Jim and his team have done a superb job at my 1916 house. They started with getting all the permits, took down the old asbesto-filled gravity furnace, laid down a few new ducts and installed an excellent new Carrier unit. Well done! Very punctual, clean and accurate!!! read more

Ocean Air Heating - Heating & Air Conditioning/HVAC Near Me

I really like these guys. The owner James is very cool and responsive. The technician Kevin was super knowledgeable, prompt and professional. The work was done immaculately and timely. I am thinking of having them come back and do more stuff, as I see how the work should look and my prior hvac person did a super sloppy work. I just did not even know it was supposed to be done so cleanly. Clearly I was had like a dummy by my former hvac person. To top it off, the owner actually talked me out of hvac work knowing that I used so little heating. Great guys. I support this business. read more

James (the owner) is knowledgeable, transparent and dependable, and the team (Juan, Kevin and Yuri) did a fantastic job installing a new mini split air conditioning system in our house. They problem solved a number of installation challenges very effectively, and were super considerate during the job. Couldn't be happier. read more

We had Ocean Air install a mini-split air conditioner and replace our ancient furnace. James and his crew were fantastic. Their price was fair, their advice was great, their work was done well, on time, and within budget, and James's post-job follow-up was great. I would definitely recommend them! read more

If need HVAC work and are considering Ocean air heating, just do it. You'll have a competent professional who isn't going to take you for a ride. James was great to work with. He made availability on a holiday weekend to look at my old furnace at a rental property that our tenants were saying wasn't working right. He was prompt, gave me a heads when he left the shop and when he would arrive, and was very courteous with both me and the tenants. He didn't complain about the cramped and dark access to the furnace, and in general just made me feel at ease Despite me telling him I had a forced air furnace with a blown blower motor (assumptions!), he politely explained that I actually had a gravity furnace, which he normally doesn't service. At this point he really could of have just split and stuck me with a service call bill since I gave him bad information. Instead he spent the time to take a look anyways to let me know that it was working or not (if it wasn't he had a great referral). Great news! No major repair needed! After running up and down the stairs, he made some simple adjustments with the furnace dampers to satisfy the tenants and taught me how to make the adjustments myself for when the seasons change. His service fee was in line or lower than other HVAC companies I have worked with. James prides himself on being fair, and let me know that since the service call was so simple and straightforward, that he gave me a significant discount from the normal rate. Wow! He really did not need to do that. I got the feeling that this guy is about giving fair experiences in order to build trust and customer relationships for repeat business. No doubt I will go to James again for my personal home or our rental property. read more

James is very knowledgeable and reliable. Installed new furnace and everything went smoothly. Recommend highly and I am super particular about hiring people. read more

Responded quickly by Yelp messaging with quotation and very friendly to work with! Will be using again In the future!

James is the ultimate professional and incredible with customer service. When he came by to provide an estimate for installing a new AC unit in my house, he found the heater blew a fuse and was able to fix it in minutes and even waved the fee given how much of a pinch I was in. His team installed our unit in 2 days and we could not be any happier with its performance. He is a straight shooter who will do high quality work. HIGHLY RECOMMEND! read more

Nothing but good things to say about James and his crew. Our furnace broke a little more than a week before my wife was due to give birth to our son. It also happened to be right before the holidays and one of the coldest weeks of the year (awesome timing). We called around and nobody seemed to have the time to even come take a look at our issue. James to the rescue. He showed up the next day, diagnosed the problem, and agreed to come back a few days later and install a new Carrier system. He's friendly, well informed, and honest. If honesty is why you're searching Yelp for a HVAC repair technician, and let's face it, that's why most of us use Yelp, then rest assured that James will treat you fair. I know this because my parents' furnace broke a little more than a year ago (they also live in the city) and one of the competitors replaced their system with the same Carrier 96% efficiency furnace we got, for significantly more money. You can trust James to give you an honest quote and to do good work. He's also very prompt responding to text messages and was always on time for appointments. Sorry if it sounds weird to give such a glowing review, but James and his team are the real deal. My wife and I, and the baby, couldn't be happier with our furnace. Thanks again James! read more

We checked with a few companies and James gave us not only the best price, but also the best communication. He did a great job of listening to what we needed and explaining his recommendation. The ductless mini units that his team installed works great. After installation, we did run into a strange software problem, and he was very responsive in following up afterwards and helped us successfully resolve the problem. Would recommend! read more

James at Ocean Air is highly recommended! Great communicator, professional and knowledgeable. Thank you for making the process of getting a new furnace so easy! read more

I'd been trying to get a mini-split unit repaired for months, and kept getting crazy quotes from people who wanted to redo the entire system at enormous cost. When I called Ocean Air, they suggested finding the leak and repairing it, then recharging the system, which made sense to me. They came out a few days later and did the work in a few hours at a very reasonable price! I would definitely call them again. read more

"50 minute response time"? It's been 48 hours so far. I called another company to revive my dead furnace.

Very friendly and helpful. Correctly diagnosed a broken furnace where another service got it wrong. Was able to repair on the spot.

These guys are great! We've had the same furnace the house came with when we moved in back in 2006, and our energy bills have been nuts lately with all the working from home we've had to do in the last year, so we decided to just get an energy efficient furnace instead which should help with that. We got 3 estimates from local businesses, and the one from James was the best and the quickest. That was last week. Today he and his guys came in and installed a 96% energy efficient furnace in about 4 hours with no headaches or extra charges. They were all nice, made sure everything was working properly, and even cleaned up the area they were working on before they left. We thought we would have to wait months to get someone to come in to replace the old dragon in the garage, so it's great to finally have it done. We also learned that our old furnace was never actually installed properly to begin with, not having proper insulation or even having an exhaust pipe put in, which was an unpleasant surprise since the furnace has been running beneath our bedroom for the last 15 years... Needless to say they made sure the new one was properly vented and insulated and working correctly before heading out. James is an excellent guy and I highly recommend him and his crew. :) read more

We hired James and his team to install AC in our house in SF. Put briefly, the team was truly top notch. James gave us highly personalized recommendations, talked through pros and cons, and, midway through the project, helped us realize that a heat pump would be a more efficient and economical way of heating and cooling our place since we were adding solar. Throughout the entire process--including after the project was finished and paid for--James would respond to emails or phone calls within the same day and, often times, just minutes after I sent an email. His team was professional, efficient, and went the extra mile to make sure we understood everything about the system we needed to. If you are looking for a high quality and attentive team led by someone who values longitudinal over transactional relationships, we highly recommend James and the whole Ocean Air team. read more

Ocean Air Heating did a full furnace and duct replacement in our SF home. James, the owner, was very responsive, has a great deal of knowledge and was very communicative throughout the process. His crew was also very professional: excellent at what they do, polite and always on time. read more

James and his crew came to replace my heating furnace which (of course) crapped out during the Winter. They were knowledgeable, straight-forward, and easy to communicate with. They worked with my schedule, and the crew was super friendly and nice. I would highly recommend Ocean Air Heating! read more

Our 20+ year old forced air heater stopped working. I called James yesterday and he had Kevin out to the house today. He not only fixed the heater quickly and efficiently, but he also helped explain everything he did and then went above and beyond to install a digital thermostat that would make it easier to control the temperature in the house when the heat is on. Kevin was great to work with and I look forward to using these guys again in the future! I highly recommend them for heating or cooling needs - we are definitely going to use these guys should we eventually put in an AC system. read more

I recently used Ocean Air Heating to install a new heating system, replacement ducts and 3 thermostats (for 3 separate zones) after removing a 1930s gravity furnace and we are VERY happy. James is super responsive and highly committed quality and service. His team members Juan and Luis were terrific too. James' estimate for the cost of the work was accurate as was his estimate of how long it would take to complete. When the system started mysteriously misbehaving a couple of months after installation, James got on the case immediately and quickly diagnosed the issue (blocked filter owing to another contractor creating a ton of dust.) read more

Really impressed with the service and quality of work by Ocean Air Heating. We reached out to Ocean Air after discovering a leaking gas control valve in our furnace. James asked for a few details on the furnace and explained where to find them. He arrived promptly the next morning with the parts we needed and texted on his way. He was professional, courteous and explained the work he needed to do. The resulting work was neat and clean and he wrapped it up pretty quickly. The price was fair and I will absolutely hire Ocean Air again for any HVAC needs. read more

This is a trustworthy business. The owner was responsive and explained what the problem was. This is a down-to-earth business. This will be our go to person. read more

Highly recommend James and his crew. James is a no nonsense, straight shooter and is very responsive. His passion for heating is evident and has extensive experience with SF heating systems. I haven't used my new system yet but everything seems to be good to go and it was all done with the right level of professionalism. read more

We had a great experience working with Ocean Air. We felt like James really heard what we wanted and worked to set up the perfect system for us. We let him know we had problems at a previous house with a system that was really loud, and he made sure we had a quiet system this time. We are switching to solar and he understood that and helped us with an appropriate system; some other HVAC folks I talked to just kept telling me that gas was cheaper than electric, apparently not understanding solar at all. We got set up with a new furnace and heat pump (craned onto our roof) with both heating and AC. Claudio and Juan did the installation and they were great. Everyone at Ocean Air was professional, punctual, communicative, and a pleasure to work with. They treated our house well and we had absolutely no issues with them working at our house while we were away at work all day--always a small initial anxiety when working with new people, especially as we have a pup we don't want to get out. We would definitely recommend them to anyone who needs a new heating/cooling system or has any HVAC issues! read more

We needed a new thermostat to replace our faithful 1958 model. We called Ocean Air Heating, talked to James, and quickly set up an appointment. The technician, Kevin, called before the appointment time to confirm. He came properly equipped and wearing booties and a Covid mask. He worked quickly, explained how the new piece of equipment worked, and left the area cleaner than when he started. This is a very professional business and I highly recommend it. read more

I'd like to be able to give a good review but after coming to see some work I needed to be done, they said they would get an estimate to me in a few days. Well, it's been 2 weeks and no estimate! I guess these people don't want my business so I went with one of their competitors I guess the recession must be over.... UPDATE - I wasn't going to mention this in my original review but after seeing how the business owner is a real JERK from his comments below. If he didn't want my business why didn't he just say so when he came to make the estimate instead of wasting my time? Here is some more reveling information about this guy's character - he told me that he doesn't pull permits for furnace installations. Not obtaining the necessary permits is a sure sign that he would be cutting corners and not following safely standards. This is also illegal as well as unethical. read more

James and his crew did an excellent job removing my old gravity furnaces and installing two new furnaces in my building. Communication, service, and quality were excellent. When I had a last-minute question, James dropped everything to come out and help the next morning. Highly recommended! read more

The basic facts: I have a 3 burner, pilotless furnace. Burners #1 and #2 fire properly during normal start up, Burner #3 does not. Burner #3 WILL fire and operate normally if an external ignition source is used. Burner #3 contains the temperature sensor for the firebox. If the furnace is left to fire normally, #1 and #2 light, #3 does not. Temp sensor in #3 detects the fault and properly shuts down the system. If the furnace is fired normally PLUS #3 is ignited with a fire stick, all 3 burners operate. The temp sensor in #3 detects proper operating range and the entire system runs for one full heating cycle. Given these facts we can assume 2 things. 1) Burner #3 is getting enough gas to operate normally PROVIDED an ignition source is present 2) The temp sensor is working properly because it kills the system when no flame is present, and it lets the system operate when flame is present. Why then, after I had explained this in detail, did the guys at Ocean Air come out and immediately replace my working temperature sensor? When that didn't fix the problem (because, why would it?) why did they try to convince me that burner #3 wasn't getting enough gas and that the gas valve was was the likely culprit? A new valve was quoted at $650 for just the part (Almost twice what the same part could be obtained for if sourced online). Well, when I started asking Jim these same questions, he quickly became agitated. I asked if he'd be willing to do the work if I sourced the part. He said no. At that point he asked me if I had a problem with him. I told him that, based on the fact that the first thing his crew did was replace a part that I knew wasn't faulty, I was suspicious. He hung up on me. Later that day, Jim called me back and informed me that he didn't want my business and that he wouldn't be cashing the check I gave him for the service call ($125, if I remember correctly). Why not cash the check, Jim? Your technician made the service call. I had no problem paying it because that's what we had agreed upon. Was it meant to be a sign of goodwill? Is Ocean Air so flush with cash that they can afford to send technicians out and do work and then not get paid for their services? OR (and I'm only speculating here) does it have something to do with the fact that you're not in the business of dealing with homeowners who question your work. Had I caught you trying to screw me? What would have happened when you replaced the gas valve and it still didn't fix the problem? My guess is that during the course of the valve replacement, you also would have cleaned the burners since you knew that was what the problem was all along. By the way, I fixed it myself today by cleaning the burners with a wire brush. Deposits between burners 2 and 3 were blocking the pathway that the system depended on to get #3 to light properly. A 20 minute job. read more

James was such a pleasure to work with. He detailed all the work that needed to be done in writing and spoke to me in layman's terms. It was so refreshing to have someone go the extra mile to make sure the whole process was as streamlined and painless as possible because dropping some serious dough stacks on home improvement can be very gut wrenching. James is very communicative and is quick to return emails and answer any questions, simple as they may be - I love because I ask questions like a 4 year old. "Why this and not that?" The removal of my 80 year old gravity furnace and asbestos wrapped ducts was a daunting task, but James and his crew did a wonderful job hauling away that giant piece of scrap metal and installing a brand new Trane 95% efficiency furnace and five ducts. Too bad the PG&E rebate is only $200 bucks now. Oh well - back to the important stuff... The crew was always on time, courteous, and left my place clean and tidy. I can't say enough about how pleased I am with the service and quality of materials that he uses. I'll also add that he gives extremely competitive bids when compared to other highly rated Yelp contractors. Recommended for all your heating needs! Hope he realizes what he's gotten himself into because from now on I'll probably bug him over the smallest silliest reasons concerning my furnace. Yay heat! read more

Our old 75-year-old furnace needed to be replaced. After researching HVAC contractors, I asked Ocean Air and a local, well-reviewed HVAC company to bid on the job. James from Ocean Air came out the next day. The local company took a few days longer. Both contractors were knowledgeable but 2 reasons made us go with James: his quote was lower and he seemed more invested in the job. I look for contractors who take pride in their work, and this is what I saw with James. Both contractors estimated the job would take 2 and a half days, which is what it turned out to be. Ocean Air cut new vent holes, installed all new duct work, installed a light and plug to meet code, and suspended a new Carrier 2-speed furnace in our crawl space. At inspection, I overheard our City Inspectors compliment them on the job: "Wow, you did all that? Beautiful work. I'd hire you." We are so pleased with the results: they pulled permits, dismantled the old furnace and had it picked up by a metal recycler, the new heater works great and is completely silent, they waited for the city inspectors, and the guys left our crawl space looking immaculate. I'm very confident in giving James, Claudio and the rest of his crew 5 stars. They take pride in their work (and it shows), they offer very competitive pricing, and were very considerate and respectful in my home. read more

My furnace broke down last year and I was in need of a quick replacement. I had bids from all the highly rated yelp heating providers. James of Ocean Air was by far the most creative and most reasonable in the mix. Higher bids and more labor from others - Associated Heating proposed a lower end functional unit and based upon my home configuration was going to rip up my house for a direct route access to the support an outside vent. A much bigger labor bid and a unit with a less functionality. I got pretty much the same from the other bids as well. Creative Designing - James during the bidding process made some configuration recommendations that showed much more creativity. He suggested that I hang my heater so that I would have more storage space. He indicated that he could put the rectangular vent tubing in the available ceiling space (floor framing) to minimize the visual impact. And then he indicated that he could design a path for the outside vent that did not require much home changes resulting in less labor to implement. Using his design smarts, I got a much better heater (Carrier variable speed) compared to all the other bids. Beautiful Work - As the job started and progressed, James is really good at communicating expectations and timeframes. Everything was just super clean and he finished a little ahead of schedule. For me, James is a just a stand up guy, responsible and reliable. The final pleasant surprise was when they put in my outside vent tube, Claudio actually put in the extra work to hide the tubing visually by adding extra turns and mounting. I'm just so happy with the work done. The work was permitted and done beautifully (check out some of the photos on Yelp - very similar to what he did with my heater). We love his work so much that we recommended him to close friends and family. Everyone is just happy with his work. read more

James was a pleasure to work with. Mellow and patient, he talked me through the various options, explaining the pros and cons, and informing me, without making me feel like the noob I was. His big was prompt and affordable, and his team delivered exactly like they said they would. If I'd known replacing my furnace was this easy and affordable, I would have done it years ago! read more

It is with great pleasure that I write this 5-star review for James and his crew from Ocean Air and Heating. After much due diligence and 3 separate bids we hired James to install a 95% efficient forced air furnace in our lower unit here in SF. Our furnace is installed in a small crawl space underneath a patio area and the installation was no less than PERFECT. We are amazed each time we look inside the crawl space and often say out loud "how did they do that !" James' bid was right in line with other HVAC companies but what I liked most about James is that he genuinely wants to do a good job. He's clearly experienced and knows his business. Being in SF, all necessary permits were pulled and inspectors were met by James or his crew. They honor their appointment times and the job site was left clean each day. James sent me a copy of the invoice and filled out the PGE paperwork for me to get a rebate, amazing follow through. We still need a gas line for our fireplace insert and an outdoor patio heater - we have James on speed dial and look forward to working with him again. In summary, fair pricing, experienced owner, great follow through, and genuinely good people. It's hard to run a small business, phone ringing all the time with new, current and old customers and they are think they're the only customer you have. It's understandable to read some reviews here about waiting for estimates or call backs but he's a mom-and-pop shop and with that you don't get a receptionist answering your call or emailing you back right away but you do get an overall nice guy who'll do expert work - just be patient. The next time you ask your company for work-life balance, imagine being a small business owner. James is top drawer and we are lucky to have found him. read more

James advised to buy a smart thermostat to install to save energy. My old one was very complicated and always failed, James installed and make sure we knew to operate. Thanks. read more

So happy I chose Ocean Air Heating to install my new furnace. James was very quick to come by the house and provide a quote. By the following week I had a brand new high efficiency heating system! They removed all the asbestos, old ducts and furnace and then installed a shiny new heating system. Work was done neatly and passed inspection without a problem. Just by talking to the man you instantly get the impression that he knows what he's talking about and that he is very familiar with SF and it's funky buildings. As an added bonus James is also a super friendly dude and a dog lover. He was so kind to my recently rescued dog. Simply put, great guy, great work, great furnace, fair price. read more

Ocean Air is a breath of fresh, well, air in the hvac world! They worked on two separate projects at our house in Pacifica, and did a great job both times. It's hard to find a good, reliable contractor, and they were always on time, worked hard, and didn't make me feel like I had to worry about the job or the work quality. And, the price for both jobs was very reasonable! Plus, they had lots of recommendations for other contractors that were outside of their expertise. I'd highly recommend Ocean Air. Good work, good price! read more

James is responsive...left a message at night and he called me first thing in the am. Kevin came by and got my 40 yr old hvac working in minutes. He cleaned it, changed the filter and it's like new. Love these guys. read more

James and his team (Kevin, Juan and George) came out to update my furnace and install ac systems. They were clear about budgets, timelines and updated me at each step. Their work was excellent and very tidy. read more

Simply the guy you want to go with. Get bids from everyone, you'll be happiest with the customer service and the price from James. Great follow up on the job as well. Anything needs tweaking, he's on it. Answers his phone when you call. What more can you ask for? read more

James and his helper did an excellent job in installing a new heater and new air intake in our home. We had not been with heat for over 5 years and had been just using portable heaters throughout the house. They did an excellent job and did the work in 2 days. The inspector came the other day and the work was approved. We are very glad we found James and Ocean Air Heating! Would definitely recommend to others! read more