Heat Pump Installation in Corpus Christi, TX
A new system here will heat from December through February and cool from March through November every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Nueces County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Nine months of cooling, three months of heat
Your heat pump works almost all year here. Cooling runs March through November, with summer afternoons averaging 94°F. Heat only takes over for December through January and February, on nights that average 50°F, mild enough that a heat pump can carry the load without much help from backup heat.
A new split-system unit has to meet 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating if it was built on or after January 1, 2023. In Nueces County that cooling rating matters more than the heating one, since the compressor will spend most of its life working against the summer heat, not the winter cold.
Most homes here heat with electricity, and Texas saw a third of households lose power for at least a day in 2024. The area has also logged 85 damaging wind events and 8 winter storms over the last ten years. A heat pump installed here should be set up to handle both what the heat and cold ask of it and what the grid does when a storm comes through.
- 3 months
- December through February, your system heats
- 9 months
- March through November, it cools
- 50°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 94°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Texas requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license comes from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, and it covers the contractor, not this particular job. TDLR tested that contractor and keeps a record of them, and that record is what stands behind the business doing your install, not a stamp on the heat pump itself.
For the install itself, the local building office is who checks the work. A heat pump replacement in most cities and counties needs a permit, and an inspection once the job is done, and that inspection is separate from the state license.
Source: Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation
- Is a heat pump better than a furnace?
- For Corpus Christi, yes. A heat pump handles both heating and cooling from one system, and winters here only average around 50°F at night, so it never has to fight extreme cold to keep a home warm. A furnace only heats. You would still need a separate air conditioner for the nine months a year homes here need cooling. A heat pump covers both jobs instead of two systems doing one each.
- 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. It can also run in reverse and move heat into your home during winter. An air conditioner works one way. A heat pump works both ways.
- Does a heat pump work in cold weather?
- Yes, and in Corpus Christi it barely has to work at it. Winter nights here average around 50°F, which is mild compared to the temperatures where heat pumps start to struggle. A heat pump pulls heat from the outside air even when it's cold out, and at 50°F there is still plenty of heat for it to move indoors.