The Salem question: PGE or Salem Electric?
Salem and Keizer are split between two electric utilities, and they run different rebate programs.
- Portland General Electric serves most of Salem and Keizer. PGE's own service-area page lists the parts it does not serve: most of West Salem, the riverfront area of downtown Salem, the south half of Keizer, and the Northgate area along Portland Road.
- Salem Electric, a member-owned cooperative, serves those parts of Salem and Keizer — about 17.5 square miles by its own annual report.
- In Polk County, Monmouth Power & Light serves Monmouth and the surrounding area; the City of Independence lists both Pacific Power and Monmouth Power & Light; Pacific Power's service map labels Dallas and Independence. Polk County's utility contact page also lists Consumers Power.
- Gas: Polk County lists NW Natural as its only gas utility, and NW Natural is the gas utility for Salem.
How Energy Trust of Oregon works, in two lines. Its residential heat pump incentives are “only available to residences serviced by PGE and Pacific Power,” and they require the heat pump to replace electric heat. Its gas furnace incentive ($1,600 for a 95% AFUE or better furnace) is only for homes whose gas comes from NW Natural, Cascade Natural Gas or Avista — and only for a single-family rental, an attached home or an income-qualified household; the 2026 Oregon sheet lists no gas-furnace incentive for an owner-occupied detached house. So the utility named on your bill decides which column you are in. The three-question rebate checker walks through it.
What that means for a heat pump
- PGE or Pacific Power customer, replacing electric heat: Energy Trust pays $800 (ductless) or $1,000 (ducted or extended-capacity) for an owner-occupied single-family home, more for rentals, attached homes and income-qualified households. Full table and conditions.
- Salem Electric customer: Energy Trust's heat pump money does not apply, but Salem Electric lists its own. For an air-source heat pump: $1,250 with existing electric heat, $1,560 for a variable-speed unit with existing electric heat, $1,000 where there was no previous heat pump, $700 to upgrade an existing heat pump, and $500 in a new home. Ductless: $900 with electric heat, $500 otherwise. It requires HSPF2 7.6 or higher and an application within six months. Salem Electric incentives.
- Gas furnace today: Energy Trust's heat pump incentives require replacing electric heat, so a gas home on PGE gets none of them. Salem Electric's list includes a $1,000 line for a home with no previous heat pump; ask Salem Electric whether it covers a gas-to-heat-pump switch before a quote counts on it.
Not sure which you have? It is the name at the top of your electricity bill.
Climate: a little colder than Portland, and not by much
The Willamette Valley winter is a Portland winter with a few more frosts. NOAA's 1991–2020 normals at Salem's McNary Field count about 49 nights a year at or below freezing, against about 32 at Portland airport, and on average 0.1 nights a year at or below 10°F. Heating degree days, the standard measure of how much heating a year calls for, run about 6% above Portland.
| NOAA station | Heating degree days (base 65°F) | Nights at or below 32°F | Nights at or below 10°F | Days at or above 90°F | Cooling degree days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salem McNary Field | 4,340 | 49.4 | 0.1 | 18.3 | 401 |
| Portland Intl Airport (for comparison) | 4,104 | 31.7 | 0.0 | 14.6 | 508 |
What it changes: a heat pump that is right for Portland is generally right for Salem, so the heat pump guide applies as written. These are averages. The temperature a contractor sizes to is a design temperature from ACCA Manual J or ASHRAE tables, so ask which outdoor design temperature the load calculation used.
Licensed heating and cooling contractors registered in Marion and Polk counties
Counted from the State of Oregon's CCB Active Licenses dataset (g77e-6bhs), filtered to businesses whose registered name indicates heating, cooling, mechanical, refrigeration or sheet-metal work. The CCB record has no trade field, so this is a name filter: a general contractor or a plainly named firm that installs furnaces will not appear, and the true number is higher. For scale, the same dataset held 4,268 (Marion 3,637, Polk 631) active licenses of every trade registered in Marion and Polk counties on 29 September 2026. Registered address is where a license is held, not where the business works.
| Registered city | Licensees |
|---|---|
| Salem | 42 |
| Keizer | 10 |
| Dallas | 9 |
| Woodburn | 8 |
| Hubbard | 3 |
| Stayton | 3 |
| Aumsville | 2 |
| Aurora | 2 |
| Falls City | 2 |
| Independence | 2 |
| Jefferson | 1 |
| Scio | 1 |
| Silverton | 1 |
| Turner | 1 |
- 36 of 87 have been licensed for 10 years or more; the middle (median) licensee has been licensed for 7 years.
- 5 show no bond amount and 8 show no liability-insurance amount in the published record. That can mean an exempt or non-residential license type rather than a lapse, so ask, and check the CCB’s own search.
Open every Marion and Polk County licensee in the lookup → The lookup shows each one's CCB number, years licensed, license expiry, bond and liability insurance. Verify any license at the CCB's own search before you sign — this is a dated copy of a public record, and appearing in it is not a recommendation.
69 licensed businesses registered in Marion County appear in the state record (dataset g77e-6bhs, state copy dated 2026-09-13, pulled 2026-09-23, 1,042 rows statewide).
| Business | City | CCB # | Years licensed | License expires | Bond | Liability insurance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mill Creek Heating Llc | Aumsville | 159527 | 22 | 04/15/2028 | $80,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Richards Refrigeration Llc | Aumsville | 209008 | 10 | 01/13/2028 | $20,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Javaz Heating & Air Conditioning Llc | Aurora | 206359 | 11 | 04/23/2027 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Total Comfort Inc | Aurora | 126533 | 29 | 03/10/2028 | $20,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Black Label Heating & Air Conditioning Llc | Hubbard | 233969 | 6 | 12/30/2026 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Supreme Comfort Heating & Air Conditioning Inc | Hubbard | 21892 | 48 | 06/20/2027 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Vortex Heating And Cooling Llc | Hubbard | 219467 | 8 | 03/06/2028 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Ii S Mechanical Inc | Jefferson | 54464 | 39 | 09/15/2027 | $25,000 | $2,000,000 |
| A 1 Air Systems Llc | Keizer | 237812 | 5 | 09/24/2027 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Arc Plumbing & Mechanical Inc | Keizer | 234165 | 5 | 01/21/2027 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Dms Air Conditioning Inc | Keizer | 238962 | 4 | 02/17/2028 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Dunamis Heating And Air Llc | Keizer | 228470 | 7 | 10/22/2027 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Nelke Mechanical Llc | Keizer | 224587 | 7 | 02/14/2027 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Nw Summit Heating And Cooling Llc | Keizer | 250561 | 2 | 04/17/2028 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Redwood Mechanical Llc | Keizer | 204738 | 12 | 11/26/2026 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Timisco Mechanical Insulating Llc | Keizer | 212550 | 10 | 10/25/2026 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| West Star Plumbing & Mechanical Llc | Keizer | 233781 | 6 | 12/16/2026 | $20,000 | $1,000,000 |
| York Custom Mechanical Inc | Keizer | 203341 | 12 | 06/19/2028 | $55,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Ace All Climate Engineering Llc | Salem | 194023 | 15 | 05/18/2027 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Advantage Heating And Air Conditioning Llc | Salem | 174260 | 19 | 02/09/2027 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Affordable Heating And Air Conditioning Llc | Salem | 224847 | 7 | 03/01/2027 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Air Masters Heating And Air Conditioning Inc | Salem | 179624 | 19 | 02/11/2028 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Ashcourt Heating & Cooling Llc | Salem | 190727 | 16 | 05/21/2028 | $20,000 | $1,000,000 |
| B & B Mechanical And Sanitary Solutions Llc | Salem | 246209 | 3 | 07/05/2027 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Bakwudz Hvac Llc | Salem | 261905 | 0 | 05/22/2028 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Battle Creek Heating Llc | Salem | 249512 | 0 | 03/09/2027 | — | — |
| Central Mechanical Llc | Salem | 220342 | 8 | 04/17/2028 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Climate Control Solutions Hvacr Llc | Salem | 252988 | 2 | 08/30/2028 | $80,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Climate Systems Nw Llc | Salem | 255195 | 1 | 02/19/2027 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Comfort Homes Llc | Salem | 152024 | 24 | 06/28/2028 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Cor Tech Plumbing & Mechanical Llc | Salem | 255703 | 1 | 04/07/2027 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Custom Comfort Heating And Air Conditioning Llc | Salem | 211405 | 10 | 07/22/2028 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Day Heating Co | Salem | 1090 | 54 | 12/05/2027 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Dimartinos 5 Star Heating & Air Conditioning Llc | Salem | 249184 | 3 | 12/15/2027 | $20,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Doug Woodward Heating Inc | Salem | 153836 | 24 | 12/30/2026 | $55,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Evergreen Plumbing And Mechanical Llc | Salem | 191051 | 16 | 06/15/2028 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Freedom Heating And Air Llc | Salem | 227264 | 7 | 07/23/2027 | $80,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Hajek Heating & Cooling Llc | Salem | 242946 | 4 | 10/20/2026 | $20,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Hvac Ministries Llc | Salem | 236663 | 5 | 06/17/2027 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Impact Heating And Air Llc | Salem | 205859 | 11 | 03/20/2027 | $20,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Jefferson Heating Inc | Salem | 122617 | 29 | 12/02/2026 | $20,000 | $500,000 |
| Jk Plumbing And Mechanical Llc | Salem | 249091 | 3 | 12/11/2027 | $20,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Master Temperature Heating & Cooling Jsp Construction Llc | Salem | 247923 | 3 | 09/27/2027 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Mc Mechanical Llc | Salem | 253072 | 2 | 09/17/2028 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Melton Heating & Air Conditioning Inc | Salem | 124993 | 6 | 04/13/2027 | — | — |
| Moxie Mechanical Llc | Salem | 262087 | 0 | 06/01/2028 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Mr Freeze Heating And Air Conditioning Llc | Salem | 252253 | 2 | 08/23/2028 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Padillas Heating & Cooling Llc | Salem | 255343 | 1 | 02/28/2027 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Provider Comfort Systems Llc | Salem | 179647 | 19 | 12/13/2027 | $25,000 | $500,000 |
| Salem Heating & Sheet Metal Inc | Salem | 1505 | 54 | 05/19/2028 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Total Comfort Home Performance Llc | Salem | 192264 | 16 | 11/05/2026 | $15,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Total Comfort Weatherization Ltd | Salem | 172013 | 16 | 03/25/2027 | — | — |
| Vicon Mechanical Contractor Inc | Salem | 164217 | 21 | 05/11/2027 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Weather Man Heating And Cooling Llc | Salem | 249361 | 2 | 01/02/2028 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| West Coast Mechanical Group Llc | Salem | 197591 | 14 | 08/01/2028 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Hollmeyer Hvac Inc | Scio | 221349 | 8 | 06/15/2028 | $20,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Elevated Air Heating And Cooling Llc | Silverton | 241007 | 4 | 05/19/2028 | $20,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Bravo Heating And Cooling Llc | Stayton | 262582 | 0 | 07/10/2028 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Focus Heating & Construction Inc | Stayton | 168985 | 20 | 03/09/2028 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| H & H Heating & Air Llc | Stayton | 181712 | 18 | 03/11/2028 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Butlers Custom Sheet Metal Llc | Turner | 188787 | 17 | 11/24/2027 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Costa Mesa Heating & Cooling Llc | Woodburn | 245879 | 3 | 05/23/2027 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Fargo Refrigeration Inc | Woodburn | 165902 | 21 | 09/11/2027 | $20,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Garcias Hvac & R Maintenance And Repairs Llc | Woodburn | 249336 | 3 | 12/15/2027 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Js Heating & Cooling Llc | Woodburn | 244071 | 3 | 02/27/2027 | $25,000 | — |
| North Star Heating & Air Conditioning Llc | Woodburn | 257195 | 1 | 07/14/2027 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Nv Heating & Cooling Llc | Woodburn | 212204 | 10 | 09/27/2026 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Renner Mechanical Llc | Woodburn | 229707 | 6 | 01/27/2028 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Whirlwind Heating & Cooling Llc | Woodburn | 225629 | 7 | 04/09/2027 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
18 licensed businesses registered in Polk County appear in the state record (dataset g77e-6bhs, state copy dated 2026-09-13, pulled 2026-09-23, 1,042 rows statewide).
| Business | City | CCB # | Years licensed | License expires | Bond | Liability insurance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 503 Plumbing & Mechanical Llc | Dallas | 250127 | 2 | 02/28/2028 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Cool Bros Hvac And Construction Llc | Dallas | 243575 | 4 | 12/07/2026 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Home Comfort Inc | Dallas | 113253 | 30 | 04/23/2028 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Integrity Mechanical Llc | Dallas | 248566 | 3 | 11/06/2027 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Leathers Heating And Air Conditioning Llc | Dallas | 253539 | 2 | 10/07/2026 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Mechanical Repair Services Llc | Dallas | 249075 | 3 | 12/12/2027 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| New Era Heating And Cooling Llc | Dallas | 256673 | 1 | 05/22/2027 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Peak Heating & Air Llc | Dallas | 223356 | 8 | 11/08/2028 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| West Valley Mechanical Inc | Dallas | 223028 | 8 | 12/26/2026 | $20,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Corbett Mechanical Inc | Falls City | 160041 | 22 | 05/21/2028 | $20,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Heavy Metal Hvac Llc | Falls City | 243568 | 2 | 10/28/2026 | — | — |
| A & P Hvac Llc | Independence | 251157 | 2 | 06/03/2028 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Robert Lloyd Sheet Metal Inc | Independence | 62476 | 37 | 11/08/2027 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Comfort Contracting Llc | Salem | 173040 | 20 | 11/16/2026 | $20,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Common Sense Solar & Heat Pumps Llc | Salem | 215538 | 0 | 05/04/2027 | — | — |
| Dairy Cooling & Mechanical Inc | Salem | 188020 | 17 | 05/10/2027 | $25,000 | — |
| Home Comfort Heating & Air Llc | Salem | 249234 | 3 | 12/28/2027 | $25,000 | — |
| Vons Heating & Cooling Llc | Salem | 230317 | 6 | 03/17/2028 | $25,000 | $1,000,000 |
West Salem sits in Polk County, so a Salem mailing address can appear under either county.
What it should cost
The installed-cost ranges on this site are Portland-metro figures, and no primary source publishes separate ones for Salem. Treat the cost page as a starting point, get the equipment and the total in writing, and compare like with like. Up to three quotes from CCB-licensed contractors is the fastest way to a local number.
“Oregon requires a heat pump now.” Not for a replacement. Section N1105.8 of the 2026 Oregon Residential Specialty Code applies to new dwellings where split-system air-conditioning is installed; it is the same statewide, Salem included. The code language is here.
Four questions before you sign anything
- What is your CCB number? Then check it. Hesitation is an answer.
- Which equipment, exactly? Manufacturer, model number, and the AFUE, HSPF2 or SEER2 rating in writing. Every rebate on this page turns on the exact rating.
- What is the total installed price — permit, electrical, duct changes and haul-away included — before any rebate?
- Who pulls the permit? If the answer is “we don't usually,” that is the answer.
Something not working right now? Start with the troubleshooting guide.
Other regions
Each regional page is built from the same state license record, the utility that serves the area, and the NOAA station nearest the population centre.
Portland metro: Happy Valley, Milwaukie, Clackamas, Oregon City, Gladstone, Damascus.
Sources. Utility territory: PGE service area; Salem Electric annual report; City of Monmouth; City of Independence utility providers; Polk County utility contacts; Pacific Power service-area map (labels, not boundaries). Rebates: Salem Electric incentives; Energy Trust of Oregon Residential Incentive Information Sheet PI 0320I v2026.5 (revised 9 September 2026) and Energy Trust’s service-territory page, both read 29 September 2026. Climate: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 (annual/seasonal product, retrieved 29 September 2026), stations USW00024232 and USW00024229. License facts: State of Oregon CCB Active Licenses open dataset g77e-6bhs (the site's filtered copy, state copy dated 13 September 2026; county totals for all trades counted from the live dataset via its Socrata API on 29 September 2026). All utility pages read 29 September 2026; programs change without notice. This page is general information, not a bid, a code ruling, tax advice or a recommendation of any contractor.