Heat Pump Installation in Goose Creek, SC
A new system here will heat from November through March and cool from May through October every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Berkeley County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eleven months of work for one system in Goose Creek
A heat pump in Goose Creek works almost year round. Homes here need heat from November through March, and cooling from May through October, which leaves the system running eleven months out of the year. Winter nights average 38°F, and summer afternoons average 91°F, so the same unit has to handle both ends of the range.
Any split-system heat pump installed new has to meet 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating, the federal minimum as of 2023. With the system carrying the load most of the year, that efficiency floor matters. Most homes here heat with electricity, so the heat pump is usually the only thing keeping the house warm through the winter.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 6 months
- May through October, it cools
- 38°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- Is a heat pump better than a furnace?
- A heat pump does both jobs a furnace and an air conditioner would do separately, since it heats in winter and cools in summer from one outdoor unit. Around Goose Creek, winters are mild enough that a heat pump can carry the heating load on its own most nights, with lows only averaging 38°F. A furnace only heats, so a home with one still needs a separate air conditioner to get through six months of cooling. Whether a heat pump is the better fit for a given house depends on the ductwork and setup already in place, which a contractor can look at directly.
- What's the difference between a heat pump and an air conditioner?
- An air conditioner only moves heat out of the house. A heat pump does that same job in summer, but it can also run in reverse and pull heat from the outside air into the house in winter. Mechanically they use the same kind of compressor and refrigerant cycle. The difference is the reversing valve that lets a heat pump switch directions, which is why one unit can replace both a furnace and an air conditioner.
- Does a heat pump work in cold weather?
- Yes, a heat pump pulls heat from outside air even when it's cold, though it works harder and moves less heat as the temperature drops. In Goose Creek, winter nights average 38°F, which is well within the range a heat pump handles without trouble. Since most homes here already run on electric heat, a heat pump is often a straightforward swap that heats the same way but more efficiently.