Compare Local Pros
3rdGen Heating & Cooling vs Gosal
Alameda HVAC Contractors Comparison · Updated March 2026
3rdGen offers proven HVAC expertise with strong customer feedback, while Gosal has more years licensed but lacks visible track record.
| 3rdGen Heating & Cooling | Gosal | |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | ★ 5.0 | ★ 4.8 |
| Years Licensed | 4 years | 12 years |
| License # | 1086898 | 992494 |
| Workers' Comp | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Bond Amount | $25,000 | $25,000 |
| Location | Berkeley, CA | Union City, CA |
| Website | 3rdgen.io | gosalair.com |
Key Differences
What Customers Say
3rdGen Heating & Cooling
Customers consistently praise responsive scheduling, clean installation work, and direct owner communication that makes the service experience feel personalized and trustworthy.
Key Takeaway: 3rdGen has substantial customer feedback documenting service quality and reliability, while Gosal has no visible customer reviews despite twelve years in business.
Customer Reviews
3rdGen Heating & Cooling
Love 3rd Gen, Devin and the team! They are knowledgeable, professional, kind, and generous. Highly recommend working with them!
I am so glad that I found 3rd Gen Heating & Cooling. The team is smaller so it felt so much more intentional and trustworthy. They pay such great attention to detail, in which they were able to meet m...
I got my HVAC system installed by 3rd gen in 2022, this week the heater stopped working . I gave them a call and Devin and Ceaser visited today to fix the issue. They were at the house right at the ap...
Gosal
No reviews available
Consider 3rdGen Heating & Cooling if...
- ✓ You need HVAC-specific work like heat pump installation, mini-split systems, or furnace replacement where 3rdGen's documented expertise directly matches your project
- ✓ Responsive scheduling matters for your situation, and you value the consistent feedback about same-day and next-day availability
- ✓ You prefer working with an owner-involved team where direct communication and personalized service are priorities
- ✓ You want to evaluate a contractor's recent work quality and customer treatment before hiring, which 3rdGen's review history enables
Consider Gosal if...
- ✓ You're prioritizing maximum years of licensing history above all other factors and are comfortable with the twelve-year track record despite lack of verification
- ✓ Your project location in Union City makes Gosal's local presence more convenient than Berkeley-based 3rdGen
- ✓ You plan to conduct thorough reference checking directly and don't rely on online reviews for contractor evaluation
- ✓ You're willing to be among the first to provide feedback about a contractor with limited visible customer history
Questions to Ask Before Hiring
- → Ask Gosal directly for references from recent HVAC projects similar to yours, including contact information you can verify independently
- → Ask Gosal why no customer reviews exist after twelve years in business and request documentation of completed residential HVAC work
- → Ask both companies for detailed written estimates that specify equipment models, warranty coverage, and project timeline
- → Ask about their current crew composition and how long their installers have worked together on HVAC projects
The Bottom Line
For most homeowners hiring this week, 3rdGen Heating & Cooling is the more reliable choice. Their four years of focused HVAC experience comes with documented customer satisfaction, proven expertise in modern heat pump and mini-split installations, and consistent feedback about responsiveness and clean work. While Gosal's twelve years of licensing sounds impressive, the complete absence of customer reviews or project history means you cannot verify their actual HVAC capabilities or service reliability. Unless you have time to conduct extensive independent reference checking with Gosal, 3rdGen offers verifiable competence you can evaluate before signing a contract.
Get Up to 3 Free Quotes
Compare prices from licensed, verified contractors
Frequently Asked Questions
More licensing years typically indicates greater experience with complications and permitting, which matters for complex projects. However, you cannot verify what Gosal has actually done during those twelve years without customer feedback or project examples. 3rdGen's four years of documented HVAC work with consistent customer praise provides more verifiable reliability than unverified longevity.
Possible explanations include focusing primarily on commercial or property management work that doesn't generate public reviews, recent business structure changes, or simply not engaging with online review platforms. For a homeowner hiring this week, the reason matters less than the fact that you cannot verify Gosal's service quality, project completion reliability, or customer treatment before signing a contract.
Four years of licensing represents established capability, not startup risk. The consistent customer feedback about clean installations, proper permitting, and successful heat pump and mini-split projects demonstrates proven competence with complex HVAC work. Their owner-involved model and repeat property management clients suggest reliable project completion.
Price comparison makes sense only after verifying basic contractor reliability. With 3rdGen, you can evaluate their work quality and customer treatment through substantial feedback before comparing their bid. With Gosal, you would need to conduct reference checking and project verification yourself before their estimate becomes meaningful. The lowest price from an unverified contractor carries significantly more risk.
Looking for the Best?
See our ranked list of top hvac contractors in Alameda.
Other Alameda HVAC Contractors Comparisons
How We Compare Contractors
License Verification
All license data is sourced from official California CSLB records and verified regularly.
Review Analysis
Customer reviews are aggregated from Google and analyzed to identify patterns in service quality.
Detailed Comparison
We analyze credentials, insurance, experience, and feedback to highlight meaningful differences.
Not all licensed contractors are created equal. While a valid license is the baseline requirement in California, contractors can vary significantly in experience, insurance coverage, and customer satisfaction.
- Experience matters: A contractor with 15+ years of experience has likely encountered and solved problems that newer contractors haven't faced yet.
- Workers' compensation protects you: If a contractor without workers' comp insurance has an employee injured on your property, you could be held liable.
- Reviews reveal patterns: Individual reviews can be misleading, but patterns across many reviews often reveal a contractor's true strengths and weaknesses.
- Bond amounts vary: A contractor's bond provides financial protection if they fail to complete work as agreed. Higher bonds offer more protection.
Taking time to compare contractors on these factors can save you from costly mistakes and help ensure your project is completed by a qualified professional.
Data Sources: License information from California CSLB. Ratings and reviews from Google. Last verified March 13, 2026.
This comparison is based on publicly available information. We recommend getting multiple quotes and verifying all credentials directly before hiring.
Get in Touch
Have questions or feedback? We'd love to hear from you.