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Most people who call us for a furnace tune-up don't know that our name means something.
Irbis is the word for snow leopard — the silver-grey cat that lives high in the mountains of Central and South Asia, so rarely seen that the people who study it call it the ghost of the mountains. It's quiet, precise, and built to handle extremes. We picked the name on purpose.
For years, that connection lived on our trucks and nowhere else. Today it becomes something real.
A partnership built on a shared symbol
We're proud to announce IRBIS Gives Back, a long-term partnership between IRBIS Air, Plumbing & Electrical and the San Francisco Zoo & Gardens.
The San Francisco Zoo has cared for and bred snow leopards for decades, and today it's home to two of them. When we looked at where to direct our giving, the answer was sitting a few miles down the road, sharing our namesake. It felt less like a marketing decision and more like an obvious one.
How it works: every membership contributes
Here's the part that matters most.
IRBIS contributes 5% of gross Home Care Plan membership revenue to the San Francisco Zoo & Gardens. This isn't a one-time cheque or a seasonal campaign. It's ongoing, it's tied to real membership revenue, and it's paid every month for as long as the partnership runs. That money supports the Zoo's animal care, wildlife conservation, education, and community engagement work.
If you're a Home Care Plan member, a portion of what you already pay goes there automatically. You get a home that's maintained properly year-round. The Zoo gets steady, dependable support. Nothing extra is asked of you.
More than a donation
We didn't want this to sit in a spreadsheet, so the partnership includes ways for actual people to show up:
- Volunteer days for the IRBIS team at the Zoo
- A behind-the-scenes tour for our crew
- Joint conservation awareness campaigns throughout the year
Meet the Zoo's snow leopards
The San Francisco Zoo's two snow leopards are Jimmy and Jinx.
They're the reason this partnership exists in the form it does. When we talk about supporting the Zoo's animal care work, these are the animals we mean: the ones that share our name, living a few miles from the homes we service every day.
You'll find them in the snow leopard habitat at the Zoo. Fair warning: they're very good at not being seen. That's the whole point of a snow leopard.
Why snow leopards need help
Snow leopards are the only exclusively alpine cat in the world. They live high in the mountains of the Himalayas, China, and Central Asia, and they're so elusive that no one photographed one in the wild until 1971. Recent estimates put the remaining wild population at roughly 4,500 to 7,000, and even that is a best guess, because the animals blend into rock and snow so completely that counting them is close to impossible.
Poaching is the biggest threat. Snow leopards are killed for their fur and for bones used in traditional medicine. On top of that, their prey is disappearing, and herders sometimes kill them in retaliation for livestock losses.
This is where the San Francisco Zoo has been doing serious work for a long time. The Zoo partners with the Snow Leopard Conservancy, which operates in seven snow leopard range countries to reduce human-animal conflict and help local communities protect the species. And the Zoo has bred 30 snow leopards since 1969 — one of the strongest records anywhere.
As an AZA-accredited institution, the Zoo also does the underrated work of introducing a seven-year-old to an animal they'll want to protect for the rest of their life.
What this means for you
If you're already a Home Care Plan member: thank you. You're part of this, and you have been since the day you signed up.
If you've been considering it, this is one more reason. Your membership keeps your heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical systems running properly all year — and now it also supports conservation work happening right here in San Francisco.
Choosing a home services company is usually a practical decision. We'd like it to be a meaningful one too.
During a repair visit, our technicians will inspect your A/C system, diagnose the problem, and provide you with repair options. Once you choose an option, we'll proceed with the necessary repairs. Afterward, we'll test the system to ensure it's working correctly and provide you with a detailed report.
