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A contractor quoting a heat pump installation in DeKalb County has to work out what the system will be running against before settling on a unit. 165 severe weather events were recorded in DeKalb County, Georgia between 2015 and 2024. At that rate, severe weather is a standing condition in this area, and a system installed without accounting for it will be pushed hard during exactly the stretches that expose a bad installation. Ductwork sealing, refrigerant charge, and equipment sizing all carry more weight here than they would somewhere the load stays mild. A contractor who skips those steps leaves the homeowner with a system that meets catalog specs but fails the actual climate.
Ductwork sized and routed for older heating systems often moves the wrong volume of air for a heat pump running in both heating and cooling modes, and that mismatch shows up before the new unit is ever ordered. Half the homes in DeKalb County, Georgia were built in 1984 or earlier (2020-2024 ACS 5-year). A contractor quoting a heat pump in stock this age pulls the existing duct layout and measures it, because what those ducts can carry sets the ceiling on what the new system can do. The electrical service gets the same look, since older panels were not wired for the loads modern heat pumps draw. The house answers both questions before the equipment choice is final.
The Parts of a Heat Pump in an HVAC Installation
The outdoor unit is the piece a homeowner sees first, mounted on a concrete pad or bracket outside the house, and it holds the compressor and one set of coils. Inside, an air handler sits in a utility closet, basement, or attic and moves conditioned air through the home. These two units are the core of what a contractor places and connects.
A refrigerant line set runs between the outdoor unit and the air handler, carrying the working fluid that lets the two ends of the system exchange heat. A thermostat on an interior wall is the control point, reading the home's temperature and signaling the system to run. An expansion valve, housed near the indoor coil, regulates how the refrigerant flows between the two units.
The drawing beside this text shows the general layout of a heat pump system, and a licensed contractor determines what applies to the specific conditions of your house.
Get matched in DeKalb CountyDeKalb County by the Numbers
165 severe weather events were recorded in DeKalb County, Georgia between 2015 and 2024.
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, bulk CSV export, events 2015-01-01 through 2024-12-31.Half the homes in DeKalb County, Georgia were built in 1984 or earlier (2020-2024 ACS 5-year).
U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesDeKalb County, Georgia holds 330,830 housing units (2020-2024 ACS 5-year).
U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesOwners occupy 58.8% of the occupied homes in DeKalb County, Georgia (2020-2024 ACS 5-year).
U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesSevere Weather Events in DeKalb County
Weather puts a load on heating and cooling equipment, and that load is specific to where the equipment runs. A heat pump sized and installed for local conditions handles pressure that a generic setup may not account for.
165 severe weather events, 2015–2024. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database.