Spokane Valley · replacement installs
Spokane Valley heat pump and AC installation, sized to the house
The heat pump beside a Veradale ranch has been running since the early 1990s, and this summer the compressor finally quit. Before anything replaces it, we measure rooms, ducts, insulation and panel, and size the new system from that.
- Load calculation
- Manual J from your rooms, glass and insulation, not the old nameplate.
- Often smaller
- Updated ranches frequently need less capacity than the unit outside.
- Online saving
- Book the visit online: up to $500 off a full system.
Most of what we replace in the Valley is a first-generation heat pump, put in during the 1980s or 1990s and sized by rule of thumb. After twenty-some years of short-cycling, those units are on R-22, each repair is a coin toss, and owners ask whether to replace like-for-like. Usually the answer is no. A 1,600-square-foot ranch in Opportunity that has since gained new windows and blown-in attic insulation often needs a smaller system than the one in the side yard — and a smaller variable-speed unit runs longer, quieter and cheaper than the oversized single-stage machine it takes over from.
That is why a Valley install starts with an hour on site rather than fifteen minutes. We measure rooms and glass, look at insulation depth, walk the ducts for leaks and undersized returns, read the panel, and pick a spot for the outdoor unit away from bedroom windows and out of the snow shadow under the eaves. We also ask how you use the house — which rooms run hot, who works from home — because that changes where the capacity matters. There is no charge for the install site visit or the written quote, and the quote holds for 30 days.
What Valley homes usually need
| Situation | What we usually recommend | Why |
|---|---|---|
| First-generation heat pump from the late 1980s, R-22 charge | Variable-speed cold-climate replacement on R-454B, often a size down | Each repair on a thirty-year-old compressor is money into a machine near its end |
| Electric furnace or baseboards, no cooling | Heat pump that keeps the existing strips as backup | Cuts the steepest heating bills on the street and adds cooling in one step |
| Gas furnace, window units in the bedrooms | Central AC or a heat pump coil matched to the furnace | Rooms away from the window unit sit near 82°F every August |
| Five-minute cycles, over and over | Right-sized replacement, frequently one size smaller | An oversized first-generation unit wears itself out and never pulls humidity down |
| Ranch panel full, no room for a 40-amp circuit | Circuit, disconnect and panel work listed on the quote and permitted | Planned at the site visit so it does not hold up install day |
| Newer two-story east of Sullivan | Cold-climate heat pump as the primary heat | Tighter shells and 200-amp panels make it an easy fit |
Ranches south of Sprague, two-stories out toward Barker
Valley housing is roughly a generation younger than Spokane’s, and it was built for forced air. South of Sprague — Opportunity, Dishman, Chester, the Ponderosa streets — single-story ranches from the 1960s through the 1980s keep the furnace in a hall closet or the garage, with the original ducts running under the floor. Those are the homes that got the early heat pumps. East of Sullivan, from the Spokane Valley Mall out to Barker Road, two-story homes are newer, with tighter envelopes and 200-amp panels that accept a cold-climate heat pump without fuss. Both kinds of house sit in a climate that swings from below zero to over 100°F, so sizing is never a detail.
The ranches tell a different story at the breaker box. Their panels were never planned for a 40- or 50-amp heat pump circuit, and some have no open slots at all. We also check that the service itself can carry the added load, not merely that a slot can be found. Circuit, disconnect and panel changes are listed on the written quote, then permitted and inspected together with the heat pump.
On install day the old charge is recovered by technicians holding EPA 608 Universal certification, never vented. The new copper is brazed under a nitrogen purge, pressure-tested and pulled down to a deep vacuum, and the refrigerant goes in by weight, then gets confirmed against superheat and subcooling instead of guesswork. We configure the thermostat for the equipment’s staging, set the backup-heat lockout for Valley winters that dip below zero, and run heating, cooling and defrost before leaving. A changeout takes a day; new line set, electrical or duct work makes it two.
Valley install starting prices
Local starting figures, so the visit holds no shocks: in the Spokane area a heat pump with a matched air handler starts at $5,750 installed, a cold-climate inverter model at $4,900, and central air added to a gas furnace at $4,150, each counting the equipment as well as the crew’s work. None of that is a quote. A correctly sized system can drop a size class below the unit it replaces, which keeps you close to the starting figure; panel or duct corrections add lines, which does not. The exact number follows the no-charge visit in writing with cash and financed versions together, any rebate your utility offers is checked before we order, and a written deposit is taken only once equipment is on order. A full-system install from a visit booked on our website is up to $500 less, and its first-year tune-up is included so the system gets looked at before its second Valley winter.
| System, installed | Price |
|---|---|
| Heat pump with air handler | from $5,750 |
| Inverter (variable-speed) heat pump | from $4,900 |
| Central air conditioner | from $4,150 |
| Heat pump outdoor unit only | from $4,200 |
| Ductless mini-split, single zone | from $3,350 |
| Each added mini-split zone | from $1,900 |
| Multi-zone mini-split systems | On request |
Starting prices with equipment and installation included, before utility rebates and before our up to $500 off a full system. Multi-zone systems are quoted on request. The site visit and written quote cost nothing.
Questions we hear
Will a heat pump keep a Spokane Valley house warm in January?
Yes, if it is a cold-climate model. Today’s cold-climate units still put out meaningful heat at −13°F and lower, and on the few nights below that the furnace or strips you already own pick up the slack. Run that way, it is the cheapest heat available in the Valley. We set the balance point for local winters and bring the manufacturer’s capacity curve to the site visit so you can see it.
Can the new system really be smaller than the old one?
Often, yes. Many first-generation Valley heat pumps were sized by square footage, before the house got better windows and more attic insulation. A Manual J on the house as it stands today frequently calls for less capacity. A correctly sized variable-speed unit runs in longer, steadier cycles, controls humidity better and uses less power than a bigger single-stage unit that keeps switching on and off.
What happens if my panel is already full?
We check the panel and the service during the site visit. If a new circuit, a disconnect beside the unit or panel changes are needed, each appears as its own line on the written quote, and the work is permitted and inspected along with the heat pump. In older ranches where the panel is packed, knowing that up front keeps install day on schedule.
What happens to the old R-22 heat pump?
Our technicians pull the refrigerant out with a recovery machine — it never goes into the air — and haul the old equipment away. The existing line set is checked for size and contamination and reused only if it passes; otherwise new copper goes in. The replacement runs on R-454B and is sized from the house rather than from the unit it replaces.
What does the site visit involve, and will there be pressure to sign?
About an hour: room and window measurements, an insulation and duct inspection, the panel and the outdoor location, plus a conversation about how you use the house. From that we run the load calculation and write one quote, good for 30 days, with no charge and no follow-up sales calls. You decide in your own time.
Call, text or book
Grab a time with the online form — that booking is what takes up to $500 off a full system — or call or text if you would rather talk it through. When the old heat pump turns out to deserve one more repair, we say so, and the $99 diagnostic is absorbed into the repair price you approve.
Book a visit
Tell us what is going on
We call or text back to confirm a time window, usually the same day.
- $99 diagnostic Counted inside the written repair price you approve. Say no to the repair and it is the whole bill.
- Up to $50 off An HVAC repair booked online. Appliance repairs booked online: up to $22 off. Never taken off the diagnostic.
- Up to $500 off A full-system install booked through our site-visit form, first-year tune-up included. The site visit costs nothing.
Prefer to text? Send a photo of the model tag to (509) 370-5361.