How to hire a heat pump installer in Seattle

Get everything in writing

Prices, promises, scope changes, schedules and rebate amounts. If a phone call gets heated, end it and follow up by email so there’s a record of what was said.

Treat a tune-up as a tune-up

If a maintenance visit ends with a replacement pitch, ask for the diagnosis in writing: which part is failing, the measured readings, and what a repair would cost. Then get two or three quotes from other contractors. A system that’s working today often can wait a week.

Do the financing math

Look past the monthly payment to the total of payments on the Truth in Lending disclosure. Our $25,225 system carried a 23.99% APR after a 12-month promo, for a total of $52,272 if paid on schedule. Ask what happens if you pay off during the promo, and price a credit union home improvement loan for comparison.

Know your three-day right to cancel

Two federal rules can apply to a heat pump sold at your home:

• Home-secured credit. When a loan takes a security interest in your home, Regulation Z (12 CFR 1026.23) gives you three business days to rescind. Until that period ends, no services may be performed and no materials delivered, unless you waive the right in your own written statement for a genuine personal financial emergency. Printed waiver forms aren’t allowed.
• Sales at your home. The FTC’s Cooling-Off Rule (16 CFR Part 429) generally gives three business days to cancel, and the seller must tell you about it out loud and give you two copies of a cancellation form. It doesn’t cover a visit you requested to repair or maintain existing equipment, but if the seller sells you more than the parts needed for that repair, such as a whole new system, that extra sale can still be covered.

If a crew shows up to start before your cancellation date, you can say no.

Get the install plan in writing

Ask for the duct routing, duct type (rigid or flexible), where the refrigerant line set will run, where the air handler goes, and what happens to finished spaces. Ask whether the salesperson will be on site on day one to walk the plan with you and the crew. Plans that stay verbal tend to change on install day.

Ask for permit numbers before work starts

A heat pump replacement in Seattle typically needs electrical, mechanical and refrigeration permits. Ask for the numbers and look them up on the Seattle Services Portal. Don’t sign a completion certificate until the final inspection passes.

Verify every rebate yourself

Programs change and have eligibility rules. PSE’s gas-to-heat-pump rebate is income-qualified, requires a participating contractor, and has a filing deadline. Seattle City Light’s heat pump incentive is applied as a discount through contractors and distributors, so you may never see it as a separate check, and it’s meant for homes that already heat with electricity. Homes converting from gas are pointed to PSE. The federal 25C tax credit doesn’t apply to equipment placed in service after December 31, 2025. If a contractor quotes incentives, ask them to put the amounts in the contract along with what happens if they aren’t paid.

Check the contractor’s records

Look up the registration, bond, insurance and any bond lawsuits on L&I Verify. Read the BBB complaints, not only the letter grade. Find out who owns the company.