Heat Pump Installation in Tampa, FL
A new system here will heat from December through January and cool from March through November every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Hillsborough County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
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A heat pump here works almost all year
In Hillsborough County a heat pump runs 11 months out of the year. Cooling is the long stretch, March through November, against summer afternoons that average 91°F. Heating is short, just December and January, and winter nights only average 52°F, so the system is rarely asked to work hard to make heat.
That split matters when you're choosing a new one. Any split system installed new has to clear the federal minimum, 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating, but here you're buying it mainly for what it does the nine months it's cooling, not the two it's heating.
- 2 months
- December through January, your system heats
- 9 months
- March through November, it cools
- 52°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Florida requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
Florida tests and records the contractor through the Construction Industry Licensing Board, and that license covers the contractor rather than any single job. It is the state's word that the person taking on this installation has met its standard, and that record stands behind this job the same as every other one they take on.
For a heat pump installation, the license is what stands behind the contractor. In most cities and counties, replacing a heat pump also needs a permit from the local building office, with an inspection once the work is done. That inspection is the check on this particular job, separate from the license itself. The license is the state's check on the contractor. The permit and inspection are the local check on the installation.
Sources: Florida Legislature · Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation
- Is a heat pump better than a furnace?
- For Tampa, yes. A heat pump handles both heating and cooling from one system, and it only needs to carry your home through December and January before switching back to cooling duty. A furnace only heats, so you would still need a separate air conditioner for the other nine months. With most homes here already running on electric heat, a heat pump does that job more efficiently than electric resistance heat does.
- 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 pull heat from the outside air into your home in winter. The parts are largely the same, which is why a heat pump can replace both a furnace and an air conditioner in one unit.
- Does a heat pump work in cold weather?
- Yes, and in Tampa this is rarely a concern. Winter lows here average 52°F, well within the range a heat pump handles without trouble. Heat pumps lose efficiency as outdoor temperatures drop toward freezing and below, but Tampa winters don't push them into that range.