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Heat pumps by metro · Texas · checked October 19, 2026
Heat pumps in Greater Houston
Cooling runs most of the year here, so summer efficiency (SEER2 and EER2) matters most. Winters still bring hard freezes, so check the heat pump’s output at 17°F and size the backup heat for a multi-day cold snap. A typical 1,600 sq ft house here uses about 5,400 kWh a year for air conditioning, about $851 at Texas prices; an 18 SEER2 heat pump would cut that to about $610.
What this means for your house: Cooling far outweighs heating here: summer bills, humidity and attic heat matter more than winter drafts.
Climate and sizing
Cooling runs most of the year here, so summer efficiency (SEER2 and EER2) matters most. Winters still bring hard freezes, so check the heat pump’s output at 17°F and size the backup heat for a multi-day cold snap. This is a humid climate: a variable-speed system that runs longer at low speed pulls more moisture out of the air than a single-stage one. Whatever the climate, the system should be sized from a room-by-room load calculation (ACCA Manual J), not from
the size of the old air conditioner or furnace: an oversized heat pumpshort-cycles, dehumidifies poorly and costs more.
Cooling and humidity drive your bills; attic ducts, AC health and outages drive comfort.
Cooling and humidity drive your bills, and in slab homes the ducts often run through a hot attic. Comfort depends on an AC that is sized right, dries the air and keeps running, plus a house that can ride out outages, storms and the occasional hard freeze. A good audit starts with the ducts, the attic and the AC.
What to look for in this climate
Southeast rules: a new split AC must be at least 14.3 SEER2 (13.8 for the largest sizes), based on installation date. EER2 shows efficiency on the hottest afternoons.
Heating loads are small, so a heat pump or AC with strip heat covers most winters. Where hard freezes come, check the heat pump's output at 17°F and size the backup heat for a multi-day cold snap.
Size with Manual J and Manual S, not a rule of thumb. Oversized systems short-cycle and leave the house humid.
Avoid exhaust-only ventilation: it depressurizes the house and pulls in humid outdoor air. Balanced ventilation, such as an ERV, avoids that.
Do these alongside the new system
Right-sized variable-speed AC or heat pump. Sized with Manual J and Manual S, it runs longer, gentler cycles that pull more moisture from the air.
Attic insulation plus a radiant barrier. Attic heat drives your cooling load and heats any ducts up there. A radiant barrier cuts attic heat flow about 40%.
Air conditioning for a typical 1,600 sq ft single-family house with central air, at Texas's average residential electricity
price (15.9¢ per kWh, EIA, July 2026). In this humid climate, part of the air conditioner's job is pulling moisture out of the air. A right-sized variable-speed system runs longer at low speed and removes more of it; an oversized one cools quickly, shuts off and leaves the house clammy.
Yearly cooling electricity and cost by system efficiency in Greater Houston
System
Rated efficiency
Electricity a year
Cost a year
Notes
Typical system in homes like this today
about 13.5 SEER
5,400 kWh
$851
about 13.5 SEER, the average of systems now installed in this climate
New heat pump at the federal minimum
14.3 SEER2
4,800 kWh
$768
the lowest efficiency a new split heat pump can be sold at since 2023
High-efficiency system (often two-stage)
18.0 SEER2
3,800 kWh
$610
rated 18 SEER2
Top-tier variable-speed system
22.0 SEER2
3,100 kWh
$499
rated 22 SEER2; real-world savings usually come in a little below the rating
How to read this: SEER2 is the season-long cooling efficiency on the yellow EnergyGuide label; a higher number means less electricity for the
same cooling. A real house can use about 30% less to 35% more than the typical figure, depending on its size, insulation, ducts, thermostat
setting and how long the AC runs. The cheapest cooling is the heat you keep out: sealed and insulated attic ducts, attic insulation and shade on
sun-facing windows often cut more than a new system does.
Heating is a small part of the bill here: with about 1,266 heating degree days a year, a house needs only a fraction of the heat a northern house does, so the cooling costs above matter more. Cost per million Btu of heat delivered into the house, at Texas's average residential prices from the EIA (electricity for
July 2026, gas as an annual average). Here a heat pump costs less to run than a 95% gas furnace whenever its seasonal COP is above 2.4, which an efficient heat pump reaches in this climate.
Seasonal COP: Seasonal COP is the heat delivered over a whole heating season, including electric backup heat and defrost, for a heat pump sized for the house. We pick the planning value by how cold the winter is (heating degree days) and set it slightly below modelled results (Dunsky/CCI 2024), because measured field performance tends to come in lower. For your own house, the HSPF2 rating of the system you choose and your installer's Manual J load calculation are the better guide.
Heat pump rebates in Greater Houston
Every heat pump program we found for the Greater Houston area, with the equipment rule that decides which models qualify. Checked against each
program's own page on October 19, 2026. Most utility programs need an AHRI-matched system; check the exact pairing in the AHRI directory before you sign.
CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric HVAC System Replacement incentives
Unconfirmed
CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, through participating HVAC contractors
Heat pump amountsOur October 12 check quotes: 'CenterPoint offers incentives that start at $200 and may increase, depending on your installation', applied to the installation invoice.
Equipment ruleOur October 12 check: central A/C, heat pumps or mini-splits rated 15.2 SEER2 or higher.
Other conditionsOur October 12 check: installed by a participating contractor.
StatusOur October 12 check found no funding or closure notice.
The federal rebate (formerly HEAR) pays up to $8,000 toward an ENERGY STAR certified heat pump for income-qualified households, through
the state. Since May 29, 2026 it covers only upgrades from existing electric equipment, and the installer must be on the state's
contractor list. Texas's status is in the program list above.
Winters here don't call for cold-weather ratings, so these are the certified systems with the highest SEER2, on current refrigerants, from ENERGY STAR's US listings. Rebadged twins with identical ratings are folded into one row.
How to read the tables: SEER2 is cooling efficiency over a season and EER2 on the hottest afternoons; HSPF2 is heating efficiency over a
season. Size is the rated output in BTU/h (12,000 BTU/h is
one ton). The AHRI number identifies the exact certified pairing for rebates. Full definitions: how to read the numbers.
Central systems that cool most efficiently
Central systems that cool most efficiently for Greater Houston
MO1SS-H09B-2A MSESU-H09B-2ASame ratings also listed as Senville, Comfort-Aire and Century, Blueridge, AI AIR CONDITIONING, CanAir, KEEN Home, Mainline, Novair
Tell us about your home and what you want to heat or cool. A person reads every request and replies with the contractors and rebate programs that serve your ZIP code.
