HVAC Services in Redmond, WA
Two things about Redmond change how an HVAC job actually gets done here, and neither is obvious from the outside. The first is that a Redmond mailing address does not always mean the City of Redmond has jurisdiction over your permit. The second is that Redmond runs its own permitting system rather than the regional portal every neighbouring city we work in uses, so the process here looks different from Kirkland or Bellevue.
The third thing is about the houses. A large share of Redmond's newer stock was built between 1999 and 2006, which puts its original furnaces, heat pumps and builder air conditioners right at the age where they stop being worth repairing.
We have been doing this work since 1977, and our shop sits on Woodinville-Redmond Road NE, minutes from downtown Redmond, so this is a short run for us rather than a cross-city trip. This page covers the permits, the jurisdiction question, the rebates and the equipment. To talk it through, call (206) 900-9231.
What we do most in Redmond
Each service has its own page with the detail on equipment, sizing and what the work involves.
Air conditioner replacement
The most common Redmond call. Builder installed condensers from the late nineties and early two thousands are now past twenty years, and the ones charged with R-22 are expensive to repair because that refrigerant has not been produced or imported in the United States since 2020.
Also: AC repair
Heat pump installation
Where an aging air conditioner and an aging furnace are both due, one heat pump replaces both and carries the rebate. Worth pricing as a single job rather than replacing the condenser now and the furnace in three years.
Also: Air to water heat pumps
Furnace repair and replacement
Repair, replacement and annual service on gas and electric furnaces. Redmond requires a permit before mechanical equipment is installed, altered or replaced, so a furnace swap is permitted work here without exception.
Also: All heating
Ductless and mini split systems
The answer for downtown and Overlake condos and townhomes with no ductwork, and for a converted garage or bonus room. On a shared building the outdoor unit location usually needs HOA sign off before anything else.
Also: Mini split repair
Duct and distribution work
Adding cooling to a house built for heating only often exposes undersized returns. If the upstairs never cools evenly after a new system goes in, the ductwork is usually the reason rather than the equipment.
Also: Indoor air quality · Ventilation
Water heaters
Tank, tankless and heat pump water heaters. Redmond lists water heater replacement among the work needing a permit, and a gas water heater and a heat pump water heater are not interchangeable swaps because the electrical and drainage requirements differ.
Also: Heat pump water heaters · Tankless
Boilers and radiant heat
Less common in Redmond's newer subdivisions than in older Eastside housing, but we service, repair and replace both. Redmond's permit application lists boilers as their own line.
Also: Radiant heat
Geothermal
Ground source heat pumps need lot area for the loop field. That rules out most of the platted subdivisions but suits the larger acreage properties out toward Union Hill and Avondale.
Also: Heat pump options
Not listed? See every service we offer.
A Redmond address does not always mean the City of Redmond
This is the single most useful thing on this page, and it costs people real time. Redmond Ridge, Trilogy at Redmond Ridge, and the Union Hill and Novelty Hill areas carry Redmond mailing addresses but sit in unincorporated King County, outside the city limits. King County describes Redmond Ridge as the only Urban Planned Development in unincorporated King County.
That matters because the two jurisdictions do not share a permitting system. Inside the city limits you apply through the City of Redmond's own portal. In unincorporated King County you apply through MyBuildingPermit, the regional portal. Start in the wrong place and you will be told your address cannot be found, which reads like an error rather than an answer.
It also affects records. If you are trying to establish when a furnace was installed or whether an addition was permitted, a Redmond Ridge home's history sits with the County, not the City. We check which jurisdiction an address falls in before we quote, so this is not something you need to work out yourself.
Permits for HVAC work in Redmond
| Permit authority | City of Redmond inside the city limits. King County for Redmond Ridge, Trilogy, Union Hill and Novelty Hill. See above. |
|---|---|
| Which portal | Redmond uses its own Redmond ePermitting Service. That matters because most of the jurisdictions around it apply through the regional MyBuildingPermit portal instead, including Kirkland, Bellevue, Bothell, Issaquah, Sammamish, Mercer Island and unincorporated King County. A process that felt familiar elsewhere on the Eastside looks different here. |
| What needs a permit | The City states that "A mechanical permit is required before mechanical equipment is installed, altered, replaced, or remodeled", and lists new or replacement water heater, heat pump or furnace among the work covered. |
| What it costs | Redmond publishes its 2026 mechanical fees: a $140.71 base permit fee, plus $48.25 per appliance for a furnace or air handler and $48.25 per outdoor unit for a compressor, air conditioner or heat pump. Gas piping is $48.25 for up to four outlets. A separate permit is required for each building. |
| Electrical permit | A heat pump or ductless conversion normally needs an electrical permit alongside the mechanical one. We hold a Washington electrical contractor licence, so both come from us rather than a second trade you have to coordinate. |
| Inspections | Requested through the ePermitting service, or by phone using the PIN on the permit record. The City notes that inspections need to be requested throughout the process rather than only at the end. |
| Permit expiry | Redmond permits are valid for 365 days with no inspections, and each passed inspection extends the expiry by another 365 days. This is worth knowing because it works differently from the flat two year expiry used by some neighbouring cities, and an inactive permit can lapse while a project is paused. |
| Utility | Puget Sound Energy supplies gas and electricity across Redmond, which is what determines the rebates below. |
We pull the permits on our own work and book the inspections. If one quote comes in noticeably cheaper than the others, it is worth asking whether permitting is included, because an unpermitted install is the kind of thing that surfaces later during a sale.
Redmond Ridge is reaching its first replacement cycle
Redmond Ridge broke ground in 1999 and reached buildout in the summer of 2006. That means the original equipment in those homes is now roughly twenty to twenty-seven years old, which is the end of the range for a furnace and past it for a condenser.
Two things follow from that. Builder installed air conditioners of that era were often charged with R-22, and because R-22 has not been produced or imported in the United States since 2020, a leak repair on one of those units means paying reclaimed refrigerant prices on equipment that is already at the end of its life. Second, when the furnace and the condenser are both original, they usually fail within a few years of each other, so replacing them as one heat pump job is normally cheaper than two separate visits and it opens the rebate route.
None of that means you should replace working equipment. It means that if yours is original to the house and you are getting quotes for a repair, it is worth asking for the replacement number in the same visit so you can compare the two properly.
Rebates in Redmond
Redmond is Puget Sound Energy territory. The headline $1,500 conversion rebate requires your existing primary heat to be electric resistance, so the gas furnaces common across Redmond's subdivisions do not qualify for it. A separate electrification rebate worth up to $4,000 covers moderate income customers converting from gas to an all electric heat pump.
PSE only pays when the installing contractor is a Recommended Energy Professional or Trade Ally, and NW Mechanical holds PSE Recommended Energy Professional status, so the work we install qualifies.
Our heat pump rebates page sets out every program side by side, including the conditions that disqualify people most often.
Where we work in Redmond
What changes across the city is the age of the equipment and whether there is ductwork to work with.
Education Hill and Grass Lawn
Older established neighbourhoods with existing ductwork, frequently built for heating only. Adding cooling here is usually a returns and duct sizing question as much as an equipment one.
Downtown and Overlake
Condos, apartments and townhomes, often with no ductwork and a shared building envelope. Ductless is the normal answer, and outdoor unit placement is typically an HOA conversation before it is a technical one.
Idylwood, Bear Creek and Avondale
A mix of ages and lot sizes, including the larger properties where a ground source loop field is actually feasible.
Redmond Ridge and Trilogy
Built 1999 to 2006 and now at first replacement. King County jurisdiction for permits rather than the City, which is the detail most often missed here.
We also cover the rest of the Eastside and Seattle. See Kirkland, Bellevue, Woodinville, Sammamish and all service areas.
Redmond HVAC questions we get asked
My address says Redmond but the City cannot find it. Why?
Almost certainly because the property is in unincorporated King County rather than inside the city limits. Redmond Ridge, Trilogy, Union Hill and Novelty Hill all have Redmond addresses and County jurisdiction. Permits for those go through MyBuildingPermit, and older records sit with the County.
Do I need a permit to replace my furnace in Redmond?
Yes. The City requires a mechanical permit before equipment is installed, altered or replaced, and names furnace, heat pump and water heater replacement specifically. We pull it and book the inspections as part of the job.
What does the permit actually cost?
Redmond's 2026 schedule starts at a $140.71 base fee, with $48.25 per appliance for a furnace or air handler and the same per outdoor condenser or heat pump. It is a real line on the quote rather than a rounding error, and you should see it itemised.
My air conditioner is from the early two thousands and needs refrigerant. Repair or replace?
Get both numbers. If it takes R-22, the refrigerant alone can make a repair uneconomic, because none has been produced or imported in the United States since 2020 and what remains is reclaimed. On a unit that age a leak is usually a symptom rather than the problem.
Can I put a ductless system on a Redmond condo or townhome?
Usually yes, and the technical side is the easy part. The constraint is where the outdoor unit can sit and what the HOA or building rules allow, so that is the first thing to establish before anyone quotes equipment.
Talk to us about your Redmond home. We will confirm which jurisdiction your address falls under, what the permit will cost, and whether a repair or a replacement is the better value on the equipment you actually have.
Call (206) 900-9231 or request an estimate.
Permit requirements, the mechanical permit wording, the ePermitting service, inspection requests and the 365 day permit validity from the City of Redmond. Fee figures from the City's 2026 mechanical fee schedule. Redmond Ridge as the only Urban Planned Development in unincorporated King County from King County; online permitting for unincorporated King County via MyBuildingPermit. Redmond Ridge groundbreaking in 1999 and buildout in summer 2006 from the Redmond Ridge Residential Owners Association. Rebate amounts and conditions from Puget Sound Energy. Permit fees, rules and rebate amounts change, so confirm current figures with the City, the County and PSE before relying on them. Last reviewed September 2026.
Licensed, Bonded and Insured in Redmond
Each license can be looked up individually on the Washington State L&I contractor register.
Mechanical permits here are issued by the City of Redmond permit center, and we pull them for the work we do. Natural gas and electricity are supplied by Puget Sound Energy.
If you ever smell gas, leave the building first and call Puget Sound Energy on 1-888-225-5773 before you call us.
