HVAC
HVAC in Vancouver
Heating and cooling is the most heavily regulated category we coordinate, particularly anything involving gas. All of it is performed by licensed and, for gas, ticketed subcontractors — this is not work a handyman should be doing and we will not pretend otherwise.
Gas work and ticketed fitters
In British Columbia, work on gas appliances and gas piping requires a ticketed gas fitter. There is no grey area in this one and no version of it where a general handyman is the right person. If you have been offered gas work by someone who is not ticketed, the correct response is to decline it.
We bring in a ticketed fitter for gas work and coordinate around them. If you smell gas right now, leave the building and call FortisBC's emergency line from outside — that is not a job for any contractor's next available appointment.
Heating and cooling options here
Vancouver's mild climate makes heat pumps unusually well suited to this region — they cover both heating and cooling, and the winters rarely drop into the range where their efficiency falls away. Installation runs $11,000–$24,000 depending on the system and the house.
Air conditioning has gone from a luxury to something people genuinely want here, and the summer heat events of recent years are why. If you are considering it, the honest sequence is: assess panel capacity first, size the system to a heat-loss calculation second, and choose the brand last. Undersizing is a more expensive mistake than the price gap between quotes.
Seasonal service scheduling
Annual servicing runs $420–$780 and is worth booking off-season. Everyone calls for heating in the first cold week of November and for cooling in the first hot week of July, which is exactly when availability collapses and prices firm up.
Book heating service in late summer and cooling service in spring, and you will get a better date and an unhurried visit. It is the least glamorous advice on this website and one of the few that reliably saves money.
HVAC pricing
$420–$780 service · heat pump installs $11,000–$24,000
Annual service and diagnostics are a fixed visit. Installs are quoted after a heat-loss assessment — an undersized system is a more expensive mistake than the price difference between quotes. All figures exclude GST. See the full rate card.
Common questions
Who can legally work on gas appliances?
Only a ticketed gas fitter, and that is not us. We bring one in and coordinate the job around them. If anyone without a gas ticket offers to do this work for you, decline — and if you smell gas now, leave the building and call FortisBC's emergency line from outside.
Is air conditioning worth it in Vancouver?
Increasingly, yes, and the recent summer heat events are why people who once dismissed it now ask. A heat pump is usually the sensible route here because it does both heating and cooling and our winters stay in the range where it works efficiently. Check panel capacity before committing.
When should heating be serviced?
Late summer, before the first cold week of November when everyone calls at once. Booking off-season gets you a better date, an unhurried visit and often a better price. The same logic applies in reverse for cooling — book it in spring, not in the first heatwave.