Kittitas Valley · Ellensburg, Cle Elum & Suncadia

Air Conditioning Installation in Ellensburg, WA

Ellensburg summers are hot and dry. If your home doesn't have central cooling yet, we install new air conditioners alongside existing furnaces, heat pumps that handle summer and winter, and ductless systems for homes without ducts, with a free in-home estimate to compare them.

Request My Free Estimate → Call (509) 436-1178

City of Ellensburg electric customer? Read this before you choose ↓

One of our city pages for air conditioner installation and repair.

New Carrier central air conditioner installed by Alpine Aire at a Wenatchee, WA home, June 2025
Recent work near you: Wenatchee AC change-out, June 2025

Side by side

Central AC, heat pump or ductless: how they differ.

All three cool and dry the air the same basic way. They differ in what else they do and what your house needs to have already.

Option In summer In winter Your home needs
Central air conditioner Cools the whole house through the ducts Sits idle; your furnace heats Ducts and a furnace with life left in it
Ducted heat pump Cools the whole house through the ducts Heats most of the season, with backup heat or a furnace for the coldest days Ducts, or a new air handler
Ductless mini-split Cools the rooms that have an indoor head Heats those same rooms Nothing extra; no ducts required
Free In-home estimate for any new system
Your choice Carrier, Lennox, Bosch, Mitsubishi and other leading brands
1 year Our parts and labor warranty, on top of the manufacturer's

Prices

What each cooling option costs installed.

Ellensburg-area installed prices
1
Air conditioner only: priced at your free estimate

A cooling-only system has to match your furnace's blower, coil and ducts, so there's no posted range. We quote it in writing after looking at the house.

2
Ducted heat pump + air handler: $15,331–$26,702

Cools and heats through your ducts. The range runs from our Good tier to our Best.

3
Dual fuel, heat pump + gas furnace: $15,706–$26,748

The heat pump cools and carries most of the heating; the furnace covers the coldest stretches.

4
Ductless: $7,000–$8,700 single zone, $11,000–$21,500 multi-zone

Good for homes heated with baseboards, and for additions or a hot upstairs.

Ducted heat pump and dual fuel systems can be priced online any time. Get My Instant Price → Financing through Salal Credit Union is available on approved credit.

Working in the Kittitas Valley

Built for a windy valley, an hour from our shop.

Ellensburg is known for its wind. An outdoor unit set in a sheltered spot, on a solid base, runs easier and stays cleaner. Our crews come over from Wenatchee, about an hour's drive, so we plan installs to finish without extra trips.

~1 hour Drive from our Wenatchee shop to Ellensburg
$279 Ellensburg service dispatch, for later repairs
$189 Cle Elum and Suncadia service dispatch
$179 Yearly AC tune-up visit

Keep the new system clean

Wind pushes dust and dry grass against outdoor coils. Change the filter on schedule and book a yearly tune-up. The AA Comfort Club covers a spring and a fall visit for $300 a year per system, or $25 a month.

Utility rebates

City of Ellensburg power and your cooling choice.

A straight air conditioner gets no rebate claim from us.

We don't count on any utility rebate for a cooling-only system, in Ellensburg or anywhere else in Kittitas County.

City of Ellensburg electric customers

  • The city offers heat pump and ductless rebates for homes heated with electric space heat.
  • No amounts are published, so check eligibility with the city before you sign anything.
  • City of Ellensburg energy rebates(checked Oct. 30, 2026)

Other utilities

  • Suncadia homes are on Kittitas PUD. We make no rebate claim for Kittitas PUD.
  • Chelan PUD amounts you may see on Wenatchee pages don't apply in Kittitas County.
  • Not sure who supplies your power? Your electric bill will say.

The process

How an Ellensburg cooling install comes together.

  1. A short call

    Tell us what heats the house, whether you have ducts, and how hot the bedrooms get.

  2. The home visit

    A comfort advisor checks the furnace, ducts and electrical panel and prices each option that fits.

  3. Your decision

    Compare the quotes in writing. No pressure to pick the biggest system.

  4. Install day

    Our crew sets the outdoor unit out of the wind, starts the system and walks you through it.

Warranty

The manufacturer's parts warranty (Carrier's runs up to 10 years) plus Alpine's own 1-year parts and labor warranty. Alpine is a Carrier Factory Authorized Dealer.

Installs, from our reviews

How customers describe a new-system install with us.

4.8-star average across 588 Google reviews as of Oct. 20, 2026. Read them on Google →

GOOGLE REVIEW · ★★★★★

“Quotes were reasonable and the explanation of why they chose the systems that they did gave great peace of mind.”
Lucas G. · July 2024

GOOGLE REVIEW · ★★★★★

“From our initial phone call thru the quote process, scheduling, install, and payment all of the staff were professional and efficient.”
Debbie H. · February 2026

GOOGLE REVIEW · ★★★★★

“They installed a new unit at our place about a week ago and it works amazing and the people were very nice and helpful thank you again”
Roger S. · March 2025
Whole new Carrier air conditioner installed by Alpine Aire in Wenatchee, WA, June 2025

An AC change-out in Wenatchee

Completed
June 2025
What came out
The home's old central AC
What went in
A new Carrier central AC

This install was in Wenatchee, not Kittitas County: we don't have an Ellensburg, Cle Elum or Suncadia AC install with photos to show yet. In June 2025 our crew replaced the home's old air conditioner with a new Carrier unit. We do the same work in Ellensburg, Cle Elum and Suncadia.

Ellensburg questions

Air conditioning installation FAQ for Ellensburg.

What does it cost to add central air in Ellensburg?

An air conditioner-only system is priced at a free in-home estimate, because the cost depends on your furnace, ducts and electrical panel. Systems that also heat have posted ranges: a ducted heat pump with an air handler is $15,331 to $26,702 installed, and ductless runs $7,000 to $8,700 for one zone or $11,000 to $21,500 for several.

Will the City of Ellensburg pay a rebate on a new AC?

We don't claim a rebate for an air conditioner-only system. The city offers heat pump and ductless rebates to its electric customers whose homes have electric space heat, without published amounts, so check your eligibility with the city before you decide.

Is a heat pump worth it instead of a plain AC?

Often, if your furnace is older or your home is heated with electricity. A heat pump cools like an AC and then heats most of the winter, so one outdoor unit does two jobs. If your furnace is newer, a central AC paired with it can be the simpler choice. We'll price both. Heat pumps in Ellensburg.

Do you install in Cle Elum and Suncadia too?

Yes. We install cooling systems in Ellensburg, Cle Elum and Suncadia, and the estimate for a new system is free in each.

How far away are you?

Our shop is in Wenatchee, about an hour's drive from Ellensburg. Installs are scheduled ahead, and our after-hours emergency service covers Ellensburg for repairs once your system is in.

Can you reuse refrigerant from my old R-22 air conditioner?

No. We no longer use R-22, so a new system is charged with current refrigerant and the old unit is replaced.

Need a repair rather than a new system? AC repair in Ellensburg →

Heat pumps in Ellensburg Ductless systems All service areas

Kittitas Valley estimates

Get cooling quotes for your Ellensburg home.

Use the form to tell us about the house. Our office will call to book your free in-home estimate.

Ask for an AC quote and a heat pump quote at the same visit, and compare them side by side.

Call (509) 436-1178

Office hours Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.

Rather start online? Book a free in-home estimate for your Ellensburg home. Cabin or second home up the valley? See our Suncadia and Cle Elum service.

Tell us about your project