AC Repair
Warm air, a humming outdoor unit or a tripped breaker: we find the failed part and fix most AC problems in one visit.
Learn morePasadena, CA
Heating and air conditioning service across Pasadena 91101, answered 24/7
Pasadena is not one kind of house.
Pasadena at a glance
- ZIP
- 91101
- County
- Los Angeles County
- Served from
- Old Pasadena office
- Phone
- (626) 879-0711
- Hours
- Open 24/7
Quick answer
Marco's Heating & Air works on cooling, heating, heat pumps, ductless systems and ductwork in every part of Pasadena, from Craftsman blocks near Lake Avenue to hillside homes west of the Arroyo Seco and ranch homes near the foothills. Our office is on E Colorado Boulevard in Old Pasadena. Call (626) 879-0711 any hour and a technician comes out, finds the actual fault and quotes the price before work starts.
Overview
Heating and cooling help in Pasadena
Pasadena is not one kind of house. In a single afternoon our technicians might replace a floor furnace in a 1915 bungalow, chase a refrigerant leak in a 1950s ranch home near Hastings Ranch, and balance airflow in a two-story Spanish Revival house above the Arroyo. Each one heats and cools differently, and each one fails in its own way. That is why we start every visit by looking at how the house is built, where the ducts run and what the equipment is, before anyone talks about replacing anything.
Weather here pushes systems hard at both ends. Summer afternoons regularly reach the high 90s and can pass 100 F, especially on the east side and up toward the foothills. Winter nights drop into the 30s and 40s, which is cold enough to expose every weak igniter and tired heat exchanger in town. Add Santa Ana wind days, dust and wildfire smoke seasons, and you get filters that clog fast and outdoor units packed with debris. We answer 24/7 because breakdowns do not wait for business hours.
How Pasadena's housing eras shape heating and cooling
The oldest blocks, in neighborhoods like Bungalow Heaven, Madison Heights and Historic Highlands, are full of Craftsman homes from the 1900s to the 1920s. Many were built with a floor furnace or wall furnace and no ductwork at all, so central air came later, with ducts squeezed into a low attic or a crawlspace. Spanish Revival and other period homes from the 1920s often have thick plaster walls that hold heat into the evening and slow how quickly a room cools. Plaster and lath also make new duct chases hard to cut, which is why ductless mini-splits are common in these houses.
Postwar ranch homes from the 1940s to the 1960s, found mostly on the east side and up toward the foothills, usually have a forced-air furnace in the garage or attic with ducts overhead, and some have roof-mounted package units. The hillside west side mixes 1920s estates with midcentury homes on sloped lots. Newer condos and apartments near the city center often use compact split systems or heat pumps, and backyard ADUs are adding small ductless systems all over the city.
Common problems
Problems we see most often around Pasadena
Undersized attic duct runs
Ducts added to older homes decades ago are often too small and poorly sealed. Rooms at the end of the run stay warm in July while the hallway gets most of the air.
Aging wall and floor furnaces
Older gravity wall and floor furnaces wear out thermocouples and gas valves, and can leak combustion gases if the heat exchanger cracks. We check them carefully before the first cold nights.
Clogged outdoor coils
Santa Ana winds, palm debris and fine dust pack condenser fins. A dirty coil runs hotter, raises refrigerant pressure and shortens compressor life during long stretches of 100 F days.
Smoke and ash in ductwork
After wildfire smoke seasons, and especially after the January 2025 Eaton Fire, many homes in northern Pasadena found ash in return ducts, filters and blower compartments. Careful cleaning and better filters help.
Older AC on R-22 refrigerant
Systems still running on R-22 refrigerant are expensive to recharge now that it is no longer produced. When a leak shows up, we lay out repair versus replacement costs plainly.
Most requested
The services Pasadena homes call us for most
AC repair and furnace repair make up most of our calls, since summer heat and cold winter nights expose worn parts quickly. Wall furnace repair stays busy because so many older homes still rely on one. Heat pump installation is growing as homeowners replace a gas furnace and an old AC with one electric system, and PWP customers ask about it often. Mini-splits solve rooms that ductwork never reached, and duct sealing fixes the leaky attic runs that waste cooling you have already paid for.
Furnace Repair
No heat on a cold night? We trace the ignition sequence, find the failed part and fix most furnaces in a single visit.
Learn moreWall Furnace Repair
Pilot lights, thermocouples, gas valves and fans on gravity and fan-type wall furnaces, with a venting and CO check every visit.
Learn moreHeat Pump Installation
New ducted and inverter heat pumps sized to your Pasadena home, with permits, line sets, electrical and duct checks included in the quote.
Learn moreDuctless Mini-Split Installation
Ductless heat pumps for Craftsman bungalows, additions, converted garages and hot upstairs rooms, with head styles chosen room by room.
Learn moreDuct Sealing & Leak Testing
We measure duct leakage with a calibrated fan, seal joints with mastic, and test again so you see the actual improvement.
Learn moreWorking in Pasadena: utilities, permits and timing
Pasadena Water and Power supplies electricity inside city limits, while neighboring cities like Arcadia and Monrovia are on Southern California Edison, and SoCalGas serves gas across the area. That matters when you plan a heat pump or a new AC, so ask about current PWP, SCE or SoCalGas rebates and state heat pump incentives when funding is open. We handle the permit where the city requires one. Many older Pasadena homes sit in landmark or historic districts, so we plan outdoor unit placement with that in mind.
California's Title 24 energy rules can require a duct leakage test when an AC or furnace is replaced, and older attic ducts sometimes fail on the first try. We test, seal and retest so the job closes out cleanly. The first hot week of summer and the first cold week of winter are our busiest times, so a tune-up in spring or fall gets you on the schedule sooner.
From Old Pasadena to the foothills: how the city divides
Our office sits on E Colorado Boulevard in Old Pasadena, close to the center of the city, so most neighborhoods are a short drive away. West of the Arroyo Seco, past the Rose Bowl and the Colorado Street Bridge, the land rises into the San Rafael Hills. Linda Vista, San Rafael and Annandale have winding streets, sloped lots and larger homes, where long duct runs, crawlspace access and multi-level zoning come up often. Equipment on that side is often tucked onto side-yard pads or hillside terraces, so we plan access before the truck arrives.
East of downtown, the city flattens into a grid of older blocks: Bungalow Heaven, Madison Heights and Lamanda Park, with the larger estates of Oak Knoll to the south near the San Marino line. In the northeast, Hastings Ranch climbs toward the San Gabriel foothills, where postwar ranch homes take strong afternoon heat and the full force of wind days. North Pasadena sits right below Altadena and the mountains, which took heavy smoke and ash from the Eaton Fire. Each area has its own page here, covering the problems we actually find there.
Neighborhoods
Pasadena neighborhoods we cover
Bungalow Heaven
Pasadena neighborhood 91104. Floor & Wall Furnace Repair.
See areaMadison Heights
Pasadena neighborhood 91106. AC Replacement & Duct Work.
See areaSan Rafael
Pasadena neighborhood 91105. Zoned AC & Heat Pump Installs.
See areaLinda Vista
Pasadena neighborhood 91103. Heat Pump & Indoor Air Service.
See areaHastings Ranch
Pasadena neighborhood 91107. HVAC System Replacement.
See areaOak Knoll
Pasadena neighborhood 91106. Boiler & Multi-Zone HVAC Service.
See areaAnnandale
Pasadena neighborhood 91105. AC Repair & Duct Sealing.
See areaProspect Park
Pasadena neighborhood 91103. Ductless Mini-Split Installs.
See areaHistoric Highlands
Pasadena neighborhood 91104. Furnace & Duct Cleaning.
See areaGarfield Heights
Pasadena neighborhood 91103. Wall Furnace & Duct Repair.
See areaLamanda Park
Pasadena neighborhood 91107. AC Repair & Rooftop Units.
See areaSouth Arroyo
Pasadena neighborhood 91105. HVAC Zoning & Replacements.
See areaChapman Woods
Pasadena neighborhood 91107. AC & Furnace Replacement.
See areaQuestions
Pasadena heating and cooling questions
Yes. We work on gas forced-air furnaces, wall furnaces, floor furnaces, heat pumps, ductless mini-splits and the hydronic boilers found in some older Pasadena estates. Some very old floor furnaces are not worth repairing once the heat exchanger or gas valve fails, and we will tell you plainly when replacement is the safer choice. We quote the price before we start any work.
We answer 24/7 and dispatch from our Old Pasadena office on E Colorado Boulevard, which keeps drive times short across the city. On the hottest days calls stack up, so tell us if anyone in the home is elderly, very young or has a medical need. When you call (626) 879-0711, we give you a realistic arrival window instead of a vague promise.
Often, yes. Pasadena's mild winters suit heat pumps well, since a modern unit heats efficiently through nights in the 30s and 40s and also handles summer cooling. Whether it fits your house depends on the electrical panel, duct condition and attic space. We check those first, and you can ask about current PWP and SoCalGas rebates and state heat pump incentives when funding is open.
In most cases, yes. Replacing an AC, furnace or heat pump in Pasadena usually calls for a mechanical permit, and California's Title 24 rules can require a duct leakage test on the existing ducts. We handle the permit where the city requires one, schedule the inspection and do the testing, so you are not left managing paperwork on your own.
Heating or cooling trouble in Pasadena?
Call our Pasadena line any hour. A person answers, asks a few questions about the system, and gives you an arrival window.
(626) 879-0711Answering 24 hours, 7 days