Heating and cooling across Spokane County

Spokane County had 539,339 residents at the 2020 census and has kept growing since, which makes it the fourth-most populous county in Washington. The housing stock splits into two eras: older homes in the city's core, many built before 1960, and the suburban growth of the last few decades out toward the Valley and the north side. Across the whole county the median home dates to 1978.

That split shapes the work. Older homes bring undersized returns, boilers and homes that never had central air. Newer subdivisions bring heat pumps and furnaces from the early 2000s that are now due for replacement, and about 5 percent of the county's homes are manufactured homes with their own furnaces and duct layouts.

Spokane County also sits in EPA radon Zone 1, the highest predicted indoor radon category, and a state report found 60 percent of the county's houses at or above the 4 pCi/L action level. That is one reason ventilation and sealed ductwork matter here as much as heating capacity.