What Goes Into a Heat Pump Installation
We size a heat pump using the same load calculation process applied to central air conditioning — square footage, insulation levels, window exposure, and your local climate all factor in — but we also weigh how the unit will perform through winter, not just during hot months. In colder regions, we'll talk through whether pairing the heat pump with a backup heat source makes sense for the harshest stretches of the season.
Installation covers placing the outdoor unit on a stable, properly drained pad with clearance for airflow, running and pressure-testing the line set, and setting up the indoor air handler or existing furnace to work alongside the new heat pump when it's added to an existing duct system. Refrigerant charge is verified using the manufacturer's exact procedure rather than a rough estimate, since heat pumps are far less forgiving of an incorrect charge than a standard AC unit.
Before we call the job complete, we run the system through both heating and cooling modes, make sure the reversing valve switches cleanly, and confirm the defrost control is working as intended. We'll also go over thermostat programming with you, since heat pump thermostats often include settings — like auxiliary heat lockout temperatures — that don't exist on a conventional furnace-and-AC setup.