Heat Pump Installation in Wilmington, NC
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 New Hanover County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
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Ten months of work a year, in Wilmington's climate
Your heat pump runs from November through March to keep the house warm, then switches over and runs May through September to keep it cool. That is ten months of the year it is doing one job or the other, with barely a break between. Winter nights here average 36°F, mild enough that a heat pump can carry the heating load on its own most nights. Summer afternoons average 88°F, and that side of the job runs just as long as the winter side.
Any split-system heat pump installed new has to meet federal minimums of 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating. New Hanover County has seen 59 damaging wind events and 6 winter storms over the past ten years, and a quarter of North Carolina households lost power for 24 hours or more in 2024. Most heat pumps start back up on their own once the power returns.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 36°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 88°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
North Carolina requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The state board tests HVAC contractors before they can hold a license, and it keeps a record of who holds one. That license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so the same license that qualifies someone to install a heat pump also stands behind whatever other HVAC work they take on.
For this job, the license is what stands behind the contractor doing the work, and a permit from the local building office is what puts a second set of eyes on it. In most cities and counties in North Carolina, installing a heat pump needs a permit, and an inspector checks the work once it is done.
Sources: North Carolina General Assembly · North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler 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, where a furnace only heats, so you'd still need a separate air conditioner alongside it. Winter nights here average 36°F, which is well within the range a heat pump can handle on its own. A furnace burns gas or uses electric resistance and tends to put out hotter air at the vents, which some people prefer. Either can work here. The right choice depends on what you have now, what fuel is available to the house, and what the contractor finds when they look at your setup.
- What's the difference between a heat pump and an air conditioner?
- An air conditioner only moves heat out of your house. A heat pump does the same thing in summer, but it can also run in reverse and move heat into your house in winter. Mechanically they're close cousins, both using a compressor and refrigerant to move heat rather than generate it. The difference is the reversing valve that lets a heat pump switch directions. That's what makes it useful here, where homes need cooling for 5 months and heat for another 5.
- Does a heat pump work in cold weather?
- Yes, a heat pump keeps working as outdoor temperatures drop, though how much heat it can pull from the outside air does decrease as it gets colder. Winter nights here average 36°F, which is comfortably in the range where a properly sized heat pump keeps up without help. Heat pumps installed new have to meet a federal minimum of 7.5 HSPF2 for heating efficiency, so any current model is built to perform through a winter like this one. A contractor sizing the system for your house will account for how cold it actually gets on your coldest nights, not just the average.