valve is the part that switches your system between heating and cooling, and when it sticks, you’ll get cold air in heating mode or warm air in summer. We also see refrigerant leaks in older systems, which is the fluid that moves heat through the coil, and low refrigerant will make your heat pump run constantly without ever warming the house. Both are diagnosed with a pressure test and a temperature differential check, not guesswork.
Repair vs. Replacement Signals
If your heat pump is under 10 years old and the fix is under $500, repair almost always makes sense. Past 12 to 15 years, or when you’re looking at a compressor or coil failure above $800, the math starts tilting toward replacement, and we’ll show you the numbers honestly rather than pushing you one way. We service York, Daikin, and Bryant heat pumps regularly and can pull specifications for your exact model before we arrive.
Heating Repair
Heating Repair is the umbrella term for fixing any system that keeps your home warm, and in San Francisco that spans everything from central forced-air furnaces to ductless mini-splits in older Victorians. We also provide Furnace Repair - South San Francisco for homes just south of the city limits. When your heat isn’t working, the cause could be electrical, mechanical, or gas-related, and diagnosing it correctly the first time is what separates a $200 fix from a $800 wild guess. Brandt HVAC Co San Francisco charges between $175 and $825 for heating repairs, always with a written price before work starts and a technician who has been background-checked and introduced to you by name and photo before arrival.
Electrical vs. Mechanical
Electrical failures, like a dead capacitor or a failed control board, often show up as a furnace that hums but won’t start, or one that starts and stops immediately. Mechanical failures, like a seized blower motor or a worn belt, usually make noise first: grinding, squealing, or rattling that gets worse over time. We diagnose both with a multimeter and a visual inspection, and we explain what we found in plain language before you commit to anything.
Why Diagnosis Matters
An honest diagnostic is the most valuable part of any heating repair, because a misdiagnosed problem means you pay for a part that doesn’t fix the issue. That’s why every Brandt HVAC Co San Francisco repair starts with a systematic check of the ignition system, safety switches, gas valve, and blower before we recommend anything. If we fix the wrong thing, the 365-Day Done Right Promise means we return free of charge and make it right.
Boiler Repair
Boiler Repair is the specialty work of fixing hydronic heating systems, which use hot water or steam instead of forced air, and they’re common in San Francisco’s older homes in areas like Pacific Heights, the Haight, and Presidio Terrace. For homes across the bay, we also offer Furnace Repair - Alameda. Boilers run at higher pressure than furnaces and involve a closed loop of water, so the failures are different: pressure valve problems, circulator pump failures, and air-locked radiators. Brandt HVAC Co San Francisco handles boiler repairs in the same $175 to $825 range as furnace work, and every job starts with a written price and ends with a written guarantee.
Low Heat or No Heat
A boiler that produces weak heat usually has a failing circulator pump, which is the part that pushes hot water through your radiators, or a zone valve that’s stuck closed. No heat at all often points to a faulty aquastat, the thermostat that tells the boiler when to fire. Both are repairable same-day in most cases, and we carry common circulator and zone valve parts on the truck.
Pressure and Leak Concerns
Boiler pressure that keeps dropping suggests a leak somewhere in the system, and while that sounds alarming, it’s usually a replaceable part like a pressure relief valve or an expansion tank that’s lost its air charge. We’ll find the leak with a pressure test and a visual inspection of the loop, then fix it without draining your whole system unless we have to. If you hear banging or knocking from your radiators, that’s trapped air, and it’s a straightforward fix we handle on a maintenance visit.
Gas Furnace Repair
Gas Furnace Repair is the work of fixing the most common heating system in San Francisco, and it usually involves the ignition system, the gas valve, or the flame sensor, all of which sit in the furnace’s burner compartment. Because these systems burn natural gas, safety comes first: a cracked heat exchanger or a leaking gas valve is a carbon monoxide risk, and those are repairs you should never attempt yourself. Brandt HVAC Co San Francisco charges between $175 and $825 for gas furnace repairs, with a written price before any work and a technician who shows a photo ID badge at your door before entering.
Ignition and Flame Issues
The most common gas furnace failure we see in San Francisco is a dirty or failing flame sensor, which tells the furnace that the burners actually lit, and when it fails, the furnace starts and shuts off after a few seconds. Igniter failures are next, especially on older Bryant and American Standard units that use a hot-surface igniter that wears out over time. Both are usually $150 to $300 fixes that we complete in under an hour.
Gas Valve and Safety
If your furnace won’t light at all, or you smell gas near the unit, shut off the gas at the furnace and call us immediately at (559) 245-8807. A failing gas valve can’t be safely repaired with household tools, and trying to do so risks a gas leak, fire, or carbon monoxide exposure. We test every gas furnace repair with a combustion analyzer to confirm proper fuel-to-air ratio and no carbon monoxide before we leave your home.
Furnace Tune Up
Furnace Tune Up is our $95 to $235 maintenance service that includes cleaning, testing, and a written report on the actual condition of your furnace, and it’s the best $200 you can spend on home heating in San Francisco. Think of it as the difference between catching a worn belt before it snaps on a cold night and paying $400 for an after-hours blower motor replacement. Brandt HVAC Co San Francisco performs tune-ups year-round, but the smartest time to book is late summer or early fall, before the rainy season and before every furnace in the Bay Area gets its first cold-weather workout.
What the Price Includes
Your tune-up covers cleaning the flame sensor, checking the igniter, inspecting the heat exchanger, testing gas pressure, measuring airflow, and testing all safety switches. We also check your thermostat calibration and your air filter, and we document everything in a written report you keep. If we find something that needs repair, we show you the issue and give you a written price before doing anything, no pressure and no obligation.
Post-Tune-Up Expectations
After a Brandt HVAC Co San Francisco tune-up, your furnace should start faster, run quieter, and heat more evenly, and if it doesn’t, we come back under the 365-Day Done Right Promise. We do see older furnaces in neighborhoods like Bernal Heights and Glen Park where a tune-up reveals a heat exchanger crack, and in that case we’ll walk you through your options honestly, including whether repair or replacement makes more sense for your budget.
Emergency Furnace Repair
Emergency Furnace Repair is exactly what it sounds like: a furnace that dies on a cold San Francisco night and needs fixing now, not next week, and Brandt HVAC Co San Francisco answers the phone with a live person 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We also dispatch Daly City Furnace Repair technicians for homes just south of the county line. When you call (559) 245-8807 at 2 a.m., you won’t get a voicemail or a callback queue, you’ll get a real person who can dispatch a technician to your home in San Francisco, often within a couple of hours. Emergency repairs fall within the same $175 to $825 range as standard work, because we don’t believe in charging a premium for showing up when you’re cold and vulnerable.
What Counts as an Emergency
No heat in freezing or near-freezing weather is an emergency, and so is any gas smell, a carbon monoxide detector going off, or a furnace that won’t shut off and is overheating. A furnace that’s making a loud banging or grinding noise also qualifies, because running it further risks turning a $200 repair into an $800 one. If your heat is out in a home with young children, elderly family members, or anyone with a respiratory condition, don’t wait, call us right away.
Overnight and Weekend Response
We keep technicians on call in San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area every night, weekend, and holiday, because furnaces don’t fail on a schedule that’s convenient. When you schedule an emergency repair, we tell you exactly who is coming, with their name and photo sent to you before they arrive, and they’ll show a photo ID badge at your door before entering. That’s the Threshold Verified standard, and it matters even more at 3 a.m. when you’re answering the door in the dark.
See the difference
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AfterBrands We Service
Brandt HVAC Co San Francisco services all major residential furnace brands, and our technicians carry OEM parts for the ones we see most often in Bay Area homes. We work on York furnaces regularly, and we know the common failure points on their igniters and control boards, which means faster diagnosis and fewer return trips. On Daikin systems, which are common in newer San Francisco construction and ADUs, we’re familiar with the modulating gas valves and variable-speed blower motors that require specific training to service correctly.
Bryant and American Standard units show up constantly in older San Francisco homes, especially in the Sunset, the Richmond, and the Excelsior, and we’ve serviced enough of them to keep the most common replacement parts stocked on our trucks. Whether you have a York, a Daikin, a Bryant, an American Standard, or any other make, we can help, and we’ll tell you upfront if your furnace is a brand we stock parts for or one we’ll need to order for. Either way, you get a written price before we start.
Signs You Need a Pro Right Now
- Your furnace is blowing cold air. This usually means the burners aren’t lighting, often due to a failed igniter or a dirty flame sensor. Running the system in this state wastes energy and won’t warm your home, and in gas furnaces, it can indicate a safety switch that’s doing its job by shutting things down.
- You smell gas, rotten eggs, or burning. A gas smell means shut the furnace off, open windows if it’s safe, leave the house, and call us from outside. A burning smell on first startup of the season is often just dust burning off, but a persistent burning smell during normal operation can mean an overheating motor or electrical issue.
- The furnace starts, then shuts off after a minute or two. This short-cycling pattern is almost always a failed flame sensor or a dirty filter, and both are cheap fixes if caught early. Left alone, short-cycling wears out the blower motor and can crack the heat exchanger, turning a $200 repair into an $800 one.
- You hear banging, grinding, or squealing. Banging can mean a delayed ignition in the burners, which is a small explosion happening where it shouldn’t, and it’s a genuine safety concern. Squealing or grinding usually points to a failing blower motor or belt, and both get more expensive the longer they run.
- Your carbon monoxide detector is going off. Treat this as an emergency: open windows, leave the house, and call us from outside or from a neighbor’s home. Carbon monoxide is odorless and colorless, and a working detector is the only thing standing between you and a silent, serious health risk from a cracked heat exchanger or blocked vent.
Our Process, Step by Step
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You call, a person answers. Reach us at (559) 245-8807, day or night, and you’ll speak to a live human being, not a phone tree. We take down the issue, your address, and we tell you who your technician will be, with their name and photo sent to your phone before they arrive.
- 2
We show up on time and prove who we are. Your technician arrives in a marked Brandt HVAC uniform with a photo ID badge, and they’ll introduce themselves at the door by name. The Threshold Verified standard means every technician has been background-checked and identity-verified before they ever step onto your property.
- 3
We diagnose and show you the price in writing. Before any work starts, we inspect the furnace systematically: ignition system, gas valve, safety switches, blower, and heat exchanger. Then we give you a written price for the repair, and no work begins until you approve it in writing.
- 4
We fix it right the first time. Our technicians carry common OEM replacement parts for York, Daikin, Bryant, and American Standard furnaces, so most repairs are completed same-day. After the fix, we test the system with a combustion analyzer to confirm it’s running safely and efficiently, and we show you the results.
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You get a written guarantee. Every repair includes a written guarantee covering parts and labor for 365 days. If it fails within that year, we return free of charge under the 365-Day Done Right Promise, no argument, no additional cost.
How Much Does Furnace Repair Cost in San Francisco?
A typical furnace repair in San Francisco runs between $175 and $825, and where your job lands in that range depends on what’s actually broken. An igniter replacement is usually $150 to $300, a flame sensor fix is $120 to $220, and a blower motor replacement lands between $300 and $600. Gas valve replacements run $250 to $500, and the most expensive common repair is heat exchanger work, which can reach $825 depending on the unit and the access. These are the prices we charge across San Francisco, from the Marina to the Mission to the Sunset, and we show them to you in writing before we start.
What affects the price: the age of your furnace, the brand and model, whether we have the part on the truck or need to order it, and how accessible your unit is. A furnace in a tight crawlspace or a rooftop closet takes longer to work on than one in a clean garage, and labor time is part of the equation. To avoid overpaying, watch for companies that quote a low diagnostic fee and then inflate the repair price to recover it, or that push replacement when a $300 fix would do. Our estimates are free, and they include a written breakdown of parts and labor, so you know exactly what you’re paying for and why. Call (559) 245-8807 for an exact quote on your furnace repair in San Francisco.
Our Service Area Near San Francisco
Brandt HVAC Co San Francisco serves the entire city, from the Outer Richmond and the Sunset to Bayview, Noe Valley, and everywhere between. We also cover the surrounding Bay Area, including Furnace Repair in Oakland, Furnace Repair in Hayward, and nearby communities like Daly City, South San Francisco, Alameda, and San Leandro. Typical response time within San Francisco is 60 to 90 minutes for emergencies, and same-day appointments are usually available for non-emergency calls before noon. If you’re outside the city, ask us about current availability in Berkeley, Richmond, Walnut Creek, or Vallejo, and we’ll give you an honest answer.
Serving San Francisco, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Francisco area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
Frequently Asked Questions About Furnace Repair in San Francisco
Furnace repair is the work of diagnosing and fixing a furnace that isn’t heating properly, isn’t starting, or is making unusual noises. It covers everything from a $150 igniter replacement to an $825 heat exchanger repair. In San Francisco, Brandt HVAC Co San Francisco handles all common furnace repairs with a written price before work starts and a 365-day guarantee on every fix.
Most common furnace repairs, like an igniter or flame sensor replacement, take under an hour once the technician arrives. More involved jobs, like a blower motor or gas valve replacement, can take two to three hours. We stock common parts on the truck, so same-day completion is the norm for most San Francisco homes.
Furnace repair in San Francisco typically costs between $175 and $825, depending on the part and the labor involved. An igniter replacement runs $150 to $300, a blower motor is $300 to $600, and heat exchanger work can reach $825. Every job gets a written price before work begins, so you’ll never be surprised by the bill. Call (559) 245-8807 for a free estimate on your specific furnace.
Yes, we service Bryant furnaces regularly, along with York, Daikin, American Standard, and all other major brands. Our technicians are trained on Bryant’s specific ignition systems and control boards, and we stock common Bryant OEM parts on our trucks. If we need to order a part for your specific model, we’ll tell you upfront and give you a written price before ordering anything.
In most cases, yes. Brandt HVAC Co San Francisco answers the phone 24/7, and we dispatch technicians for same-day and after-hours emergency calls throughout San Francisco. If you call before noon on a normal business day, same-day service is almost always available, and after-hours calls are answered by a live person who can schedule a technician immediately.
Every furnace repair from Brandt HVAC Co San Francisco includes a written 365-day guarantee covering both parts and labor. If the same repair fails within that year, we return free of charge under the 365-Day Done Right Promise. The warranty specifics are written on your invoice, so there’s no ambiguity about what’s covered and for how long.
Clear a path to your furnace and clear the area immediately around it so the technician can work safely, and if the furnace is in a closet or crawlspace, remove anything blocking the access panel. If you have pets, secure them in another room before the technician arrives. Have any recent service records or notes about unusual noises or smells ready, and our technician will talk through the rest with you at the door.
Schedule Your Furnace Repair Service in San Francisco Today
When your furnace quits in San Francisco, you don’t have to open the door to a stranger and hope for the best. Call Brandt HVAC Co San Francisco at (559) 245-8807 and you’ll get a live person, a written price before any work starts, and a background-checked technician whose name and photo are sent to you before they arrive. Your estimate is free, your repair is guaranteed for 365 days, and we’re on call 24/7. Back to home.