Heat Pump Installation in Hampton, VA
A new system here will heat from November through April and cool from May through September every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Hampton will get in touch.
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Hampton asks for heat and cooling both, most of the year
A heat pump here works eleven months out of the year. Winter nights average 34°F from December through February, mild enough that a heat pump can carry the heating load on its own. Summer afternoons average 87°F, so the same system is doing real cooling work from May through September.
More than half the homes in Hampton already heat with electricity, so a new heat pump is joining a grid that a lot of people already depend on. If it's a split system built after January 1, 2023, it has to meet the current federal minimums, 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating. Virginia also saw 22% of households lose power for at least 24 hours in 2024, and over the past ten years Hampton has logged 5 winter storms and 26 damaging wind events. A heat pump that comes back on by itself once power returns matters here.
- 6 months
- November through April, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 34°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 87°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Virginia requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
Virginia licenses HVAC contractors through the Board for Contractors, and that license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so it carries over from one house to the next. Work under $1,000 falls outside this requirement, but a heat pump installation runs well past that, so the contractor doing this job needs to hold that license.
In most cities and counties, a heat pump installation also needs a permit from the local building office, with an inspection once the work is done. That inspection is what checks the actual installation, separate from whatever the contractor's license already covers.
Sources: Virginia General Assembly · Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation
- Is a heat pump better than a furnace?
- A heat pump does both jobs, heating and cooling, and it does the heating side by moving heat instead of burning fuel to make it. A furnace only heats, so you would still need a separate air conditioner for the 5 months a year homes here need cooling. Whether one suits your house better than the other comes down to your ductwork and how your home is set up, and a contractor can walk through that with you.
- 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, but it can also run in reverse and move heat into your home in winter. Mechanically the two are close cousins, both using a compressor and refrigerant, but the heat pump has a reversing valve that lets it switch directions. That is what lets it replace both your furnace and your air conditioner in one system.
- Does a heat pump work in cold weather?
- Yes. A heat pump pulls heat from outside air even when it is cold, and it keeps working well below freezing. Winter nights here average 34°F from December through February, which is well within what a heat pump is built to handle. New units also have to meet a federal minimum of 7.5 HSPF2 for heating efficiency, a standard that accounts for cold-weather performance. A contractor can size the system to your home so it keeps up on the coldest nights here.