HVAC Installation in Virginia Beach, 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 Virginia Beach will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eleven months of the year, your system is working
Winter nights here average 35°F, December through February, and homes need heat from November through April, six months a year. Summer afternoons average 85°F, and cooling runs May through September, five months a year. Only one month goes by without either job.
Most homes in Virginia Beach heat with electricity, so a new system carries both seasons with little rest between them. Storms are part of the picture too. Over the last ten years this area has logged 72 damaging wind events and 6 winter storms, and in 2024, 22% of Virginia households lost power for 24 hours or more. A new system should come back on by itself when the power does, without anyone having to relight or reset it.
- 6 months
- November through April, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 35°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 85°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Virginia requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license is tied to the contractor, not to any one job. The Board for Contractors is the state agency that tests and records who holds it. Work under $1,000 falls outside that requirement, but a heating and cooling system installation runs well past that mark, so the contractor doing this job needs to hold the license.
In most cities and counties, an installation like this 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 is the local check that the installation itself was done correctly, on top of the state's check on who is allowed to do the work.
Sources: Virginia General Assembly · Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation
- When should I replace my HVAC system?
- Age alone isn't the best test. Watch for a furnace or air conditioner that needs repairs every year, one that can't keep up when it's 85°F outside in summer or 35°F in winter, or energy bills that keep climbing even though you haven't changed how you use the system. Any one of those is a sign the equipment is wearing out. A contractor can look at yours and tell you whether repair or replacement makes more sense for where it stands.
- Should I replace my furnace and air conditioner at the same time?
- If both are old, yes, it usually makes sense to do them together. They're built to work as a matched pair, sharing the same blower and ductwork, and pairing an old furnace with a new air conditioner, or the other way around, can mean one part drags down how well the other runs. Homes here need heat November through April and cooling May through September, so both halves of the system get real use most of the year. If one unit is much newer than the other, a contractor can tell you whether it's worth keeping for now.
- What happens during an HVAC installation?
- A contractor removes the old equipment, sets the new furnace, air conditioner or heat pump in place, and connects it to the existing ductwork, gas line, refrigerant lines and electrical. They check that the ducts are sized right for the new equipment and test the system once it's running. In most Virginia Beach jurisdictions this job needs a permit from the local building office, with an inspection when the work is done. Virginia also requires the contractor doing the work to hold a state license, so ask to see it before anything starts.