Service areas
Where we install mini splits around Portland
We work across Portland and the towns around it, and in Vancouver and Clark County. What changes from one place to the next is the permit office, the electric utility, the rebate and the weather the outdoor unit has to live with.
Pick your area below. Each page covers who issues the permit there, which utility's rates and rebate apply, and what the local houses and weather mean for where the heads and the outdoor unit go.
Portland neighborhoods
Inside the city, every install takes a City of Portland mechanical permit and an electrical permit for the new circuit, and we include the fees. The utility depends on the side of town: Pacific Power across most of the northeast, PGE nearly everywhere else.
| Area | Permit office | Electric utility |
|---|---|---|
| Northeast Portland | City of Portland Permitting & Development | Pacific Power |
| Southeast Portland | City of Portland Permitting & Development | PGE (Pacific Power at the Montavilla edge) |
| North Portland | City of Portland Permitting & Development | PGE (most) and Pacific Power (Piedmont side) |
| East Portland | City of Portland Permitting & Development | PGE (Pacific Power in the north part) |
East and south of Portland, Oregon
From Gresham and Troutdale on the gorge side down to Oregon City and Canby, each city runs its own permits, and in parts of Clackamas County the electrical permit comes from the county instead. East-side houses take the gorge wind; we site the outdoor unit out of it.
| Area | Permit office | Electric utility |
|---|---|---|
| Gresham | City of Gresham | PGE |
| Troutdale | City of Troutdale | PGE |
| Fairview | City of Fairview | PGE |
| Happy Valley | City of Happy Valley (mechanical) and Clackamas County (electrical) | PGE |
| Damascus | Clackamas County (or the City of Happy Valley in annexed areas) | PGE |
| Milwaukie | City of Milwaukie | PGE |
| Oak Grove | Clackamas County | PGE |
| Oatfield | Clackamas County | PGE |
| Gladstone | Clackamas County (after City of Gladstone approval) | PGE |
| Oregon City | City of Oregon City (mechanical) and Clackamas County (electrical) | PGE |
| West Linn | City of West Linn (mechanical) and Clackamas County (electrical) | PGE |
| Lake Oswego | City of Lake Oswego | PGE |
| Wilsonville | City of Wilsonville (mechanical) and Clackamas County (electrical) | PGE |
| Canby | Clackamas County | Canby Utility |
The west side, Oregon
Hillsboro's airport logs about twice as many frost nights a year as Portland's, so on the west side a head that heats gets a cold-climate outdoor unit on a stand that keeps it above ice. Most of the west side is PGE territory, and permits come from each city or, outside city limits, from Washington County.
| Area | Permit office | Electric utility |
|---|---|---|
| Cedar Mill | Washington County Building Services | PGE |
| Bethany | Washington County Building Services | PGE |
| Oak Hills | Washington County Building Services | PGE |
| Beaverton | City of Beaverton | PGE |
| Aloha | Washington County Building Services | PGE |
| Hillsboro | City of Hillsboro | PGE |
| Cornelius | City of Forest Grove Building Division for Cornelius (mechanical); Washington County (electrical) | PGE |
| Tigard | City of Tigard | PGE |
| Tualatin | City of Tualatin (mechanical); Washington County (electrical) | PGE |
| Sherwood | City of Sherwood (mechanical); Washington County (electrical) | PGE |
Vancouver and Clark County, Washington
North of the Columbia the rules change. Clark Public Utilities, not Energy Trust, pays the ductless rebate, $900 where the house heats with permanent electric resistance heat, and the work is done under Washington licensing with a Washington electrical permit.
| Area | Permit office | Electric utility |
|---|---|---|
| Vancouver | City of Vancouver | Clark Public Utilities |
| Hazel Dell | Clark County Community Development (mechanical); Washington L&I (electrical) | Clark Public Utilities |
| Minnehaha | Clark County Community Development (mechanical); Washington L&I (electrical) | Clark Public Utilities |
| Five Corners | Clark County Community Development (mechanical); Washington L&I (electrical) | Clark Public Utilities |
| Orchards | Clark County Community Development (mechanical); Washington L&I (electrical) | Clark Public Utilities |
| Salmon Creek | Clark County Community Development (mechanical); Washington L&I (electrical) | Clark Public Utilities |
| Felida | Clark County Community Development (mechanical); Washington L&I (electrical) | Clark Public Utilities |
| Mount Vista | Clark County Community Development (mechanical); Washington L&I (electrical) | Clark Public Utilities |
| Camas | City of Camas (mechanical); Washington L&I (electrical) | Clark Public Utilities |
| Washougal | City of Washougal (mechanical); Washington L&I (electrical) | Clark Public Utilities |
| Battle Ground | City of Battle Ground (mechanical); Washington L&I (electrical) | Clark Public Utilities |
| Ridgefield | City of Ridgefield (mechanical); Washington L&I (electrical) | Clark Public Utilities |
Permit office and utility are for most addresses in each area; we confirm both for your address before the estimate.
Also in Portland
We work in every part of the city. Here is what changes the plan in the southwest hills and in the close-in northwest.
Southwest Portland
Hillsdale, Multnomah Village, South Burlingame and the hills around them are PGE territory, and about half the homes heat with gas. Where a house sits on a slope, the outdoor unit usually goes on the downhill side on a wall bracket or a stand, and we plan the line set to drop to it. Permits come from the City of Portland, as everywhere else in town.
Northwest Portland
Nob Hill, the Alphabet District, Goose Hollow and the Pearl are mostly apartments and condos, and electricity heats about two homes in three. In a condo, the association approves the outdoor unit and any wall or roof penetration, so we plan around its rules. In the Alphabet and King's Hill historic districts, the city exempts a condenser from historic review when it sits on a flat roof set back from the edge, or on the ground behind the street-facing facade.
Get an estimate anywhere around Portland
Tell us the town or neighborhood and which rooms aren't working.