Heat pumps and mini splits in Edgemoor

The houses in Edgemoor

Edgemoor is the large-lot neighborhood on the point south of Fairhaven: mid-century cedar-and-glass houses with low-slope roofs and wide window walls, a scattering of 1920s and 30s estate homes, and modern rebuilds on the water side. Houses are big, frequently on multiple levels following the grade down toward Chuckanut Bay, and the mechanical space is wherever the original architect could hide it. Lots are measured in fractions of an acre and screened by second-growth Douglas fir.

What is probably heating yours right now

What is already installed varies more here than anywhere else in Bellingham. You find gas furnaces, hydronic boilers with baseboard or radiant loops in the mid-century houses, a few original oil conversions, and electric resistance in the guest wings and detached studios. The mid-century glass walls are the load, not the floor area, so a system sized off square footage alone will be wrong in both directions.

What makes a Edgemoor install different

Two Edgemoor constraints drive every quote. First, distance: the mature firs and the setbacks mean the only acceptable condenser location is often well away from the mechanical room, and long linesets have to be engineered — line size, oil return, and a vertical lift the manufacturer actually permits — not just run longer. Second, salt air: this is exposed Bellingham Bay frontage, and coastal corrosion is documented to cut equipment life by two to four years without protection, so we specify coated coils and stainless or composite hardware and we rinse the outdoor coil on every maintenance visit. On the multi-level houses, a hydronic system already in place is worth keeping as backup rather than tearing out.

Sizing for 19°F

Every Bellingham address shares the same code design temperature — 19°F at station Bellingham 2 N, colder than Sea-Tac's 24°F. What differs street to street is the envelope. A 1910s one-and-a-half storey with knee walls and original single glazing carries a very different load from a mid-2000s two-storey built to a modern code, even at identical square footage. That is why we run the load rather than multiplying square feet by a constant.

We know the streets

If you are near Clark’s Point, Chuckanut Bay, Marine Drive, Post Point, we have worked nearby. Ask and we will tell you honestly what we have run into on that side of town.