Heat Pump Installation in Phenix City, AL
A new system here will heat from November through March and cool from May through October every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Russell County will get in touch.
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Eleven months of work a year for your heat pump
Phenix City only gives a heat pump about a month off. Homes here need heat from November through March, when nights average 38°F, then need cooling from May through October, with afternoons averaging 91°F. That is eleven months of the year the system is running one direction or the other.
A new split-system heat pump installed today has to meet 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating, the federal minimum as of 2023. Most homes here heat with electricity, so the heat pump is doing the real work of keeping the house warm, not backing up a furnace. With 30 damaging wind events recorded in this area over the past ten years, and 18% of Alabama households losing power for a day or more in 2024, it is worth knowing how your unit comes back on after the power drops.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 6 months
- May through October, it cools
- 38°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Alabama requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Contractors tests contractors before it licenses them and keeps a record of who holds one. That license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so the person who installs your heat pump is accountable to the state either way.
A heat pump installation in most cities and counties in Russell County also needs a permit from the local building office, with an inspection once the work is done. That inspection is separate from the license. It's the check that the installation itself, the wiring, the refrigerant lines, the way the unit is set and connected, was done right in your home.
Source: Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors
- Is a heat pump better than a furnace?
- A heat pump does two jobs a furnace can't, it heats in winter and cools in summer, so you get both from one system. Around here homes only need heat November through March but need cooling for six months, May through October, so a system that handles both sides of the year covers more of what your house actually needs. A furnace only heats, so you'd still need a separate air conditioner alongside it. Winter nights here average 38°F, which is well within the range a heat pump handles without trouble.
- What's the difference between a heat pump and an air conditioner?
- An air conditioner only moves heat out of your house. A heat pump does that same job in summer, then reverses itself in winter and moves heat into your house instead. Mechanically they share most of the same parts, the compressor, the coils, the refrigerant line, which is why a heat pump can replace an air conditioner and take on your winter heat too.
- Does a heat pump work in cold weather?
- Yes. A heat pump pulls heat from the outside air even when it's cold outside, since there's still warmth in air well below freezing. Winter nights here only average 38°F from December through February, which is mild enough that a heat pump keeps up on its own. In much colder climates a heat pump can lose efficiency as the temperature drops, but that's not what winters look like here.