Heat Pump Installation in Round Rock, TX
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 Williamson County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
A heat pump here runs heat and cooling both
Round Rock homes need heat from November through March and cooling from April through October. That covers all 12 months, so a heat pump here does not get an off season. It switches jobs and keeps working.
Winter nights average 40°F and summer afternoons average 95°F, a wide swing for one system to cover. Split-system heat pumps installed since January 2023 have to meet 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating, the federal minimum. With a unit that runs all year here, that efficiency floor is not a small detail.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 7 months
- April through October, it cools
- 40°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 95°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Texas requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license is held by the contractor, not issued job by job, so it covers the business doing the work rather than this one installation. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation tests and records the contractor before that license is granted, which gives the state a record of who did the work, not a stamp on this particular heat pump.
For a heat pump install, that license is what stands behind the person doing the work. The permit and inspection are what stand behind this specific job. In most cities and counties, installing a heat pump needs a permit from the local building office, and the work gets inspected once it is done.
Source: Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation
- Is a heat pump better than a furnace?
- It depends on what you're after. A heat pump does both heating and cooling from one system, so you're not running separate equipment for winter and summer. Round Rock only sees real cold from November through March, and winter nights average around 40°F, which is mild enough that a heat pump can carry the heating load without much strain. A furnace only heats, and it burns gas or uses resistance heat to do it, so if you want one system that handles all 12 months here, the heat pump is the simpler setup.
- What's the difference between a heat pump and an air conditioner?
- An air conditioner only cools. A heat pump cools the same way an air conditioner does, but it can also reverse itself and pull heat from the outside air to warm your home. Mechanically they share most of the same parts, the compressor, the coils, the refrigerant loop. The difference is the reversing valve that lets a heat pump run backward, which is what gives you heat instead of just cooling.
- Does a heat pump work in cold weather?
- Yes. A heat pump pulls heat out of outside air even when that air feels cold, and it keeps working as long as there's a temperature difference to draw from. Round Rock winters average around 40°F at night from December through February, which is well within the range a heat pump handles without help. Heat pumps lose efficiency as it gets colder, but the mild lows here mean that's rarely a problem for this area.