Heat Pump Installation in Sumter, 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 Sumter County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Ten months of work a year in Sumter County
A heat pump here earns its keep. Winter nights average 36°F, mild enough that the system leans on regular heat instead of dropping into backup mode very often. Summer afternoons average 90°F, and homes need cooling from May through September. Add the five months of winter heating and this equipment runs ten months a year.
Most homes in the county heat with electricity, so the heat pump is doing that job directly, not backing up a furnace. Any new split system installed now has to meet the federal minimum of 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating, so the baseline efficiency is set before you even start comparing models.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 36°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 90°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 can't, it heats in winter and cools in summer from one system. Here, homes need heat November through March and cooling May through September, so one system running both ends works out to ten months of use a year instead of five. A furnace only heats, so you'd still need a separate air conditioner for summer. Whether a heat pump makes sense for your house also depends on your ductwork and how your home is set up now, which is worth having a contractor look at.
- 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 to pull heat from the outside air and bring it inside during winter. Both use a compressor and refrigerant to move heat rather than burn fuel, but the heat pump has a reversing valve that lets it work in both directions.
- Does a heat pump work in cold weather?
- Yes. A heat pump pulls heat from outside air even when it's cold out, since air still holds usable heat well below freezing. Winter nights here average 36°F, which is well within the range a heat pump handles without trouble. As outdoor temperatures drop further, a heat pump's output does fall off, which is why some homes pair one with backup heat for the coldest stretches.