Our climate is a natural fit for heat pumps. They cool all summer, heat efficiently through most of winter, and pair with a gas furnace for the few nights that drop into the teens.
4.9 3,120 reviewsA heat pump moves heat instead of making it. In summer it pulls heat out of your house, and in winter it pulls heat in from the outside air. Charlotte averages winter lows in the low 30s, which is well within the range where heat pumps work at their best.
Today's cold-climate heat pumps keep producing useful heat into the single digits, so the old worry about heat pumps blowing lukewarm air is mostly outdated. For all-electric homes, a properly sized heat pump often cuts winter heating costs compared with older electric furnaces and strip heat.
If you already have gas, a dual-fuel system pairs a heat pump with a gas furnace. The heat pump handles most of the year, and the furnace takes over automatically when it gets cold enough that gas is cheaper or more comfortable. The thermostat makes the switch for you.
This setup is popular in south Charlotte, Matthews and Fort Mill, where many homes were built with gas furnaces and electric air conditioners. When the AC wears out, swapping it for a heat pump is often a small step up in cost for a real gain in efficiency.
Heat pumps run a defrost cycle in cold, damp weather. You might see steam rise from the outdoor unit for a minute or two. That is normal. What is not normal is a unit coated in solid ice for hours, which usually points to a defrost control, sensor or refrigerant problem.
Keep two feet of clearance around the outdoor unit, keep leaves and pine straw off it, and change your filter often, since heat pumps run year round. Two tune-ups a year, one before summer and one before winter, is what we recommend for every heat pump.
The outdoor unit stays covered in ice for hours
Heat relies on emergency or auxiliary heat most of the time
Winter power bills jumped without a rate change
The system blows cool air in heating mode
Loud grinding or squealing from the outdoor unit
Efficient year-round comfort for mild-winter homes.
A heat pump plus a gas furnace, switching automatically.
Our quietest, most efficient system, cold-climate rated.
We look at your fuel, ductwork, insulation and comfort goals.
You get heat pump and dual-fuel quotes side by side.
Most installs take one day, with thermostat setup included.
We confirm defrost and changeover settings once cold weather hits.
Switched our old AC to a heat pump and kept the gas furnace as backup. Luis explained the changeover setting in plain English and set it up on the thermostat for us. First winter bill came in lower than last year even with that cold week in January.
Thank you, Nathaniel. Dual fuel is a great fit for Baxter Village homes, and Luis will be glad to hear the January bill came in lower.
We have three systems and needed to replace one. They helped us plan the other two over the next few years so we are not caught off guard. The new variable-speed heat pump is so quiet I checked twice to see if it was running.
AC died on a Tuesday morning with the heat index at 104. I called at 9, Marcus was here by 1. Bad capacitor, fixed in 40 minutes, and he showed me photos of the old part. The price he quoted was exactly what I paid.
Danielle, thank you. Marcus mentioned how hot it was upstairs when he arrived, and we are glad he got you cool before the afternoon peak.
Still wondering? Call (704) 555-0164, a real person answers.
Yes. Charlotte's average winter lows sit in the low 30s, which is comfortable territory for modern heat pumps. Cold-climate models keep heating into the single digits. For homes with gas, a dual-fuel system adds a furnace for the handful of nights each year that drop into the teens.
A typical ducted heat pump system in Charlotte, including the outdoor unit and matching air handler, runs about $8,000 to $16,000 in 2026. Dual-fuel and variable-speed systems sit at the higher end. Federal tax credits and utility rebates may apply, so check current eligibility.
That is almost always the defrost cycle. In cold, damp weather, frost builds on the outdoor coil, and the heat pump briefly reverses to melt it. You may see steam and hear a whoosh for a minute or two. If the unit stays iced over for hours, call us.
SEER2 measures cooling efficiency and HSPF2 measures heating efficiency, both under test conditions updated in 2023 to reflect real homes. Higher numbers mean lower power bills. We will show you the ratings for each option and estimate how they compare on your bills.
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