Heat Pump Installation in Riverside, CA
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 Riverside County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
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A heat pump here works almost every month of the year
Riverside County asks for cooling seven months a year, April through October, with summer afternoons averaging 99°F. Winter is shorter, November through March, and nights average 42°F, mild enough that a heat pump can carry the heating load without much help. That leaves almost no month where the system gets to rest.
Most homes here still heat with gas, so a heat pump is often new ground rather than a straight swap. Any split system installed now has to meet federal minimums of 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating, and given how many months it runs, the cooling side is where that rating earns its keep.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 7 months
- April through October, it cools
- 42°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 99°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
California requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license is issued to the contractor, not to the job. It covers the business doing your install, not a stamp of approval on this particular heat pump. California licenses HVAC contractors through the Contractors State License Board.
That license is what stands behind the contractor on this job. Beyond it, installing a heat pump in most California cities and counties needs a permit from the local building office, with an inspection once the work is done. That inspection checks the installation itself, in your home.
Sources: California Legislative Counsel · Contractors State License Board
- Is a heat pump better than a furnace?
- A heat pump does both jobs a furnace and an air conditioner do, so it heats and cools from one system. Riverside homes need cooling seven months a year and heat the other five, so a single system that covers both has to run less of the year sitting idle than a furnace does. A furnace only burns gas or uses resistance heat, so it can't cool your home in the summer at all. Which one fits your house better still depends on your ductwork and your current setup, so a contractor should look at the specifics before you decide.
- 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 how it heats in winter without a furnace or a gas line. Mechanically they share most of the same parts, the compressor and the refrigerant loop work the same way in both. The difference is the reversing valve that lets a heat pump switch directions, and that's what an air conditioner doesn't have.
- Does a heat pump work in cold weather?
- Yes, a heat pump keeps pulling heat from outside air even when it's cold, down to well below freezing. Winter nights here average 42°F, which is mild enough that a heat pump runs efficiently through the whole season. As the outside temperature drops, a heat pump has to work harder to pull the same amount of heat, so its output and efficiency fall off some in real cold. Riverside's winters don't get that cold, so that drop-off isn't something homes here run into.