Any recommendation for HVAC INSTALLER?

I'm in exactly the same situation. After getting solar panels I had big plans to get heat-pump based appliances. However, a heat-pump house heater would have been ~$20K, which was too much. I decided on a ~$5K heat-pump water heater from Hassler Heating. This is also a lot of money but I figured it would be worth it. However, Hassler said I would need to install an additional 30amp 220v electrical circuit. The circuit alone would have cost an additional $1.5K, but there was a chance that I'd have to install a whole new primary electrical panel, which would have been ~$10K. This was too much so I decided to switch to a tankless gas water heater.

Throughout this whole process Hassler has been very understanding and flexible, and I'm going to get the tankless water heater from them. I suggest calling them. They won't be cheap but they have an excellent reputation for quality.

We recently had a full hvac replacement done with Moore Mechanical. They were very good and able to come out to estimates and the install fairly quickly. We met with Contra Costa Climate Control, and they seemed great and had a competitive bid, but we went with the company who could do it sooner. We had used Atlas for 15 years, but they couldn't even send someone to do an estimate for 3 months!

Atlas heating and cooling installed our mini split system. Reliable, good communication, good work and follow up when we had a few minor issues while it was under warranty. System is working well. I think the price was fair, too.

We don’t have solar but we did have a full HVAC and with a new water heater work done early this year also with Hassler. We’ve been very happy with their work. They weren’t cheap but my husband who did all the bid research is very happy with his choice and their work and quality of everything 

We swapped out our ancient gas furnace for an electric ducted mini split system and got quotes from a few installers and Hassler was definitely the most expensive.  We went with Kevin Armstrong who is a solo practitioner (chis ompany name is Specialized Heating and air conditioning (510) 886-5853). Kevin was recommended by the minisplit distributor company who told us that Kevin is the guy they call when people's mini split systems are installed incorrectly and Kevin fixes them.  He did a great job, was inexpensive and when we had a problem several years later, he came over on a weekend and fixed it quickly. We didn't have heating ducts prior to installing the mini split, so Kevin did all that duct work.  Six years later we're totally happy with what he did.  (And he was probably 30% -40% less than Hassler).

Be sure you check at the BayRen and PG&E websites to see which rebates you might qualify for.  You have to use one of the approved contractors for the BayREN rebates (but I think pretty much all the reputable ones around here are included on the list).

Be sure to TALK directly to an adviser at BayREN (a service they offer for free); unless you have a very old/small main panel (in which case, you're going to probably want to upgrade at some point anyway), there may be ways to avoid a new main panel at this point.  In addition to the various webinars offered locally (BayREN, Alameda County, city of Berkeley, etc.), I also suggest you watch the YouTube series by Nate Adams: "Electrify Everything.  It won't all apply to our area, but I found them very educational and well-presented. 

We are still in the research stage, so can't recommend someone in particular, but take your time if you can, and get well-educated before making the investment.

I just watched a webinar sponsored by Bringing Back the Natives on electrifying your home using solar panels, new ducting/ductless systems and heat pumps.  Here's the You Tube link.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9w8ngi6qEGg&t=629s. There are a variety of options that require more research.  Good luck.

Yes. I have hired all three of the following HVAC companies for various heating and air conditioning projects and I am happy to give them all a high recommendation for quality installation.  Atlas 510-488-4152, Rivera 510-483-4328 and Apple 510-530-2423.