Heat Pump Installation in Alabaster, AL
A new system here will heat from November through March and cool from May through September every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Shelby County will get in touch.
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Ten months of work a year in Alabaster
Winters here are mild, with nights averaging 35°F from December through February, but your heat pump still has to run November through March. Then summer takes over, with afternoons near 90°F from May through September. That's ten months a year the system is either heating or cooling this house.
A new split-system heat pump has to meet federal minimums of 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating if it was built on or after January 1, 2023. Shelby County sees damaging wind most years, so it's worth asking your contractor how the unit you choose handles a restart once the power comes back on.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 35°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 90°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Alabama requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The state tested this contractor and keeps a record of them through the Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Contractors. That license belongs to the contractor, not to this one job, so it follows them from house to house rather than getting issued fresh each time.
For a heat pump installation, that license is what backs the work. In most cities and counties here, this kind of installation also needs a permit from the local building office, with an inspection once the work is done.
Source: Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors
- Is a heat pump better than a furnace?
- It depends on what you're weighing. A heat pump handles both your heating and cooling from one system, and it moves heat rather than burning fuel to make it, which is why it runs on electricity alone. A furnace only heats, so you'd still need a separate air conditioner for the five months a year homes here need cooling. Winters in Alabaster stay mild enough, averaging 35°F on winter nights, that a heat pump can carry the heating load without much strain.
- What's the difference between a heat pump and an air conditioner?
- An air conditioner only cools. A heat pump does the same cooling job in summer, but it can also reverse itself and pull heat into the house in winter. Mechanically they're close cousins, both using a compressor and refrigerant to move heat rather than generate it, but the heat pump has a reversing valve that lets it run in both directions.
- Does a heat pump work in cold weather?
- Yes, a heat pump keeps working in cold weather, though it works harder as the temperature drops. Alabaster's winter nights average 35°F, which is well within the range a heat pump handles efficiently. Federal standards now require new split-system heat pumps to meet 7.5 HSPF2 for heating, and a contractor can size one to match how cold it actually gets here.