Heat Pump Installation in Myrtle Beach, SC
A new system here will heat from November through March and cool from May through September every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Horry County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Ten months of work a year in Horry County
Winter nights here average 37°F from December through February, and summer afternoons average 89°F. Between the heat and the cold, a heat pump in Horry County runs from November through March and again from May through September, 10 months of work a year with only a short break in spring and fall.
A new split-system heat pump has to meet 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating under the current federal minimum. In a climate that leans on the system this much, that floor matters. Storms are part of the picture too. Horry County has logged 111 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and 45% of South Carolina households went at least 24 hours without power in 2024. Whatever gets installed needs to come back on by itself once the power does.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 37°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 89°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- Is a heat pump better than a furnace?
- For most homes in Myrtle Beach, yes, because winters here are mild enough that a heat pump can handle the heating load without much backup. Winter nights average 37°F, which is well within what a heat pump is built to handle. A furnace only heats, so a home still needs a separate air conditioner for the five months of cooling season. A heat pump does both jobs with one system, which matters here since homes need heat or cooling 10 months of the year.
- 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 move heat into your home 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 an air conditioner does not have.
- Does a heat pump work in cold weather?
- Yes, a heat pump works in the cold weather Myrtle Beach sees. Winter nights here average 37°F, and a heat pump is built to pull heat from outdoor air at temperatures well below that. Heat pumps lose some capacity as it gets colder outside, which is why many are paired with backup heat for the rare hard freeze, but that is not the everyday winter conditions here.