What are you deciding?
Heating and cooling choices for Washington houses, compared side by side, with a plain verdict for your situation. The answer often turns on which side of the Cascades you live on.
Nine decisions most Washington houses face
Ductless heat pump or keep the baseboard heaters?
- Ductless heat pump, baseboards stay
- West side electric homes with an open main living area
- Baseboards alone
- Small or lightly heated homes, or homes that lean on wood
Should a Spokane house have a furnace or a heat pump?
- Gas furnace
- Gas homes replacing a failed furnace, with little interest in summer cooling
- Heat pump with back-up
- Electric-heat homes, and gas homes that also want cooling
Window AC or a ductless heat pump for your house?
- Window AC
- One or two rooms, a small budget, cooling only
- Ductless heat pump
- Electric heat you also want to cut, a long stay
Stay on heating oil, or switch to a heat pump?
- Stay on oil for now
- A sound newer furnace and no tank trouble
- Switch to a heat pump
- Seattle homes eligible for Clean Heat, and homes with worn oil furnaces
HEPA air cleaner or MERV 13 filter for wildfire smoke?
- HEPA room cleaner
- Homes without ducts, and one clean room in any home
- MERV 13 furnace filter
- Homes with ducted forced air and a slot that fits
New gas furnace or heat pump on the West side?
- New gas furnace
- Furnace has failed, cooling isn't wanted, and budget is tight
- Heat pump
- Cooling matters, or an income-qualified PSE gas rebate is on the table
Dehumidifier or more ventilation for a damp Washington house?
- Dehumidifier
- A closed basement or room that stays above 60 percent
- More ventilation
- Steamy bathrooms and moisture made by daily living upstairs
Evaporative cooler or AC for an east side house?
- Evaporative cooler
- Dry east side house, ready for water use and pad upkeep
- Air conditioning
- Most houses, smoke-prone areas, west side, or where heat pump cooling fits
Take a rebate now or wait for better money?
- Take what is open now
- Anyone with a failing system or a utility offer that fits
- Wait for HARP and HOMES
- A working system, income under 150% AMI, and no deadline
Start from your house
Tell the site what you have now, and it points to the decisions that come first.
- Electric baseboardsWhat are your choices in a house with electric baseboards?
- An oil furnace or tankWhat are your choices in a house heated with oil?
- A gas furnaceWhat are your choices in a house with a gas furnace?
- No air conditioningWhat are your choices in a house with no air conditioning?
- Ducts in a crawlspaceWhat are your choices in a house over a crawlspace?
- Which utility serves youWhich heat pump rebate does your Washington utility offer?
The houses and weather behind these choices
Every decision on this site
Heat, west side
- Ductless heat pump or keep the baseboard heaters?
- Ductless or ducted heat pump for this house?
- Replace the electric furnace, or put a heat pump on the ducts?
- New gas furnace or heat pump on the West side?
- One ductless head or one in each problem room?
- Space heater or another ductless head for the cold back room?
Heat, east side
Oil, propane and wood
Cooling
- Your AC died: replace it, or install a heat pump instead?
- Your furnace is fine but you have no AC: AC or heat pump?
- Evaporative cooler or AC for an east side house?
- Are fans enough, or does your Washington house need AC?
- Should you cool one room or the whole house?
- Portable AC or window AC for a Washington house?
- Window AC or a ductless heat pump for your house?