Air conditioning and cooling in Metro Vancouver

It depends mostly on the age of your furnace. If your furnace is newer and in good condition, adding central air conditioning to it is the sensible spend — you keep what works and add what's missing. If your furnace is ageing, a heat pump replaces both units in one job, heats far more efficiently than gas for most of the BC year, and is the only one of the two that qualifies for rebates. We'll walk through both during the free assessment rather than pushing you either way.

No. Rebate programmes are aimed at heat pumps, because they replace fossil-fuel heating rather than only adding cooling. A central air conditioner cools and nothing else, so no programme covers it. If rebates matter to your budget, a heat pump is the option to look at.

Usually, yes. Central air conditioning shares your furnace's blower and ductwork, so if both are in good condition it's a straightforward addition. We'll check the ductwork is sized to carry the airflow and confirm your electrical can support it during the assessment.

For central air conditioning, yes. For cooling without ductwork, ductless mini splits are the answer — each indoor head cools its own room, with no ducts anywhere. That is the usual route for homes on baseboards or radiant in-floor heating.

Yes. A single-zone ductless mini split cools one room independently, which is the common fix for an upstairs bedroom, a finished attic, or a west-facing room that overheats every afternoon. It also heats, so it's useful in the shoulder seasons.

Indirectly, and it's a real benefit here. A cooling system lets you keep windows and doors shut through a smoke event rather than opening up for relief at night. Central systems circulate air through your furnace filter, so filtration quality depends on the filter fitted — we can talk through filter options during the assessment. Ductless systems have their own washable filters that catch larger particles.

Less than most people expect in this climate, because our cooling season is short and rarely extreme. A modern inverter-driven system modulates its output rather than cycling hard on and off, so it draws considerably less power than an older single-stage unit or a set of portable units. A heat pump running in cooling mode costs roughly the same as an air conditioner of equivalent capacity.

Modern systems are quiet. Outdoor units on the models we install run at sound levels comparable to a household refrigerator at conversational distance, and indoor ductless heads are quieter still — one of the main reasons people replace window units. Placement matters as much as the equipment, so we plan the outdoor unit location during the assessment with bedroom windows and property lines in mind.

It depends on square footage, insulation, window area and orientation, ceiling height and layout — not on what you currently have installed. Oversizing is the common mistake with cooling: an oversized system cools the air quickly, shuts off before it has removed the humidity, and leaves the house feeling clammy. We size the system properly rather than defaulting to the largest unit that fits.

Central air conditioning added to an existing furnace — 1 day. Central heat pump — 2 days. Ductless mini splits — roughly 1 day per indoor unit. We'll give you a firm timeline with your quote.

Spring, if you can. Demand climbs sharply once the first heat wave arrives and lead times stretch accordingly. Booking an assessment in the shoulder season means you choose your install date rather than waiting for the next available one.

Starting prices, plus GST: Central Air Conditioning — $9,200; Central Heat Pump — $14,150; Ductless Mini Split — single zone — $5,400; Ductless Mini Split — multi-zone — $4,600 per zone.

Every home is different, so book a free quote for pricing specific to yours.

Standard electrical connection included. Electrical service upgrades (if required for your home) are quoted separately. Final pricing is determined after your in-home assessment. All starting-at prices are plus GST.