HVAC in Portola Valley, California
Does a new AC have to be a heat pump in Portola Valley?
Yes: when an AC condenser is installed or replaced, the town requires a heat pump in its place. A furnace can still be replaced like for like. How the rules fit together, and where the rebate comes in.
On file for Portola Valley
The condenser rule, the furnace rule, the rebate
On file, last checked 2026-10-22
Read next
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AC rule
What happens when the AC condenser goes in Portola Valley?
A heat pump goes in instead. The town's reasoning: a heat pump in place of the condenser keeps the house's heating and cooling as they are, with the gas furnace still heating, and makes for an easy conversion to heat pump heating and cooling once the furnace reaches the end of its life.
Source: Town of Portola Valley, Green Building and Building Electrification FAQs. Rules and programs change: last checked 2026-10-17.
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Furnace
Can I replace a furnace like for like in Portola Valley?
Yes. The town lets existing equipment, a furnace or a water heater, be replaced like for like. Heat pump equipment is encouraged, not required.
Source: Town of Portola Valley, Green Building and Building Electrification FAQs. Rules and programs change: last checked 2026-10-17.
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Rebate
Does the rebate pay for the heat pump that replaces my condenser?
Not while the gas furnace stays. WestLight Energy's heat pump rebate is for a unit that replaces a gas heater or furnace, and it leaves out dual-fuel systems with gas heat as backup. A heat pump working beside the old furnace is neither.
It comes into play when the furnace goes too: $1,500 per heat pump condensing unit or packaged unit that replaces it.
Source: WestLight Energy (formerly Peninsula Clean Energy), Home Upgrade Rebates Terms and Conditions (updated May 18, 2026). Rules and programs change: last checked 2026-10-22.
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Permit
Does HVAC work need a permit in Portola Valley?
Yes. The town requires a building permit for any installation, alteration or improvement to a mechanical system, as it does for electrical and plumbing work.
Source: Town of Portola Valley, Building Permit FAQs. Rules and programs change: last checked 2026-10-17.
Where we work
The Peninsula line
Our shop is in San Mateo. Every stop below is a city we work in, from San Francisco's neighborhoods down to Gilroy, over to the coast and across to the East Bay. The stops in white have their own page.
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- A city with its own page
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Along the Bay and El Camino
The hills
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