Seasonal tune-up and full diagnostic on your Carrier, Trane, or Goodman system - readings shown to you before any repair is proposed
Diagnosis first, numbers second - you approve the repair price before a single part goes in.
HVAC Company in San Rafael, CA
Dalton Heating & Air handles heating and cooling work across San Rafael, CA, from Glenwood to Terra Linda. Homes here are older than most of Marin’s other cities, sloped lots put condensers and furnaces in tight, awkward spaces, and summer heat rolls up from the flats into the hills. If your AC has quit or your furnace is short-cycling, call (361) 306-9515 and a live person answers, day or night. We put the price in writing before any work starts.
Why San Rafael Homes Are Different
San Rafael, CA splits into two housing realities. The canal district and downtown hold pre-1960 bungalows with original ducting, often undersized for today’s cooling loads. The hillside tracts – Lucas Valley, Marinwood, Santa Venetia – run on post-1990 construction, but steep driveways and retaining walls mean outdoor units often sit on uneven pads that settle over time and wreck compressor alignment. We see both every week.
Climate matters too. San Rafael is not as fog-bound as Mill Valley or as hot as Novato, but July and August afternoons routinely push past ninety in the flats, and marine influence means coils running near salt air corrode faster. That combination – older ductwork, coastal humidity, occasional triple-digit stretches – is why a San Rafael AC repair call usually costs more than a flatlands tune-up and less than a full replacement: somewhere in that $150 – $650 range depending on what actually failed.
Our Main San Rafael Services
Three jobs account for most of the work we do in San Rafael: fixing broken air conditioning, installing heat pumps, and repairing furnaces. Each has its own dedicated page with pricing, timelines, and the local conditions that apply.
AC Repair in San Rafael
San Rafael’s summer heat arrives in bursts, and when an AC fails during one, it’s not something to schedule around. Condenser pads settle on sloped lots, contactors burn out in coastal humidity, and duct leaks in pre-1980 homes quietly bleed cooling for years. Our AC Repair in San Rafael service covers diagnosis, the fix, and a written full-year guarantee, with parts for all nine major brands stocked locally. Call and a live person picks up – no callback window.

Heat Pump Installation in San Rafael
Heat pumps make particular sense in San Rafael’s moderate climate, where winter lows rarely justify a gas furnace firing at full blast. We size them to the house, not to a rule of thumb – hilly lots and older ducting change the math more than most homeowners expect. Heat Pump Installation in San Rafael walks through load calculation, rebate paperwork, and what the project costs. The price that gets written down is the price you pay.

Furnace Repair in San Rafael
Furnaces in San Rafael tend to be older than the homes in other Marin cities, and a lot of them fail in the same way: corroded flame sensors, stretched belts, cracked heat exchangers from years of short-cycling. Furnace Repair in San Rafael covers diagnostics and the repair itself, with most jobs landing between $150 and $700. If the fix doesn’t hold for a full year, we come back at no charge – that’s the Garrison Standard, not an add-on.

What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Brands We Service in San Rafael
Dalton Heating & Air services all nine major residential HVAC brands, including Rheem, York, Daikin, and Bryant. Our technicians are factory-trained on each one, and common repair parts are stocked locally so most San Rafael calls wrap up same-day. See our brands for the full list and what we stock per manufacturer.
Pricing for HVAC Company in San Rafael, CA
| Service | Typical range in San Rafael |
|---|---|
| AC repair | $150 – $650 |
| AC installation | $3,500 – $7,500 |
| Furnace repair | $150 – $700 |
| Tune-up | $80 – $200 |
Two things push San Rafael pricing toward the high end: steep lot access and older ducting. A condenser wedged against a hillside retaining wall takes longer to work on, and a 1965 duct system often hides leaks that have to be fixed before a new unit will perform. Either way, the number is in writing before we turn a wrench – no surprises at the door.
Neighborhoods We Serve in San Rafael
We run calls throughout San Rafael, CA, including the flats, the hills, and everything along the 101 corridor. Most of the city is within a 45-minute response window for emergency repairs.
- Glenwood
- Terra Linda
- Lucas Valley
- Santa Venetia
- Marinwood
Service Area – Cities Near San Rafael
Beyond San Rafael proper, Dalton Heating & Air covers the surrounding Marin communities. We regularly work in Larkspur, CA, Kentfield, CA, Corte Madera, CA, and San Anselmo, CA. If you’re just over the line, call and we’ll confirm coverage.
Serving San Rafael, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Rafael area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About HVAC Company in San Rafael
Most San Rafael addresses are within a 45-minute drive of our Bay Area dispatch office. Emergency calls go out the same day, and a live person answers the phone 24/7. Call (361) 306-9515 and we’ll give you a straight arrival window.
Some do. San Rafael’s hillside lots and older housing stock mean a few projects trigger permit review that wouldn’t in flat, newer parts of Marin. We handle the paperwork and tell you upfront if a permit applies to your job – it’s part of the written estimate, not an after-the-fact surprise.
Yes, on every job, without exception. The Garrison Code requires a written price before any work begins, a written guarantee on every repair, and a free return visit if the fix fails within a year. That’s how Dalton Heating & Air operates in San Rafael.
Call (361) 306-9515 for a free estimate on heating and cooling work in San Rafael, CA. A live person answers, the price is in writing before anything starts, and every repair is guaranteed for a full year.
What happens when you call
- 1A real person answersNo phone trees - talk to a local hvac pro.
- 2You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched. No surprises.
- 3We come out and measureLicensed & insured, at a time that suits you - the visit and the quote are both free.
- 4You get the price in writingLine-itemed, yours to keep, and nothing starts until you say go.
What San Rafael Customers Say
"Good communication, tidy, and disciplined work. Taped off the floor and wiped the unit down."
- Karen J."Installed a heat pump to replace an old oil furnace. Three clear quotes and the install crew was tidy."
- Cheryl B."Tech arrived in uniform right on time. AC wasn't cooling, found a failed capacitor, and replaced it in twenty minutes. The owner is a veteran and the company runs like it."
- Frank O.







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