Heat Pump Installation in Newport News, 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 Newport News will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
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A heat pump here works nearly year round
Newport News asks for heat from November through April and cooling from May through September. That is 11 months out of a year with the system running one way or the other. Winter nights average 33°F, mild enough that a heat pump can carry the heating load on its own most of the season. Summer afternoons average 87°F, so the same unit is working hard in the other direction not long after.
Most homes here already heat with electricity, so a new heat pump has to be sized right for both jobs, not just the cooling. Any split-system heat pump installed new has to meet the federal minimum of 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating. Storms come through too, with 31 damaging wind events and 6 winter storms recorded here over the past ten years, and 22% of Virginia households went at least 24 hours without power in 2024. Worth asking how the unit you choose holds up through that.
- 6 months
- November through April, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 33°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. That license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so it covers the business doing the work rather than getting renewed for each project. Work under $1,000 is exempt from this requirement. A heat pump installation costs well past that line, so the contractor doing this job is required to hold the license.
The license is what stands behind the contractor on this job. A heat pump installation also needs a permit from the local building office in most cities and counties, along with an inspection once the work is done. That inspection is someone outside the contractor looking at the finished system, separate from the license itself.
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 a furnace can't, it heats in winter and cools in summer from one system. A furnace only heats, so you'd still need a separate air conditioner alongside it. Here homes need heat November through April and cooling May through September, so almost the whole year one system or the other is running. The right choice still depends on 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 that same thing in summer, but in winter it reverses and pulls heat from outside air into your home instead. A reversing valve is what lets it run both directions. With 6 months of heating and 5 months of cooling here, that reversal is doing real work most of the year.
- Does a heat pump work in cold weather?
- Yes, a heat pump pulls heat from outside air even when it's cold out. Winter nights here average 33°F, and that's well within the range a heat pump is built to handle. As the outside temperature drops further, the heat pump has to work harder to pull in the same amount of heat, so how it's sized for your home matters. A contractor can size the system to your house so it keeps up on the coldest nights.