Heating, cooling and heat pumps Campbell

Fixing or replacing a Campbell furnace, wherever it was put

A furnace job in Campbell is shaped by where the old unit sits. The city's trade-permit guide gives each spot its own rule: a garage furnace stands behind vehicle protection with its burners 18 inches up, an attic furnace sits in a drained metal pan, and a gas furnace stays out of bedrooms, bathrooms and clothes closets. Replacing one is a C-20 or owner-builder permit filed online, and the Energy Code's duct test comes with it.

Who pulls the permit
A C-20 contractor or an owner-builder (never an LLC)
Outdoor unit setback
3 ft from any property line, screened from public view
Energy Code zone
Climate zone 4 (ZIP 95008)
Gas furnace NOx limit
14 ng/J since 2024; zero for units made after Jan. 1, 2029
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  • Rules on this page checked against 15 public sources, October 2026
The Ainsley House in Campbell
The Ainsley House in Campbell. Photo: JaGa, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Permits and local rules

The Campbell and state rules a furnace bid has to meet

  1. General Trade Permits (MEP) Application Guide

    Campbell's guide lists HVAC and furnace installation or modification as general trade permit work, submitted electronically through MyGovernmentOnline, and names the C-20 mechanical class for air conditioning, HVAC and furnaces. An owner of a single-family house may act as owner-builder after signing the city's disclosure forms, but a limited liability company cannot. The guide also sets the furnace placement rules for closets, garages and attics that the inspector holds a replacement to.

    Source: City of Campbell Building Inspection Division (ci.campbell.ca.us)

  2. Zoning Code Section 21.18.020, air conditioning units

    Adopted in 2004, this section applies to air conditioners and similar equipment, which it says includes heating and ventilation equipment. Units may not be placed or run in a way that harms surrounding uses, must stand at least 3 feet from any property line, and, whether on the roof or the ground, must be screened from public view with architectural elements, fences or landscaping. Replacing existing equipment triggers the screening requirement, so a new condenser in an old, visible spot may need a screen it never had.

    Campbell Municipal Code (opens in a new tab)

  3. Energy Code Section 150.2(b)1E, altered equipment

    Under the 2025 Energy Code, replacing the air handler, the outdoor condensing unit or a coil counts as altering the system, and the ducts connected to it must be sealed and verified in the field. The Energy Commission notes that changing only the indoor or only the outdoor half of a split system is enough to trigger it. In climate zone 4, where Campbell sits, any new duct run through an attic or crawlspace must also be insulated to R-8.

    Source: California Energy Commission (energy.ca.gov)

  4. Air District Rule 9-4, furnace emissions

    The rule defines a furnace as a space heater with a heat input under 175,000 BTU per hour, and counts combination units with gas heat and electric cooling under 65,000 BTU per hour among central furnaces. Central furnaces made after January 1, 2024 may emit no more than 14 nanograms of NOx per joule of useful heat; those made after January 1, 2029 must emit none. The Air District says the rule covers natural gas equipment, not propane.

    Source: Bay Area Air District (baaqmd.gov)

State license for this work: C-20 Warm-Air Heating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning, C-4 Boiler, Hot Water Heating and Steam Fitting, C-10 Electrical. Look up a contractor's license on the CSLB website (cslb.ca.gov).

Free, no obligation. Next, add your details in the request form.

The work

From a no-heat call to a full change-out

  1. Keeping an older gas furnace running

    A repair does not bring the Air District into it. Rule 9-4 is aimed at whoever sells, installs or offers for sale a gas furnace, and its zero-NOx standard reaches only furnaces manufactured after January 1, 2029, so a working unit can be serviced for as long as it stays safe. CSLB's C-20 class covers maintaining, servicing and repairing warm-air heating systems along with their flues, filters and thermostatic controls, so the same license that installs a furnace is the one to look for on a repair.

  2. A new furnace where the garage unit stood

    Campbell's guide keeps a garage furnace's burner assembly 18 inches above the floor and protected from vehicle damage. The Energy Code adds its own clause for garages: when a furnace, coil, plenum or duct in a garage is replaced or altered, the system must test at 6 percent leakage or less, or every accessible leak in the garage must be sealed and checked by an ECC-Rater with a smoke test, however short the new duct run is.

  3. Swapping a furnace in the attic

    Up in the attic, Campbell wants the furnace set in a sheet-metal pan, with the condensate line and the pan drain both ending outside the house at a spot where anyone can see them drip, in pipe no smaller than three-quarters of an inch. The flue must be at least 5 feet long, and the gas line needs a shutoff valve with a flexible connector. Ask how the old unit will come down: the access opening has to be large enough for the furnace to leave in one piece.

  4. A heat pump with an outdoor unit

    Replacing a condenser in its existing spot needs no plans, but the guide asks for plans when a new residential air conditioner condenser goes in or an old one is moved, and manufacturer specifications may be requested for most new equipment. The zoning code then sets where the outdoor unit may stand: at least 3 feet from any property line, out of sight of the street, and run so it does not disturb the neighbors.

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Free to request, and you agree the scope and price with the person you hire before work starts. In California, a job over $1,000 in labor and materials, or one that needs a building permit, must be done by a contractor licensed by the CSLB in the right class. Ask for the license number and check it at cslb.ca.gov.

A technician servicing the outdoor unit of a heat pump
A technician servicing the outdoor unit of a heat pump. Photo: U.S. Air Force 102IW by Senior Airman Julia Ahaesy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

The houses here

Post-war houses, and the three places a furnace ends up

Most Campbell houses come from the post-war building wave, when the town's population doubled in a single decade, and a smaller group of 1920s bungalows stands near downtown and along Alice Avenue. The city's guide for trade permits reads like an inventory of where the furnaces in those houses were put. One in a closet off a bedroom is allowed only if it is a listed direct-vent unit behind a tight, gasketed, self-closing door, with at least 3 inches between furnace and wall or whatever the maker requires. One in the garage needs protection from cars. One in the attic needs an access opening big enough to take the unit out whole, a light and a 120-volt outlet, and framing below it that can carry the weight.

Timing

When the heat goes out after hours

Municipal Code Section 18.04.052 limits construction in Campbell to 8 a.m. through 5 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. through 4 p.m. on Saturdays, with none on Sundays or federal holidays. Where emergency conditions exist, as the building official determines, work may be allowed at any hour, and it has to be finished as quickly as possible. Silicon Valley Clean Energy asks owners to reserve its heat pump rebate before the equipment goes in; after an emergency replacement, it asks them to contact its program team or mark the emergency on the application.

Questions

What Campbell owners ask when the heat stops

Can a gas furnace sit in a bedroom closet in Campbell?

Only in a mechanical closet built for it. Campbell's guide keeps gas furnaces out of bedrooms, bathrooms, and storage or clothing closets. A bedroom mechanical closet may hold one if the furnace is a listed direct-vent type and the closet has a tight, gasketed, self-closing door, with at least 3 inches of clearance between the furnace and the wall, or more if the manufacturer asks for it.

Will Campbell make us replace our gas furnace with a heat pump when it needs repair?

No. Campbell's Electrify Your Home page says the city does not regulate existing buildings; its zero-NOx ordinance, No. 2316, reaches new buildings and substantial rebuilds. The Air District's Rule 9-4 controls which furnaces may be sold and installed, with its zero-NOx standard applying to furnaces manufactured after January 1, 2029, and it does not stop a working furnace from being repaired.

Our roofer has to move the air conditioner on our Campbell roof. Is that part of the reroof permit?

No. Campbell's guide says that when a reroof involves moving or altering rooftop equipment such as solar panels, air conditioners or heating equipment, additional sub-trade permits, mechanical or electrical for example, are required, with their own fees. If the unit is reset, the zoning code's screening rule still applies to roof-mounted equipment.

What kind of carbon monoxide alarm counts once the new gas furnace is in?

One listed by the State Fire Marshal. California's Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act defines an acceptable device as battery powered, a plug-in unit with battery backup, or one wired into the house with a secondary battery backup. A combined smoke and carbon monoxide alarm must sound clearly different warnings for the two. Health and Safety Code Section 17926 requires one in every existing home with a fuel-burning heater, a fireplace or an attached garage.

Can a homeowner pull the furnace permit in Campbell?

Yes, as an owner-builder of a single-family property, after reading the city's owner-builder package and signing its disclosure forms with the application in MyGovernmentOnline. The same placement and inspection rules apply as for a C-20 contractor. A property held by a limited liability company does not qualify; Campbell requires a contractor with a license in that case.

Free, no obligation. Next, add your details in the request form.

Before you hire

Questions that fit a Campbell furnace job

  • Where will the replacement furnace go, and will a garage unit keep its burners 18 inches up behind protection from the car?
  • Does the quote include the ECC-Rater's duct test, and what happens if the garage ducts miss the leakage limit?
  • If an outdoor heat pump is part of the job, is its spot at least 3 feet from the property line and screened from the street?
  • Will you file in MyGovernmentOnline under your own C-20 license, which we can look up at cslb.ca.gov?
  • For a heat pump, has the SVCE rebate been reserved before installation day?

Where these facts come from

Checked against these public sources in October 2026. Rules and programs change: confirm permit requirements with the city before work starts, and a contractor's license on the CSLB website.

  • ci.campbell.ca.us: General Trade Permits MEP Application Guide (ci.campbell.ca.us)
  • library.municode.com: code of ordinances
  • library.municode.com: code of ordinances
  • campbellca.gov: Electrify Your Home (campbellca.gov)
  • campbellca.gov: Building Inspection Division Home (campbellca.gov)
  • energy.ca.gov: hvac 0 (energy.ca.gov)
  • energy.ca.gov: CEC 400 2025 010 F 0 (energy.ca.gov)
  • energy.ca.gov: BuildingClimateZonesByZIPCode ada (energy.ca.gov)
  • baaqmd.gov: 20230315 rg0904 pdf (baaqmd.gov)
  • baaqmd.gov: 20260713 faq appliance rules 07062026 pdf (baaqmd.gov)
  • svcleanenergy.org: home rebates
  • leginfo.legislature.ca.gov: codes displaySection (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)

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