Heat Pump Installation in Sierra Vista, AZ
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 Cochise County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
A heat pump in Sierra Vista works almost every month of the year
Winter nights here average 32°F, mild enough that a heat pump does not have to work hard to keep up. Summer afternoons average 92°F, and that is where the real load sits. Between the two, a heat pump runs from November through April for heat and May through September for cooling, 11 months of use out of the year.
Any split-system heat pump installed new has to meet 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating. In a place that leans on cooling as much as this one does, the SEER2 number is the one working hardest, month after month.
- 6 months
- November through April, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 32°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 92°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Arizona requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Registrar of Contractors tests the contractor before handing out that license, and keeps a record of who holds one. It's tied to the business, not to your job specifically, so the same license that qualifies someone to install a heat pump in Sierra Vista qualifies them for one in Bisbee.
For a heat pump installation, that license is what stands behind the work. In most cities and counties here, the job also needs a permit from the local building office and an inspection once it's done, which checks that the installation was done right, separate from anything the state license covers.
Sources: Arizona State Legislature · Arizona Registrar of Contractors
- Is a heat pump better than a furnace?
- A heat pump does something a furnace cannot. It cools your house in summer as well as heats it in winter, so it replaces two systems with one. Winter nights here average 32°F, which a heat pump handles fine, and it will still cover the 92°F summer afternoons that a furnace has nothing to do with. Where homes here now heat with gas, switching means giving up the furnace and getting cooling in the same equipment. A contractor can look at your ductwork and current setup and tell you what makes sense for your house.
- What's the difference between a heat pump and an air conditioner?
- An air conditioner only cools. A heat pump cools the same way in summer, but it can also run in reverse and pull heat into the house in winter, so it works as your heating system too. That matters here since homes need heat from November through April and cooling from May through September. That covers eleven months of the year with one need or the other. An air conditioner sits idle through all those winter months. A heat pump keeps working.
- Does a heat pump work in cold weather?
- Yes. A heat pump pulls heat from the outside air even when it's cold, and winter nights here only average 32°F, well within what a heat pump is built to handle. Its output drops some as the temperature falls further, so in a harder cold snap it may lean on a backup heat source built into the system. For the winters this area actually sees, a properly sized heat pump keeps up on its own most nights.