Tri-Valley HVAC & Appliance Repair Guide

HVAC Rebates and Permits in the Tri-Valley

By Andrew Kuznetsov, a licensed Bay Area contractor (CSLB #1136642, C-20, EPA 608), for the Tri-Valley homeowner’s guide.

Two things trip people up when they replace a furnace, AC, or heat pump out here: which rebate programs they actually qualify for, and who issues the permit. Both answers depend on what town you’re in. Here’s how it breaks down.

A quick note on money. Rebate amounts and rules change often, and funding runs out mid-year. Treat anything below as a pointer, not a quote. Confirm current terms on the agency’s own site before you count on a dollar.

Your electricity supplier sets your rebate menu

This part surprises folks. PG&E delivers the gas and electric lines and sends the bill everywhere in the valley, but it isn’t always the company that generates your electricity. That generator runs its own rebate menu, so two neighbors in different towns can be eligible for different programs.

  • Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore — Ava Community Energy (formerly East Bay Community Energy).
  • San Ramon, Danville — MCE Clean Energy.
  • Alamo and Blackhawk — unincorporated Contra Costa County, so they follow the county’s setup.

PG&E still runs its own gas-appliance and efficiency programs valley-wide, so check pge.com no matter your town.

Programs worth checking

BayREN runs home-energy rebates across all nine Bay Area counties, including this one. It has covered heat-pump HVAC, duct sealing, and insulation in the past. Funding is first-come, first-served and runs out each year, and its older “Home+” cash program was retired, so look at what’s actually on offer right now.

TECH Clean California is a statewide push behind heat pumps. If you’re swapping a gas furnace for an electric heat pump, that’s the program to read up on.

Before you buy, it’s worth confirming the exact model qualifies. Energy Star lets you check a model, and the California Energy Commission sets the efficiency standards that California installs have to meet.

On the federal side: the 25C heat-pump credit and the 25D geothermal credit both expired at the end of 2025 under the 2025 tax law. They aren’t available for 2026 installs. If you finished a qualifying install on or before December 31, 2025, you may still be able to claim it on your 2025 return. None of this is tax advice, so confirm with a tax pro or at energy.gov.

Who issues the permit

A like-for-like repair usually needs no permit. A furnace, AC, or heat-pump replacement, a changeout, or any gas or electrical line work generally does. A licensed contractor normally pulls the permit as part of the job. If someone tells you to skip the permit on a replacement, treat that as a red flag.

Where you file depends on your jurisdiction:

  • Dublin — Building & Safety, City of Dublin, Alameda County: dublin.ca.gov/114/Building-Safety
  • Pleasanton — Permit Center, City of Pleasanton, Alameda County: cityofpleasantonca.gov
  • Livermore — Building Division, City of Livermore, Alameda County: livermoreca.gov
  • San Ramon — Permit Center, City of San Ramon, Contra Costa County: sanramon.ca.gov
  • Danville — Building Division, Town of Danville, Contra Costa County: danville.ca.gov
  • Alamo and Blackhawk — unincorporated, so permits go through the Contra Costa County Department of Conservation & Development at contracosta.ca.gov, not a town hall.

Licensing, briefly

Any contractor doing HVAC work in California needs an active C-20 license. You can look one up on the CSLB site. Anyone handling refrigerant also needs EPA Section 608 certification, which you can read about at epa.gov/section608.

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