South Bay Air heating & cooling
Ross Stephan has over 20 years in the HVAC industry, with residential and commercial experience. Since 2015 we’ve installed and serviced systems across the Peninsula, the South Bay and parts of the East Bay.
Now scheduling installations for early October
Trusted by Bay Area builders and property managers
- Harwood & Pell Builders
- Almaden Ridge Construction
- Coyote Creek Remodel Co.
- Pinecrest Design-Build
- Stevens Creek Property Group
- Madrone Custom Homes
What we do
Ten services, one standard: equipment sized for your house, installed cleanly, permitted properly. Every job is quoted in writing after we’ve seen it.
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Central air conditioning
Replacement of tired split systems and first-time AC for homes that never had it. We size every system from a room-by-room load calculation, not the tonnage printed on the old unit.
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Heat pumps & electrification
One outdoor unit that heats in winter and cools in summer, often replacing both a gas furnace and an AC. We walk you through panel capacity and rebate eligibility before you commit.
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Ductless mini-splits
Quiet wall, ceiling or floor units for additions, converted garages, ADUs and upstairs rooms the central system never reached. Each zone gets its own thermostat.
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Furnaces
Repair and replacement of gas furnaces, including high-efficiency condensing models. Every visit ends with a combustion and carbon monoxide check.
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Repair & diagnostics
No cooling, short-cycling, strange noises, water around the air handler. We find the actual cause, explain it in plain English and tell you the cost before any work starts.
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Seasonal maintenance
A spring cooling check and a fall heating check: coils, drains, refrigerant readings, electrical connections, filters. The cheapest way to avoid a July breakdown.
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Ductwork
Design, sealing and full replacement of duct systems. Leaky, undersized ducts are behind most hot-and-cold-room complaints, and new ducts are tested before we leave.
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Indoor air quality
Media filtration up to MERV 13, whole-home HEPA bypass, fresh-air ventilation and humidity control. Built for fire season, allergies and tightly sealed new homes.
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Zoning & smart controls
Motorized dampers and connected thermostats so the upstairs stops fighting the downstairs. We set up schedules and show you how to use them.
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New construction & light commercial
Mechanical design and installation for custom homes, remodels, offices and small retail, including VRF systems. We work alongside your GC from rough-in to final.
Not sure which one you need? Describe the problem and we’ll tell you.
Request a site visitFrom first call to final inspection
Here’s what happens after you get in touch, and roughly how long each part takes.
Start with a callCall or email
Tell us what’s happening, or what you’re planning. A photo of the equipment label helps if you have one.
Reply the same business dayOn-site visit
Ross looks at the equipment, ducts, electrical panel and the rooms themselves, and measures what he needs for a load calculation.
About 60–90 minutesWritten proposal
You get an itemized proposal with clear options: repair or replace, and a couple of equipment choices where it makes sense. No sign-today pressure.
Within 2–3 business daysPermit & installation
We pull the city permit, protect floors and finishes, install, and haul away the old equipment.
1–3 days for most homesCommissioning & follow-up
We test airflow, static pressure and refrigerant charge, walk you through the system and schedule the final inspection. Then we check in a week later.
Final inspection + 7-day check-in
7-day satisfaction window. Not right? We come back.
If anything about our work isn’t what you expected, contact us within 7 days of completion and we’ll return to address it.
South Bay Air vs. a high-volume HVAC chain
Big outfits have their place. Here’s what’s different when the owner is on your job.
With South Bay Air
- The owner does the assessmentRoss comes out himself, measures, and answers your questions directly.
- Sized by calculationEvery replacement starts with a Manual J load calculation for your house.
- A proposal you can take your time withWritten and itemized. No expiring same-day discounts.
- One crew, start to finishThe people who scoped the job are the people who install it.
- Permits and inspections handledIncluding Title 24 and HERS verification where required.
With a typical chain
- A commissioned salesperson visitsOften not the person who will do the work.
- Sized like-for-likeThe new unit matches the old tonnage, right or wrong.
- Pressure to sign on the spotDiscounts that expire when the salesperson leaves.
- Rotating subcontractorsDifferent faces on install day, and again for warranty calls.
- Permits treated as optionalSkipped inspections can surface later when you sell.
Before you ask
The questions we hear most often. Anything else, call (408) 440-1692.
Every home is different, so we don’t quote installations over the phone. After an on-site visit you get a written, itemized proposal. For repairs, we explain what we found and what it costs before any work starts. You can see everything we do on our services page.
Repair calls are usually seen within 1–3 business days. Installations are typically scheduled one to two weeks out, depending on equipment availability and permits.
The Peninsula, the South Bay and parts of the East Bay, including San Jose, Los Gatos, Saratoga, Campbell, Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Fremont. If you’re nearby and not sure, just ask.
Yes. Every equipment replacement and new installation is permitted with your city, and we handle Title 24 paperwork and HERS verification where California requires it.
Your address, a short description of the problem or project, and a photo of the equipment label if it’s easy to reach. At the visit we’ll need access to the attic or crawlspace, the equipment and the electrical panel.
Yes. A large share of our work is new construction and remodels. We coordinate with your general contractor and architect on mechanical layout, rough-in and final inspection.
We service all major brands, including Carrier, Trane, Lennox, Rheem, Mitsubishi Electric and Daikin. For new equipment we recommend what fits the house and the budget, not a single brand.
Contact us within 7 days of completion and we’ll come back to address it. The full terms are in our refund policy.
A small company, on purpose
Ross Stephan has over 20 years in the HVAC industry, with experience in residential and commercial work. South Bay Air started in 2015 and serves the Peninsula, South Bay and parts of the East Bay.
We stay small so the person who looks at your house is the person responsible for the result. That means fewer jobs at a time, and each one done properly: measured, permitted, tested and explained.
- Early 2000s
Learning the trade
Ross started in HVAC on residential service and commercial jobs around the Bay Area: service vans, rooftop units, tenant improvements and new construction.
- 2015
South Bay Air opens in San Jose
After more than a decade working for others, Ross started his own company with a simple rule: size it right, install it cleanly, and answer the phone afterwards.
- 2020
Fire season changes the work
Weeks of wildfire smoke made clean indoor air a real concern for Bay Area families. Filtration and fresh-air upgrades became a regular part of what we install.
- Today
Peninsula, South Bay, East Bay
We work in homes from Menlo Park to Morgan Hill and across into Fremont, on everything from a single mini-split to full heat-pump conversions and new custom homes.
Our mark is a floor plan of sorts: air finding its way through every room of a house.
Your point of contact
No call centers and no hand-offs. You’ll have Ross’s number from the first visit to the last inspection.
Ross Stephan
Owner & lead technician
“I’d rather spend an extra hour sizing a system than have you live with the wrong one for fifteen years.”
What clients say
Homeowners, builders and property managers from Sunnyvale to Willow Glen.
“Our furnace and AC were both at the end of their life. Ross did a proper load calculation and told us we could go with a smaller heat pump than two other companies had quoted. The house has never been this even, the crew protected our floors, and the inspection passed the first time.”
“We’ve done four custom homes with South Bay Air. Rough-in happens on schedule, and the mechanical plan matches what actually gets built.”
“Our upstairs bedrooms were unbearable every summer. Two ductless heads later, the kids sleep through the night. Clean work and a clear proposal.”
“Ross handles seasonal maintenance across our units. Reports are clear, and when something breaks he tells me straight what it needs.”