Homes in Seattle
Seattle's housing is older and more varied than anywhere else we work. Early-1900s Craftsman and Foursquare homes in Wallingford, Ballard, Queen Anne and Capitol Hill often still have octopus-style ducts from converted oil or gravity furnaces, undersized returns and basements that were never designed to hold modern equipment. Mid-century homes in West Seattle, Lake City and Beacon Hill tend to have tighter crawlspaces and shorter, leakier duct runs.
Then there's the newer side of the city: narrow multi-story townhomes in Fremont, Ballard and Columbia City with a tiny mechanical closet, a hot top floor and no room for an outdoor unit except a small side yard or a roof deck. Each of these needs a different plan, which is why we measure the house before we recommend anything.
A lot of older Seattle homes are also still heated with oil or electric baseboard. Those are some of the best candidates for a heat pump: switching usually cuts heating costs noticeably and adds air conditioning at the same time.
What we usually recommend in Seattle
- Ductless mini-splits for Craftsman homes, upstairs bedrooms, finished attics and ADUs with no usable ductwork.
- Ducted heat pumps for homes with sound ducts, often paired with duct sealing and a larger return.
- Hybrid (dual-fuel) systems for homes keeping a PSE gas furnace as backup on the coldest days.
Utilities & rebates in Seattle
- Electricity
- Seattle City Light
- Natural gas
- Puget Sound Energy (PSE)
Most Seattle homes buy electricity from Seattle City Light, while natural gas — where a home has it — comes from PSE. That split matters for rebates. Seattle City Light runs its own heat pump incentives for homes moving off electric or oil heat, and the City of Seattle has offered oil-to-heat-pump conversion help.
If you have a PSE gas furnace, PSE's hybrid heat pump rebate can still apply even though your electricity comes from City Light, because that program depends on your PSE gas service. We confirm which programs fit your address during the estimate and file the paperwork for you.
Mild winters, real heat waves
Seattle winters are damp but rarely bitterly cold, which is exactly the range where heat pumps run most efficiently. Summers are a different story: the June 2021 heat dome pushed Seattle past 100°F, and many homes without cooling became unlivable upstairs. A heat pump handles both seasons with one system, so most Seattle homeowners we meet are replacing a furnace and adding cooling in the same project.
Permits in Seattle
HVAC replacements in Seattle need a mechanical permit from the Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections (SDCI), and heat pump installs often need an electrical permit too. We pull the permits, schedule the inspections and plan outdoor unit placement around setbacks and your neighbors.
Recent installs in Seattle
Real photos from finished jobs in Seattle.
What customers say
From our Google reviews · 4.8★ across 200+ reviews
"We decided to take the leap and get some heat pumps installed by Seattle Heating & Cooling and do not regret the decision one bit. They are keeping our home super comfortable in every kind of weather -- hot, or humid, or chilly -- and reducing our energy costs. The team at Seattle Heating & Cooling was also great to work with, from their owner who did our estimate to the installers and the lady who coordinates everything when you call, they were super responsive and did a fantastic job."
"Wonderful shop, recommend most highly! The price was great; I asked for a quote for air conditioning and got a quote for a heat pump (ac + heat) that was less than I was told to expect for AC! Everyone I've told is astonished at the price."
Seattle heat pump & HVAC questions
Can you install a heat pump in an old Seattle house with no ducts?
Yes. Ductless mini-splits are made for exactly that: small refrigerant lines run to wall or ceiling units in the rooms that need them, with no new ductwork. Many Craftsman homes get one head on the main floor and one or two upstairs.
I have Seattle City Light and a PSE gas furnace — which rebates apply?
Possibly both, depending on the system. City Light incentives follow your electric service, while PSE's hybrid heat pump rebate follows your PSE gas service. Our rebate calculator shows the PSE side, and we confirm City Light programs during your estimate.
Where does the outdoor unit go on a small Seattle lot?
Usually a side yard, a back corner or a wall bracket. On townhomes it can go on a roof deck or balcony when the structure allows. We plan placement for clearances, noise toward neighbors and a clean line-set route before you approve anything.