Heat Pump Installation in Augusta, GA
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 Richmond County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
What Augusta asks of a heat pump
Your heat pump works ten months out of the year here. Heat from November through March, cooling from May through September, with only a short stretch where it does neither. Winter nights average 37°F, mild enough that a heat pump runs efficiently rather than straining against the cold. Summer afternoons average 91°F, and the same system has to pull that heat back out of the house all day.
57.8% of homes here heat with electricity, so a heat pump replacing an older system is doing familiar work. Any new split-system heat pump has to meet the federal minimum of 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating, so the efficiency floor is set before you even choose a model. Augusta has also seen 87 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and in 2024 nearly a third of Georgia households lost power for at least 24 hours. Worth asking your contractor how the unit you choose comes back on once the power returns.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 37°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Georgia requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The State Construction Industry Licensing Board is the body that tests and holds the record for that license. It attaches to the contractor, not to any single job, so the same license that qualifies someone to install a heat pump in Richmond County covers the rest of their HVAC work too.
For a heat pump installation, the license tells you the person doing the work has met the state's testing and is on record with the board. The other check on this job happens locally. In most cities and counties, installing a heat pump needs a permit from the local building office and an inspection once the work is done, and that inspection is what confirms the unit was set up correctly, separate from anything the state license covers.
Source: Georgia Secretary of State
- Is a heat pump better than a furnace?
- It depends on what you're comparing it to and what you need it to do. A heat pump handles both heating and cooling from one system, while a furnace only heats, so you'd still need a separate air conditioner for the 5 months a year homes here need cooling. Furnaces burn gas or propane and tend to put out hotter air at the vents, which some people prefer on the coldest nights. A heat pump run on electricity also matters here, since 57.8% of homes already heat that way.
- 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're close cousins, both using a compressor and refrigerant, which is why a heat pump can replace both your furnace and your AC with one outdoor unit.
- Does a heat pump work in cold weather?
- Yes, a heat pump keeps pulling heat from outside air even when it's cold, down to well below freezing. Winter nights here average 37°F, which is well within the range a heat pump handles without trouble. In much colder climates some heat pumps need backup heat for the harshest nights, but that's not typically a concern with winters this mild.