Heat Pump Installation in Little Rock, AR
A new system here will heat from November through March and cool from May through September every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Pulaski County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
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Ten months of work a year in Pulaski County
A heat pump here runs from November through March to keep the house warm, then switches over and runs May through September to keep it cool. That is ten months out of twelve with almost no break between seasons. Winter nights average 33°F, so the system is not fighting deep cold, but summer afternoons average 91°F, and it has to move that heat out of the house for a full five months straight.
Any split-system heat pump installed new has to meet 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating, the federal minimum as of 2023. With Pulaski County calling for heating and cooling in close to equal measure, a new unit here works both sides of that rating hard, not just one.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 33°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Arkansas requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The state license is tied to the contractor, not to each job they do, so it stays in place across every installation they take on. Because Arkansas holds this licensing power itself, no county or city in Pulaski County can add its own HVAC license requirement on top of it. The rule you already read is the whole rule here.
For a heat pump installation, that license is what stands behind the person doing the work. It does not replace the permit and inspection your local building office will still want once the unit is in. That inspection is what checks the installation itself, separate from the license, and in most cities and counties it is required before the job is considered done.
Source: Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing
- Is a heat pump better than a furnace?
- A heat pump does both jobs, heating and cooling, so it can replace a furnace and an air conditioner with one system. A furnace only heats, so you would still need a separate air conditioner for the five months of cooling Little Rock gets each year. A heat pump also runs on electricity rather than gas, which matters if you would rather not depend on a gas line. A contractor can look at your ductwork and current setup and tell you which makes more 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 house. A heat pump does the same thing in summer, but it can also run in reverse and move heat into your house in winter. That second ability is the whole difference. Mechanically the two are close cousins, which is why a heat pump can replace both your furnace and your air conditioner in one unit.
- Does a heat pump work in cold weather?
- Yes, a heat pump keeps pulling heat from outside air even when it is cold. Winter nights in Little Rock average 33°F from December through February, which a heat pump is built to handle. As the outside temperature drops further, the unit has to work harder to move the same amount of heat, so its output does fall off in the coldest stretches. A contractor sizing the system for your house will account for that when picking the right unit.