Heat Pump Installation in Albertville, AL
A new system here will heat from October through April and cool from May through September every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Marshall County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Albertville asks a heat pump to work all year
There's no offseason here. Homes in Marshall County need heat from October through April and cooling from May through September, so the system runs every month of the year. Winter nights average 34°F, mild enough that a heat pump can carry the heat load without much help from backup strips. Summer afternoons average 88°F, and that same system has to switch over and pull the heat back out of the house.
Most homes here heat with electricity, so the heat pump isn't a backup plan, it's the main one. Any new split system installed now has to meet 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating, the federal minimum since January 2023. Marshall County has also logged 181 damaging wind events and 6 winter storms over the past ten years, and close to a fifth of Alabama households lost power for at least a day in 2024. Worth asking how the unit you install handles a power interruption, since it has to pick back up on its own once the power returns.
- 7 months
- October through April, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 34°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 88°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Alabama requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license is held by the contractor, not issued job by job, so it stands behind everyone working under that business rather than just the crew at your house. The Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Contractors is the body that tested and licensed them in the first place.
For a heat pump installation in Marshall County, that license is what backs the work, but the local building office still has a part in it. Most cities and counties there require a permit for a heat pump replacement and an inspection once it's done, which is a separate check from the license and happens at the address, not at the contractor's office.
Source: Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors
- Is a heat pump better than a furnace?
- It depends on what you're comparing it to and what you value most. A heat pump moves heat instead of burning fuel to create it, so it handles both heating and cooling with one system, which a furnace can't do on its own. Winters here average 34°F at night, well within the range a heat pump handles without trouble. Since 67% of homes here already heat with electricity, a heat pump often fits the setup that's already in the house.
- What's the difference between a heat pump and an air conditioner?
- An air conditioner only cools. A heat pump does the same job in summer, moving heat out of the house, but it can also run in reverse and move heat into the house in winter. That's the whole difference in how they work. Since homes here need heat from October through April and cooling from May through September, a heat pump covers the full year with one outdoor unit instead of two separate systems.
- Does a heat pump work in cold weather?
- Yes. A heat pump pulls heat from the outside air even when that air feels cold, because there's still heat in air down to very low temperatures. Winter nights here average 34°F, which is well above the point where a heat pump starts to lose capacity. Newer heat pumps sold since January 2023 also have to meet federal minimum ratings for heating output, so the equipment on the market now is built to perform through a full winter here.