HVAC Installation in Vancouver, WA
A new system here will heat from October through June and cool from August through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Clark County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Nine months of heat, one month of cooling
Winter nights around Vancouver average 35°F from December through February, and homes here need heat from October through June. That is nine months of the year your furnace or heat pump is doing most of the work. Summer only asks for cooling in August, when afternoons average 77°F, so whatever you install has to handle a long, mild heating season far more than a short cooling one.
Most homes in Clark County heat with electricity, and the power does not always stay on. Over the last ten years the area has seen six winter storms and two damaging wind events, and in 2024 nearly a quarter of Washington households lost power for at least a day. A new system should be sized for the cold nights it will actually run through, and matched to a home that may lose power in the middle of one.
- 9 months
- October through June, your system heats
- 1 months
- August through August, it cools
- 35°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 77°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Washington requires contractors to register with the state.
Registration puts the business on file with the Department of Labor and Industries. It is a record of who is operating, not a test of what they know. There is no trade exam behind it, so the state is not the one vouching for the work on this job.
For an installation, the protection comes from the local building office. In most cities and counties, putting in a furnace, air conditioner or heat pump needs a permit, and the finished work gets an inspection when it is done. That inspection is what checks the work, not the registration.
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 your furnace or heat pump needs heat from October through June like homes here do, and it's breaking down each of those months, that's more downtime than a repair budget should cover. Rising energy bills with no other explanation, uneven temperatures room to room, and a unit past the age where parts are easy to find are all signs. A contractor can look at the specific system and tell you whether the next repair is worth it or not.
- Should I replace my furnace and air conditioner at the same time?
- If both are old, replacing them together usually makes sense, but it depends on the condition of each one. A furnace and air conditioner installed at different times can still work fine together as long as they're matched for airflow and capacity. Where it matters most is if one has already failed and the other is close behind. A contractor can check the age and condition of both and tell you whether pairing the work saves you a second job down the road.
- 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, electrical, and in some cases gas or refrigerant lines. They check that the system is sized right for the house, seal and test the connections, and run the system to confirm it heats and cools the way it should. In most cities and counties here, this work needs a permit from the local building office and an inspection once it's done. That inspection is there to confirm the installation was done safely, so it's worth asking upfront whether your contractor is pulling the permit.