Where should a Washington homeowner start with heat and air?

What to decide, in this order

• What do west side winters and summers ask of your house?

  Mild winters, damp air and rare but dangerous heat shape every choice from Bellingham to Vancouver.

  

• What do east side winters and summers ask of your house?

  Real cold and real heat in the same house, from Spokane to Yakima and the Tri-Cities.

  

• What are your choices in a house with electric baseboards?

  Electric baseboards qualify for more utility rebates than any other starting point.

  

• What are your choices in a house heated with oil?

  Two decisions in one: what heats the house next, and what happens to the tank.

  

• What are your choices in a house with a gas furnace?

  A working furnace gives you time, and the moment to decide is when something wears out.

  

• What are your choices in a house with no air conditioning?

  What to do before the next heat wave, from fans and one cool room to a whole-house system.

  

• What are your choices in a house over a crawlspace?

  Moisture, ducts and floor insulation all meet under the floor.

  

• Which heat pump rebate does your Washington utility offer?

  Six utilities, six rule sets. Your meter decides which rebate exists.

  

• What does each heating system cost to run in Washington?

  Running cost per unit of heat for each system, with our arithmetic shown.

  

What three facts decide most of these choices?

Your side, your current heat and your utility settle more than any product feature does.

• Your side. The state energy code puts King, Pierce, Snohomish and Clark counties in climate zone 4C and Spokane, Yakima, Benton and Franklin in 5B. Sea-Tac averages 3.8 days of 90F or more a year. Yakima averages 40.2.
• Your current heat. Electricity is the main heating fuel in 55% of Washington homes and natural gas in 37%, EIA's 2020 survey found. Most utility heat pump rebates require existing electric heat, so the system on your wall changes the math.
• Your utility. Amounts and contractor rules differ by utility. The utility comparison puts them side by side.

What has changed that older advice misses?

Three things changed, and many older articles miss all of them.

• Federal tax credits ended. The IRS says the heat pump credit does not apply to anything placed in service after December 31, 2025.
• State rebates run locally. The state's HEAR program works through local administrators who set their own amounts, while the federally funded HARP and HOMES rebates have not launched and are not retroactive. Our page on whether to wait for a rebate covers the timing, as of November 2026.
• Initiative 2066 is gone. The state Supreme Court struck it down in full on September 17, 2026, per the court's opinion (news-site copy). Gas service itself did not end. New-house rules are on the gas or electric new-build page.

What will these pages not tell you?

They will not tell you what your job will cost to install. We found no official installed-price figure for any system, so the pages give dated rebates and running costs, and tell you what a written bid should itemize.

They also will not name a contractor or a brand. Check any contractor on L&I's verify tool, and read how these comparisons are made.