HVAC Installation in Medford, OR
A new system here will heat from October through June and cool from July through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Jackson County will get in touch.
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Medford asks for 11 months of heating or cooling a year
Winter nights here average 31°F from December through February, and the heat needs to run from October through June, nine months of the year. Summer only asks for two months of cooling, July and August, with afternoons averaging 80°F. Between the two, a system here works 11 months out of the year.
More than half the homes in the area heat with electricity, so a furnace or heat pump that starts easily and holds up matters here. Storms are part of the picture too. Jackson County has logged 64 winter storms and 69 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and 20% of Oregon households went at least 24 hours without power in 2024. A new system should be sized and installed for that kind of year, not just for a mild stretch of weather.
- 9 months
- October through June, your system heats
- 2 months
- July through August, it cools
- 31°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 80°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Oregon requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Construction Contractors Board licenses the contractor, not the job itself. The license follows the business doing the work. It stays on record with the state no matter the size of the job. Oregon does carve out an exception for small jobs. Work under $1,000 does not need a licensed contractor. A full heating and cooling installation runs well past that amount, so the contractor doing this job needs to hold that license.
Because this is a full installation, the license is what stands behind the work here. Most cities and counties in Oregon also require a permit from the local building office for this kind of job. An inspection follows once the work is done. That inspection checks the finished installation itself, separate from the contractor's license with the state.
Source: Oregon Legislative Assembly
- When should I replace my HVAC system?
- Replace it when repairs stop making sense, or the equipment is old and struggling to keep up. If your furnace or heat pump is breaking down every winter, or a contractor tells you the heat exchanger or compressor is failing, that's the sign. Homes here need heat from October through June, so a system that can't keep up costs you most of the year, not just a few cold weeks. An aging system is also more likely to fail during a winter storm, and this area has seen 64 of them over the past ten years, so it's worth replacing before it fails rather than after.
- Should I replace my furnace and air conditioner at the same time?
- If both are old, yes, it usually makes sense to do them together. A furnace and air conditioner installed at the same time are matched to work together, and a contractor can size both for your house in one visit instead of two. That said, if your air conditioner is only a few years old and just your furnace is failing, there's no reason to replace equipment that still has years left in it. A contractor can look at the age and condition of each and tell you honestly whether pairing them makes sense for your house.
- What happens during an HVAC installation?
- A contractor removes the old furnace, air conditioner, or heat pump and puts in the new equipment, connecting it to your existing ducts, gas line or electrical circuit, and thermostat wiring. Before that, they size the new system for your house, since a unit that's too big or too small won't heat or cool evenly. Replacing a furnace, air conditioner or heat pump needs a permit from the local building office in most cities and counties, along with an inspection once the work is done. Oregon also requires the contractor doing the work to hold a state license, so it's worth checking that before anyone starts.