Heat Pump Installation in Portland, OR
A new system here will heat from October through June and cool from August through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Multnomah County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
A heat pump here works nine months a year
Multnomah County asks for heat from October through June and cooling in August. That is ten months a year your heat pump is running, with a lot more of it spent on heat than on cooling. Winter nights average 34°F, which is mild compared to a lot of the country, but it still means the system is working steadily for most of the year rather than a hard month or two.
Any split-system heat pump installed new has to meet the federal minimum of 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating. With close to half of homes here heating with electricity already, and winter storms known to knock out power, a heat pump that starts back up on its own once power returns matters as much as the rating on the label.
- 9 months
- October through June, your system heats
- 1 months
- August through August, it cools
- 34°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 76°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Oregon requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Construction Contractors Board tests and licenses the contractor, not each job that contractor takes on. Once someone holds that license, it covers the work they do across the state. Oregon does carve out an exception for small jobs. Anything under $1,000 doesn't need a licensed contractor at all. A heat pump installation runs well past that line.
Because this is a licensed trade in Oregon, that license is what stands behind the work. In most cities and counties here, installing a heat pump also needs a permit from the local building office, with an inspection once the work is finished.
Source: Oregon Legislative Assembly
- Is a heat pump better than a furnace?
- A heat pump does more for you than a furnace, because it heats and cools the house with one system. A furnace only burns fuel to make heat, so you still need a separate air conditioner for summer. Winters here average 34°F, which is well within the range a heat pump is built to handle. The main thing to weigh is how your house is set up now and whether a contractor sees any reason a heat pump would not suit it.
- What's the difference between a heat pump and an air conditioner?
- An air conditioner only moves heat out of the house. A heat pump does that same job in summer, then runs in reverse in winter to move heat into the house instead. The parts inside are much the same, the compressor, the coils, the refrigerant, but a heat pump has a reversing valve that an air conditioner doesn't need. That's what lets one system carry a home through both the 34°F winter nights and the 76°F summer afternoons here.
- Does a heat pump work in cold weather?
- Yes. A heat pump pulls heat from outside air even when that air is cold, because there is still heat in air well below freezing. Winter nights here average 34°F, which a heat pump handles without trouble. As outdoor temperatures drop further, a heat pump has to work harder to pull the same heat out of the air, so how a specific model performs at very low temperatures is worth asking a contractor about directly.