HVAC Installation in Spokane, WA
A new system here will heat from September through June and cool from July through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Spokane County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
A system that runs almost all year here
Spokane County asks for heat from September through June and cooling in July and August. That is ten months of heating and two of cooling, which means the system you install is working nearly every month of the year. Winter nights average 24°F, cold enough that a furnace sized wrong for the house will run long and hard to keep up. Summer afternoons average 80°F, so the cooling side still matters even though its season is short.
About half the homes here heat with gas, and whatever you install has to meet the federal efficiency minimum. Storms are a real factor too. The region logged 527 winter storms and 120 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and close to a quarter of Washington households went at least a day without power last year. A new install is worth planning with that in mind, especially if part of the system depends on electricity to start or run.
- 10 months
- September through June, your system heats
- 2 months
- July through August, it cools
- 24°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 80°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Washington requires contractors to register with the state.
That registration puts the business on file with the state. It does not mean anyone tested the contractor's skill at installing a furnace, air conditioner or heat pump, and there is no exam behind it. The record shows the business exists. It does not show the installation will be done right.
For this job, that comes down to the permit. In most cities and counties in Washington, installing a new furnace, air conditioner or heat pump needs a permit from the local building office, and an inspector checks the work once it is done. That inspection, not the state registration, is what confirms the installation was done correctly.
Source: Washington State Legislature
- When should I replace my HVAC system?
- Replace it when repairs stop making sense or the system can't keep up anymore. If you're calling for repairs every year, or the unit is old enough that parts are getting hard to find, that's a sign the equipment is losing the fight. Uneven heating, rooms that never cool down, or a system that runs constantly without catching up all point the same direction. Here, with heat needed from September through June and winter nights averaging 24°F, a furnace that can't hold on through a cold night is a bigger problem than one struggling on a mild summer afternoon. If a repair costs a large share of what a new system would, most contractors will tell you straight that replacement is the better move.
- Should I replace my furnace and air conditioner at the same time?
- If both are old, it usually makes sense to replace them together. Furnaces and air conditioners installed at the same time are matched to work with each other, and a mismatched pair, an old furnace paired with a new AC or the other way around, can run less efficiently than either would on its own. It also means one visit, one round of ductwork adjustments if needed, and one inspection instead of two. That said, if your air conditioner is only a few years old and just the furnace is failing, there's no need to replace a unit that still has years left in it. A contractor can look at the age and condition of both and tell you whether pairing them makes sense for your house.
- What happens during an HVAC installation?
- A contractor removes the old equipment, sets the new furnace, air conditioner or heat pump in place, and connects it to your ductwork, gas line or refrigerant lines, and electrical. They'll check the ductwork itself for leaks or sizing problems, since even a good furnace won't heat evenly if the ducts feeding it are undersized. Once everything is connected, they test the system, check the airflow, and confirm it's firing or cooling correctly before they leave. In most cities and counties here, this work needs a permit from the local building office, and an inspector checks it once it's done. That inspection is there for your protection, confirming the gas or electrical work and the venting were done correctly.