Seasonal tune-up and full diagnostic on your Carrier, Trane, or Goodman system - readings shown to you before any repair is proposed
Diagnosis first, numbers second - you approve the repair price before a single part goes in.
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AfterFast, Reliable AC Installation Across Hobart
New air conditioning in Hobart typically runs $3,500 to $7,500 depending on the equipment, whether ducts already exist, and how much electrical work the home needs. Most installations are scheduled within days, not weeks. If you’re calling from a farmhouse off the Issaquah-Hobart Road or a rambler on a few wooded acres, we know the terrain, the homes, and what it takes to get cool air moving in a house that was never built for central air. Call (747) 966-3037 for a free written estimate.
Why Meadowsweet Heating & Air Is Hobart’s Preferred AC Installation Company
Hobart sits in unincorporated King County foothills, higher than the Puget Sound lowlands, and the homes here are different from what you’ll find twenty minutes west. Many were built before central forced air was standard. Some run on propane. Some still have electric baseboard heat. We send the same crew to Maple Valley and Black Diamond, but the questions we get from Hobart homeowners are specific: can we add AC to a propane-heated house, will a heat pump handle a January freeze, and what happens to a compressor sitting in heavy rain for six months. These are the jobs we do here.
Every Meadowsweet visit starts with a written price before any work begins. The technicians are background-checked, uniformed, and follow the C.A.R.E. values code: Clean up like it’s their own home, Ask before moving anything, Respect the family’s time and quiet hours, Explain the price before the work. They wear shoe covers and lay down drop cloths in the hallway before carrying equipment through your house. Before the crew leaves, we send you a photo of the clean-up. That’s not an upsell. It’s the Cedarwell Care Promise, and it’s on every job in Hobart.
We’re part of the Cedarwell family of HVAC companies, founded in 2004. That means we have depth: parts warehouses, dispatchers who answer the phone 24/7, and a 365-Day Done Right Promise behind every installation. If something isn’t done right, we make it right. No runarounds, no fine print. Luis Serrano leads the team. When you call, a live person answers, nights and weekends included.
AC Replacement in Hobart
AC Replacement in Hobart usually happens when an old R-22 system fails, when a homeowner is tired of repairing a 20-year-old condenser, or when a house is being converted from baseboard or propane heat to something more comfortable. The work starts with a load calculation, not a guess. We measure the house, the window area, the insulation, and the exposure. On an open acreage lot with no wind shelter, that matters more than in a shaded suburban subdivision. A full replacement in Hobart lands in the same $3,500-$7,500 range as new installation, and the job often includes upgrading the electrical disconnect, replacing the refrigerant line set, and adding a slab-mounted condenser pad that drains properly through a wet foothill winter.
Propane Furnace Pairing
Most Hobart homes that already have forced air got there with a propane furnace. When we replace the AC, we look at how old that furnace is and how the two will share the blower. Sometimes the right answer is a dual-fuel setup: a heat pump for cooling and shoulder-season heating, with the propane furnace kicking in below freezing. The changeover temperature is set in the thermostat, not left to chance.
Ductless Conversion
For farmhouses and ramblers with no existing ducts, a full AC replacement sometimes means replacing the whole approach. A multi-zone mini split can cool the bedrooms, the kitchen, and a living room without cutting holes in 1960s plaster or sacrificing a closet for duct risers. The $3,500-$7,500 range still applies, and the equipment is often a Goodman or Lennox cold-climate unit rated for low-temperature operation.
Central Air Conditioning Installation in Hobart
Central Air Conditioning Installation in Hobart is a bigger job than it is in a newer development closer to Issaquah, because so many homes here were never ducted. If the house already has a forced-air propane furnace, we can often reuse the existing duct system after sealing and testing it. If the house has baseboard electric or a wood stove as the primary heat source, we’re adding a full duct system, a new air handler, and likely an electrical panel upgrade. That’s still within the $3,500-$7,500 range for most homes, though the final number depends on how much of the house we’re conditioning and how accessible the attic or crawl space is. We give you that number in writing before anything is ordered.
Load Calculation on Exposed Lots
Hobart’s tree-canopied lots hold humidity, and a unit that’s oversized for the square footage will short-cycle and leave the air clammy. A unit that’s undersized won’t hold temperature during an August afternoon when the house has full western exposure. We run a Manual J calculation on every central air installation. No rule-of-thumb sizing, no “ton per 500 square feet” guesses.
Condenser Placement for Foothill Weather
Where the condenser sits matters in Hobart. Heavy rainfall means the pad needs drainage. Freezing nights mean the refrigerant line insulation must be intact and sealed, not the cracked foam we often find on older installs. We mount the unit on a level slab or stand, keep it clear of roof drip lines, and insulate the lines properly the first time.
Trusted Brands We Service in Hobart
We install and service equipment from nine major manufacturers, including Trane, Lennox, Goodman, and Rheem. What matters more than the name on the cabinet is whether we can get parts when you need them. We stock common capacitors, contactors, boards, and thermostats for the equipment we install, and our parts network reaches Hobart without sending you into a week-long waiting game. If you have an existing system from another brand, we can maintain it. If you’re replacing it, we’ll recommend what fits your house and your budget, not what’s on the truck.
Common AC Installation Problems We See in Hobart Homes
- Undersized propane tanks causing furnace fault codes. When a cold snap hits and the tank drops below about 20%, propane pressure falls and the furnace throws a fault that looks like a heat exchanger failure. We check tank percentage first, before condemning a furnace that’s actually fine.
- Frozen heat pump condensers in hard freezes. Hobart sits higher than the lowlands, and nights here get cold enough to freeze an outdoor coil that would stay clear in Renton. Proper defrost settings and line insulation prevent most of these failures.
- Oversized equipment on older homes with no ducts. When a homeowner adds central air to a pre-1960 farmhouse, a contractor who doesn’t run a load calculation often oversizes the system. The result is short cycling, uneven temperatures, and humid indoor air in a tree-shaded lot that already holds moisture.
- Duct liner degradation in high-humidity lots. Homes surrounded by trees keep less airflow through the crawl space and attic. We regularly find degraded duct liner and early mold in systems that were under-ventilated for years. A proper installation includes sealing the duct system and checking static pressure before the job is done.
Pricing for AC Installation in Hobart, WA
A new AC installation in Hobart runs $3,500 to $7,500. Here’s what that range covers:
| Item | Typical Cost |
|---|---|
| Complete AC installation (equipment, labor, electrical, start-up) | $3,500-$7,500 |
| AC repair (existing system, minor to moderate) | $150-$650 |
| Furnace repair (propane or electric) | $150-$700 |
| Seasonal tune-up | $80-$200 |
What pushes a Hobart job toward the top of the range: adding ductwork to a home that never had it, upgrading an old electrical panel, choosing a cold-climate heat pump instead of a standard AC, or conditioning a detached workshop. What keeps it lower: reusing an existing duct system, keeping the condenser close to the electrical panel, and selecting a properly sized single-stage unit rather than something oversized. We give you a written price before any work starts, and that price doesn’t change after we open the walls. Call (747) 966-3037 for a free estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near Hobart
Our crews drive the same foothill roads every week. In addition to AC Installation in Hobart, we serve Maple Valley, Issaquah, Black Diamond, and Snoqualmie. The homes differ, the fuel sources differ, and the exposure differs, but the standard stays the same: a written price first, a clean floor when we leave, and a 365-Day Done Right Promise behind the whole thing.
Serving Hobart, WA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Hobart area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About AC Installation in Hobart
If you’re installing new AC in Hobart and you already have a working propane furnace, a standard central air conditioner paired with that furnace is usually the simplest and least expensive path. If your furnace is aging or you want to cut propane use, a cold-climate heat pump handles both cooling and most of your heating, with the propane furnace as backup below freezing. We walk through both options and give you numbers for each before you decide. Call (747) 966-3037 to talk it through.
The usual cause is low tank pressure, not a failed furnace. When a propane tank drops near or below 20% during a hard freeze, the pressure falls and the furnace throws a fault code that mimics a heat exchanger failure. A technician who doesn’t know Hobart might condemn the furnace. We check tank percentage first, because we see this pattern every winter in Hobart. If the tank is fine, we’ll diagnose the actual fault and show you the reading.
We size the unit for the elevation and the exposure, install it on a raised slab or stand with proper drainage, insulate the full refrigerant line set, and set the defrost cycle for Hobart’s freeze frequency. The heavier rainfall here also means we seal every penetration and keep the unit clear of roof runoff. These are standard practices for us, not add-ons.
Yes. For a home with no ductwork, a multi-zone mini split system is often the best fit. We can condition the main living areas and bedrooms with wall-mounted or ceiling cassette indoor units, and we can add a ducted mini split if you prefer hidden vents in a hallway or attic. A full central duct system is possible too, but it means more drywall work and a higher price. We show you both options with written numbers.
For most Hobart homes, a SEER2 rating between 15 and 17 offers the best balance of upfront cost and summer operating cost. Higher SEER2 units cost more and pay back slowly in our mild summers. What matters more than chasing the highest number is correct sizing and proper installation, especially on a humid, tree-shaded lot where an oversized high-SEER unit will still short-cycle and leave the house damp. We’ll recommend a specific rating after the load calculation, not before.
Written by Luis Serrano, Owner at Meadowsweet Heating & Air, serving Hobart and the surrounding foothill communities.
If you’re ready to talk about AC installation in Hobart, call (747) 966-3037. A live person answers, we’ll schedule a visit, and you’ll get a written price before any work begins.