Heat Pump Installation in Santa Maria, CA
A new system here will heat from November through May and cool from July through September every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Santa Barbara County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
A heat pump here runs most of the year
Homes in Santa Maria need heat or cooling ten months out of the year. Heat runs November through May, and winter nights average 40°F. Cooling runs July through September, with summer afternoons averaging 81°F.
That 40°F average low is mild work for a heat pump. It doesn't have to pull heat from air anywhere near freezing the way one further inland or further north would. Any split-system heat pump installed new today has to meet a federal minimum of 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating, and a system sized right for this climate should run comfortably within those numbers most of the year.
- 7 months
- November through May, your system heats
- 3 months
- July through September, it cools
- 40°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 81°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
California requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
California licenses HVAC contractors through the Contractors State License Board. That license belongs to the contractor's business, and it covers this heat pump installation the same way it covers any other HVAC job that contractor takes on in the state.
A heat pump installation in most California cities and counties also needs a permit from the local building office, with an inspection once the work is done. That inspection is separate from the state license. It's how someone checks the finished install against code.
Sources: California Legislative Counsel · Contractors State License Board
- Is a heat pump better than a furnace?
- It depends on what you're comparing it to and how you weigh the tradeoffs. A heat pump moves heat instead of burning gas to make it, so it handles both your heating and cooling with one system. Winter nights here average 40°F, which is well within the range a modern heat pump is built to handle. If your home already runs on gas heat, switching means weighing the change against keeping what you have, and a contractor can walk through that with you.
- 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 that too, but it can also run in reverse and move heat into your house, so it heats in winter and cools in summer. Mechanically they're close cousins. The difference is the reversing valve that lets a heat pump switch directions.
- Does a heat pump work in cold weather?
- Yes. Modern heat pumps are built to keep pulling heat from outside air even when it's cold, and they lose some efficiency as the temperature drops, not the ability to heat. Winter nights here average 40°F, which is mild enough that a properly sized heat pump will cover your home's heating needs without help from a backup source.