Heat Pump Installation in Meridian, MS
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 Lauderdale County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Meridian asks a heat pump to work most of the year
Your heat pump will run ten months out of the year here, cooling from May through September and heating from November through March. Winter nights average 37°F, mild enough that a heat pump can carry the heat load without much help. Summer afternoons average 90°F, so the compressor is working hard for that whole five month stretch. Any split system installed new has to meet 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating, the federal minimums for units built from 2023 on.
69.8% of households here heat with electricity, so for most homes the heat pump is not a backup system, it is the system. Lauderdale County has seen 126 damaging wind events and 4 winter storms over the past ten years, and across Mississippi, 30% of households went at least 24 hours without power in 2024. Where the power goes out, so does the heat pump, until the power comes back on.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 37°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 90°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Mississippi requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The State Board of Contractors tests HVAC contractors before issuing a license and keeps a record of who holds one. That license covers the contractor and the trade generally, not each job the contractor takes on.
For this installation, the license is what stands behind the person doing the work. In most cities and counties in Mississippi, replacing a heat pump also needs a permit from the local building office, with an inspection once the work is done. That inspection is what checks the refrigerant lines, the electrical hookup, and how the unit is set, on this specific job.
Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors
- Is a heat pump better than a furnace?
- It depends on what you're weighing. A heat pump handles both heating and cooling from one system, so you're not running separate equipment for your winters and your summers here. A furnace only heats, and it burns gas or uses resistance elements to do it, while a heat pump moves heat instead of generating it, which is why it can also run in reverse to cool your home. With winter lows here averaging 37°F, a heat pump has no trouble keeping up, since that's well within the range these systems are built for.
- What's the difference between a heat pump and an air conditioner?
- An air conditioner only cools. A heat pump does the same job in summer, moving heat out of your home, but it can also run in reverse to move heat into your home when it's cold outside. Mechanically they're close cousins. The heat pump just has a reversing valve that lets it switch directions, so one system covers both your May through September cooling and your November through March heating instead of needing a furnace alongside it.
- Does a heat pump work in cold weather?
- Yes. Heat pumps are built to pull heat from outside air even when it's cold, and current models keep working well below freezing. Winter nights here average 37°F, which is mild for a heat pump, so it won't be straining to keep your home warm on a typical night. Every heat pump sold new now has to meet a federal minimum of 7.5 HSPF2 for heating efficiency, and a contractor can size the unit to your home so it keeps up on the coldest nights you actually get.