Heat Pump Installation in Pascagoula, MS
A new system here will heat from November through March and cool from April through October every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Jackson County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Your heat pump works almost year round in Pascagoula
Cooling season runs April through October here, seven months of afternoons near 90°F. Heating picks up the other five, November through March, with winter nights averaging 42°F. That leaves a heat pump idle only a few weeks a year, if that, so the unit you install is doing one job or the other almost constantly.
A new split-system heat pump has to meet 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating, the federal minimum as of 2023. In a place that leans on cooling this much, that rating is not just a number on paper, it is what keeps the compressor from working too hard on the hottest afternoons. Jackson County also sees its share of damaging wind, 29 events over the last ten years, and with most homes here heating with electricity, a working heat pump matters when the power is out and back on.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 7 months
- April through October, it cools
- 42°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 license is held by the contractor as a business, not issued job by job, so it is the company's record with the state board that matters here, not a certificate tied to this particular heat pump.
For an installation, that license is what the state puts behind the work, but it is not the only check. In most cities and counties, putting in a new heat pump needs a permit from the local building office, and the work gets inspected once it is done.
Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors
- 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. Homes here need cooling seven months a year and heat five, so one system doing both means one less piece of equipment taking up space. A furnace only heats, so you'd still need a separate air conditioner. Winter nights here average 42°F, which is well within the range a heat pump handles without help.
- 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 that too, but it can also run in reverse and move heat into your home, which is what heats the house in winter. Mechanically they work the same way, the difference is the reversing valve that lets a heat pump switch directions. That's why a heat pump can replace both your furnace and your air conditioner.
- Does a heat pump work in cold weather?
- Yes, a heat pump pulls heat from outside air even when it's cold out, down to well below freezing. Winter nights here average 42°F, which is mild enough that a heat pump keeps up on its own through the season. Heat pumps do lose some efficiency as the outdoor temperature drops, but a contractor sizing the system for this area will account for the coldest nights it needs to handle.