Heat Pump Installation in Savannah, GA
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 Chatham County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eleven months of work a year
Your heat pump earns its keep in Chatham County. Winters are mild, with nighttime lows averaging 42°F from December through February, but the heat still has to run November through March. Then summer takes over, with afternoons averaging 91°F for six months, May through October. That leaves the system idle for one month, if that.
A new split-system heat pump has to meet federal minimums of 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating, and here it will use most of both sides of that rating most of the year. Storms are part of the picture too. Chatham County saw 246 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and across Georgia almost a third of households lost power for at least a day in 2024. When the power drops, the heat pump stops with it until it comes back on, and it will come back on by itself.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 6 months
- May through October, it cools
- 42°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 issues that license after testing the contractor, and it keeps a record of who holds one. The license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so it doesn't expire or get reissued each time someone hires them.
For a heat pump installation in Chatham County, that license is what stands behind the person doing the work. On top of it, most cities and counties here require a permit for a heat pump installation, with an inspection once the work is finished. That inspection is a separate check on the job itself, done by the local building office rather than the state board.
Source: Georgia Secretary of State
- Is a heat pump better than a furnace?
- A heat pump can do something a furnace cannot. It cools your home in summer and heats it in winter with the same equipment. A furnace only makes heat, by burning gas or using electric resistance. Savannah needs cooling six months a year and heat five, so a heat pump covers both jobs instead of splitting them between two systems. Winter lows here average 42°F, mild enough that a heat pump can carry the heating load on its own most nights.
- What's the difference between a heat pump and an air conditioner?
- An air conditioner only moves heat out of your home. A heat pump does the same thing in summer, then reverses in winter and moves heat into your home instead. The parts are similar, the compressor, the coils, the refrigerant line. What sets a heat pump apart is the reversing valve, which lets it run in both directions. That's what lets one system handle your cooling from May through October and your heat from November through March.
- Does a heat pump work in cold weather?
- Yes, a heat pump pulls heat from outside air even when it's cold, down to well below freezing. It works less efficiently as the temperature drops, since there's less heat in the air to move. Savannah winter nights average 42°F. That's well within the range a heat pump handles without help from a backup heat source.