Home › Services › Heat Pump Installation

Heat Pump Installation and Conversion in Sacramento

A heat pump replaces your furnace and your air conditioner with a single system. In summer it cools exactly as an air conditioner does — same refrigeration cycle, same components, same performance on a 105° afternoon. In winter it runs the cycle in reverse and heats the house.

The Sacramento climate suits it particularly well. Much of the caution people have read about heat pumps comes from regions with sustained sub-freezing winters, where efficiency falls and electric backup heat runs for weeks. Our heating season is short and mild, and sits comfortably inside the range where a modern heat pump does the work on its own.

What is the average cost to install a new heat pump?

A conversion generally costs more upfront than a like-for-like furnace and air conditioner replacement — the equipment does more, and older homes sometimes need new line sets or electrical work.

Incentives close a good deal of that gap. SMUD, Roseville Electric and PG&E all run programs depending on your address, and TECH Clean California adds a statewide heat pump incentive on top. The difference after incentives is usually smaller than homeowners expect, and we will work through the arithmetic for your specific address rather than quoting a national average.

Why don’t contractors like heat pumps?

Not every contractor installs them, and the reasons are usually practical. A like-for-like furnace and air conditioner swap is faster and more familiar work. Heat pump conversions need a proper load calculation, careful attention to ductwork, and commissioning done to specification — and they require training and stocking for a different platform.

We install them regularly, which is why we are a participating TECH Clean California contractor. If you are comparing quotes, two questions are worth asking anyone: how many heat pumps have you installed in the past year, and will you perform a load calculation rather than matching the size of the existing equipment.

What is the 20 degree rule for heat pumps?

Cooling equipment is generally designed to achieve roughly a 20° difference between outdoor and indoor temperature at design conditions. On a 105° Sacramento afternoon, holding the mid-70s indoors is the system performing as intended.

It is useful to know because it sets a realistic expectation. A system asked for 68° on the hottest afternoon of the year is being asked for more than a 30° difference, which is beyond what residential equipment of any type is built to deliver.

When a heat pump is the right choice

The strongest cases we see:

• Both halves of the system are aging, so one heat pump replaces two pieces of equipment
• The home is already all-electric, or you would like it to be
• Solar is installed or planned
• You want to stop maintaining a gas appliance

Where a heat pump fits less well is a home with a recent furnace that still has years of service in it, or ductwork that needs attention first. We will tell you which situation you are in before anything is quoted.

What to expect from a heat pump

Two things worth knowing in advance, because they surprise people who have only ever had gas heat.

The supply air is cooler than furnace air. It heats the house perfectly well and holds temperature more evenly across the day, but it does not arrive as the short blast of very hot air a gas furnace produces. Many homeowners find the steadier warmth more comfortable once they are used to it.

The outdoor unit runs in winter as well as summer, and periodically goes through a brief defrost cycle — it may steam and make an unfamiliar sound for a few minutes. That is normal operation, not a fault.

How we size the system

By load calculation, not by matching the nameplate on the existing equipment. Square footage alone cannot size a system — insulation, window area and orientation, air leakage, ceiling height, shading and duct condition all move the result, and Sacramento’s summer design conditions differ considerably from coastal California’s.

Correct sizing matters more than most homeowners are told. An oversized system satisfies the thermostat quickly, shuts off, never runs long enough to manage humidity well, and cycles more than it should.

Rebates and incentives

Heat pumps are where the incentives are concentrated. SMUD covers Fair Oaks, Elk Grove, Citrus Heights, Carmichael and Rancho Cordova, and much of Folsom. Roseville is served by Roseville Electric. Rocklin, Granite Bay and El Dorado Hills are PG&E. TECH Clean California runs a statewide heat pump incentive alongside all three, and Cobex Air is a participating TECH Clean California contractor.

Programs run on annual budgets that can close before the year does, so timing is worth more than it looks. We will tell you which apply to your address as part of the assessment. Cobex Air is listed on the SMUD Contractor Network.

Frequently asked questions

What is the average cost to install a new heat pump?

A conversion generally costs more upfront than a like-for-like furnace and air conditioner replacement, because the equipment does more and older homes sometimes need new line sets or electrical work. SMUD, Roseville Electric, PG&E and TECH Clean California incentives close much of that gap, and the difference afterwards is usually smaller than homeowners expect.

Why don’t contractors like heat pumps?

Not every contractor installs them — a conventional swap is faster and more familiar, while a heat pump conversion needs a proper load calculation, attention to ductwork, and commissioning to specification, plus training and stocking for a different platform. Ask any contractor how many they have installed in the past year.

What is the 20 degree rule for heat pumps?

Cooling equipment is generally designed for roughly a 20° difference from outdoor temperature at design conditions, so the mid-70s indoors on a 105° day is the system performing as intended. Asking for 68° on the hottest afternoon exceeds what residential equipment of any type is built to deliver.