Heat Pump Installation in New Orleans, 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 Orleans Parish will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
A heat pump here works almost every month of the year
In Orleans Parish, a heat pump runs from November through March to heat the house, then keeps going April through October to cool it. That is 12 months of work with barely a break between seasons. Winter nights average 46°F, mild compared to the north, so the heating side isn't straining against deep cold. Summer afternoons average 90°F, and that's the load it carries most of the year here.
Any split-system heat pump installed new has to meet federal minimums of 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating. With New Orleans asking for seven months of cooling against five of heating, the cooling side is where a unit earns its keep.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 7 months
- April through October, it cools
- 46°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 90°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 and keeps records on the contractor, not on each job that contractor takes. The license tells you the person or company doing your install has passed the state's exam and is on file with the board. It does not mean the board checks this particular heat pump once it goes in.
That part falls to your local building office. A heat pump installation in most cities and parishes needs a permit before the work starts and an inspection once it is done. That inspection is what confirms this specific job was done right, separate from whatever the state license already says about the contractor doing it.
Source: Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors
- Is a heat pump better than a furnace?
- A heat pump does something a furnace cannot. It cools your home in summer as well as heats it in winter, so you get one system instead of two. Winters here are mild, with nights averaging 46°F from December through February, which is a range a heat pump handles well without much strain. A furnace only heats, and homes in this area need cooling for 7 months of the year anyway. A contractor can walk through what makes sense for your house.
- 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 thing in summer, then reverses itself in winter and moves heat into your home instead. That's the whole difference. Both use the same kind of refrigerant cycle, so a heat pump can replace both a furnace and an air conditioner in one piece of equipment.
- Does a heat pump work in cold weather?
- Yes, a heat pump keeps working in cold weather, though it works harder as the temperature drops. Winter nights here average 46°F from December through February, which is well within the range a heat pump handles without trouble. New heat pumps sold today have to meet a federal minimum of 7.5 HSPF2 for heating, so even entry-level models are built for this kind of climate.