Heat Pump Installation in Gonzales, LA
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 Ascension Parish will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
A heat pump in Gonzales works nearly all year
Homes here need cooling from April through October, seven months a year, with summer afternoons averaging 91°F. Heat runs the other five months, November through March, on nights that average 44°F. There is almost no month when the unit you install is not doing one job or the other.
Any split-system heat pump installed now has to meet 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating. That is the federal floor, not a feature to shop for. What is worth asking about is how the unit handles a power outage. Louisiana had 30 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and 49% of households in the state went at least 24 hours without power in 2024. A heat pump that restarts on its own once power comes back is one less thing to deal with after a storm.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 7 months
- April through October, it cools
- 44°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Louisiana requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors tests contractors before they can hold this license, and it keeps a record of who holds one. The license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so it follows them from one house to the next rather than getting issued fresh for your installation.
For a heat pump installation, that license is what stands behind the work. On top of it, most cities and counties in Louisiana require a permit before the job starts and an inspection once it's done, which means someone from the local building office checks the work separately from the state license itself.
Source: Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors
- Is a heat pump better than a furnace?
- A heat pump does something a furnace can't, it cools your home in summer as well as heating it in winter, all from one system. Winter nights here average 44°F, mild enough that a heat pump can carry the heating load without much strain. A furnace only burns gas or uses resistance heat to warm the air, so you'd still need a separate air conditioner for the 7 months a year homes here need cooling. Whether one suits your house better than the other depends on your ductwork and how your home is set up now, which a contractor can look at directly.
- 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 the same job in summer, but it can also run in reverse and move heat into your home when it's cold outside. That's why a heat pump can replace both your furnace and your air conditioner, while a standard air conditioner only replaces one of them.
- Does a heat pump work in cold weather?
- Yes. A heat pump pulls heat from outside air even when it's cold, it just has to work harder as the temperature drops. Winter nights here average 44°F, which is well within the range a heat pump handles without trouble. Homes here only need heat from November through March, so the coldest stretch a heat pump has to manage is short.