Rheem air conditioners, furnaces and heat pumps turn up all over Sunnyvale, Santa Clara and Cupertino, from the side yards of 1960s single-family homes to the roofs of small commercial buildings. The equipment is made by Rheem Manufacturing, a company that started in California, and the lines we service are central air conditioners, heat pumps, gas furnaces, air handlers, ductless units and package units.
One thing to clear up first: we are not Rheem’s technical support line. HVAC Sunnyvale is an independent service company with no affiliation to Rheem. Registration and warranty questions go to the manufacturer; diagnosing and repairing the system at your home or business is our part.
Which Rheem setup do you have?
- Split system with a furnace. A gas furnace indoors (hall closet, garage or attic) with a cooling coil on top, and an air conditioner outside. Most 1950s–1970s homes here that had central air added later are set up this way.
- Split heat pump with an air handler. The outdoor unit heats and cools; the indoor air handler moves the air and may hold electric backup heat.
- Package unit. Compressor, coils, blower and often a gas heat section share one outdoor cabinet, on a roof, on a slab beside the house, or on a commercial rooftop. Ducts connect to it through a wall or the roof.
- Ductless. Wall or ceiling heads with their own outdoor unit.
The answer changes where we look first. On a package unit, for example, a blocked drain or a failed blower motor is outside, not in a closet.
What to read off the label before you call
The rating plate on the outdoor unit or the package unit lists the model and serial number; a furnace or air handler has its own plate inside the door. A photo of each saves time. The model tells us which parts fit. The serial number usually reveals the build date, which matters both for warranty and for the repair-or-replace question. If the furnace control board is blinking, note the pattern of flashes too.
Rheem symptoms and what we test
| Symptom | What we test first |
|---|---|
| AC runs, air is not cold | Thermostat demand, filter, outdoor fan, capacitor and contactor, coil condition, then refrigerant and compressor symptoms |
| Furnace blower runs, no heat | Ignition: inducer, pressure switch, igniter, flame sensor, gas valve |
| Heat pump blows cool air in winter | Defrost operation, reversing valve, outdoor coil icing, backup heat |
| Package unit trips the breaker | Compressor and fan motor amp draw, wiring at the disconnect, contactor |
| Water near the indoor unit | Condensate drain, pan, or a float switch that shut the system off |
| Short on-off cycles | Dirty filter, high-limit trips, thermostat placement, a failing control |
From there the repair path is usually clear. Our AC repair, furnace repair and heat pump repair pages go deeper on each.
Rheem package units on roofs and slabs
Package units need the same tests as a split system, but access shapes the visit. A rooftop unit needs a safe way up, and on a commercial building the property manager may need to open the roof hatch. The filter may sit inside the unit or behind a return grille in the house, and either spot is easy to forget. Long summer afternoons in full sun are hard on a rooftop cabinet, so a weak capacitor or a dirty condenser coil tends to show itself during the first hot spell. For stores, offices and restaurants, see commercial HVAC.
Repair, replace or wait
Most Rheem calls end in a targeted repair: a capacitor, an igniter, a flame sensor, a drain. Replacement enters the conversation when a compressor or heat exchanger fails on an older system, when repairs keep coming back, or when parts for an aging model are scarce. You get the findings, the repair option and the cost factors before any work begins. If new equipment is the better call, the estimate should break out the unit itself, the labor, the permit and any extras; see new installation.
Warranty: who handles what
- Rheem handles registration and parts coverage, based on the model, serial number, install date and registration status.
- We diagnose the failure, document it, and carry out the repair.
- Our repairs are backed by a warranty covering both parts and labor.
If the system is completely down, tripping breakers, leaking or making electrical noises, switch it off and call. Phone lines are staffed 24/7, and same-day service is available.