Tri-Cities HVAC QuotesKennewick / Pasco / Richland
Kennewick · Pasco · Richland · West Richland

Find out whether to fix it or replace it. Then get three prices.

A contractor telling you to replace a system has an obvious interest in that answer. Run the numbers yourself first, then compare up to three local bids. Free for homeowners.

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13.4SEER2 federal minimum for new split AC, DOE North region
Jan 2026R-410A banned in new residential installs under the AIM Act
ExpiredFederal 25C tax credit ended Dec 31, 2025
15–20 yrTypical gas furnace service life in this climate
The question everyone actually has

Repair it, or replace it?

Move the sliders. The verdict updates using the age-times-repair-cost test, your equipment’s expected service life, and which refrigerant your system most likely uses.

12 yr

Check the data plate on the unit. Most manufacturers encode the build date in the serial number.

$600
Replace

Replacement is very likely the better spend.

Age times repair cost$7,200
Rule-of-thumb threshold$5,000
Typical service life18 yr
Rough life remaining6 yr
Approximate install year2014

The age-times-cost test is a starting point that contractors and homeowners both use. It is not a diagnosis. A cracked heat exchanger ends the discussion regardless of the number, and so does a compressor failure on equipment past its service life.

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Why equipment struggles here

A climate that works both ends of the system.

The Tri-Cities asks a heating and cooling system to do two hard jobs. Summer runs long stretches above 100 degrees, which means a condenser here logs far more runtime hours than the same unit would in a mild climate. Winter then asks the furnace to hold a house through weeks below freezing.

Add the dust, agricultural particulate, and late-summer wildfire smoke, and coils and filters load faster than the manufacturer’s maintenance schedule assumes. A system that would last twenty years somewhere else often does not here.

Watch for this in a quote

Any contractor still advertising a federal tax credit on a 2026 install is working from year-old information. The 25C credit expired December 31, 2025. Utility rebates are a separate thing and may still exist, so ask your utility directly.

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Free for homeowners. Up to three local contractors, no obligation to hire any of them. By submitting you agree that participating contractors may contact you about this request.

What we get quotes for

Heating and cooling, both seasons.

Furnace Repair

No heat, short cycling, a blower that will not stop, or an ignitor that clicks and gives up.

$150 - $650

Furnace Replacement

Replacing a furnace that has reached the end of a fifteen to twenty year service life.

$4,500 - $9,500

AC Repair

Warm air, a condenser that hums but will not start, ice on the line set, or a breaker that keeps tripping.

$150 - $700

AC Installation

New central air sized to the actual load rather than to whatever was there before.

$5,500 - $11,000

Heat Pump

One system that both heats and cools, which suits the Tri-Cities climate better than most people expect.

$8,000 - $18,000

Ductless Mini-Split

Zone-by-zone heating and cooling for additions, shops, converted garages, and rooms the ducts never reached.

$4,000 - $12,000

Maintenance & Tune-Up

The seasonal service that catches the failure before it happens on the coldest night of the year.

$99 - $250
Service areas

What the housing stock is like in each city.

Kennewick, WA

Kennewick housing stock splits sharply. The ranch homes off Clearwater and Union went in when nobody insulated much and air conditioning was optional, so plenty…

99336, 99337, 99338→

Pasco, WA

Most of west Pasco went up in the last twenty years, which means a large share of systems out Road 68 and along Sandifur are now hitting the age where the first…

99301→

Richland, WA

Central Richland still has many of the original government-built Alphabet Houses, and their HVAC has usually been replaced two or three times without anyone ret…

99352, 99354→

West Richland, WA

West Richland is the fastest-growing city in the metro, with a lot of newer construction on larger lots. Bigger square footage and more glass mean bigger loads,…

99353→
Questions

What homeowners ask us.

Should I repair my system or replace it?
A common industry starting point is to multiply the age of the unit in years by the cost of the repair. If the result is over roughly $5,000, replacement usually makes more financial sense. A $400 repair on a six-year-old furnace comes to $2,400 and is clearly worth doing. The same $400 repair on a nineteen-year-old furnace comes to $7,600 and is money spent on something with very little life left. It is a starting point rather than a rule, and the calculator on this site walks through it along with the refrigerant question.
How long should a furnace or air conditioner last here?
Gas furnaces generally run fifteen to twenty years, air conditioners about twelve to fifteen, and heat pumps about twelve to fifteen since they run in both seasons. Tri-Cities summers push cooling equipment hard, with long stretches over 100 degrees, and that shortens the practical life of a condenser compared with a milder climate. Dust and wildfire smoke also load coils and filters faster than average.
What changed with refrigerant in 2026?
As of January 1, 2026, the EPA AIM Act prohibits installing new residential systems that use R-410A. New equipment now uses lower-GWP refrigerants, mainly R-454B or R-32. Your existing R-410A system is not illegal and can still be serviced, repaired, and recharged. The practical issue is that R-410A production has been cut substantially, so the refrigerant itself is getting more expensive, which changes the math on repairing an older leaking system.
My system uses R-22. What does that mean?
R-22 was phased out years ago and is no longer produced or imported in the United States. Any R-22 still available is reclaimed, and it is expensive. If you have an R-22 system with a refrigerant leak, the repair cost is often high enough that replacement is the better decision, even when the rest of the equipment seems serviceable. An R-22 system is also old enough by definition that age alone is a factor.
Is there still a federal tax credit for a new system?
No. The federal 25C energy efficiency tax credit expired on December 31, 2025, so there is no federal credit for HVAC equipment purchased in 2026. Be cautious with any contractor still advertising one, because it suggests their information is a year out of date. Utility rebates are separate from federal credits and may still be available, so ask your utility directly about current programs.
What efficiency rating do I actually need?
Washington is in the Department of Energy North region. The current federal minimum for a new split-system air conditioner is 13.4 SEER2, and for a split-system heat pump it is 14.3 SEER2 with a minimum of 7.5 HSPF2. Going above the minimum costs more up front and saves more per month, and whether that pencils out depends on how long you are staying in the house. A correctly sized minimum-efficiency system beats an oversized high-efficiency one every time.
Why does sizing matter so much?
An oversized air conditioner cools the thermostat quickly and shuts off before it has run long enough to pull moisture out or even out temperatures between rooms. You get cold spots, hot spots, and a compressor wearing itself out starting and stopping. Proper sizing comes from a Manual J load calculation based on square footage, insulation, window area and orientation, not from matching whatever tonnage happened to be there before.
Is this service actually free for me?
Yes. Homeowners never pay us anything. We may be compensated by the licensed HVAC contractors we connect you with, which is how the service stays free on your side. You are never obligated to hire any of them, and we would encourage you to verify any Washington contractor at lni.wa.gov before you sign.

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