Southaven houses and the furnace question
About 60 percent of Southaven homes heat with gas, according to the Census Bureau, and the typical house dates from 1998. Many have a furnace and an AC that went in together and are now wearing out together.
Bluffline Memphis Heat Pumps installs heat pumps across Southaven, from Stateline Road down past Goodman Road. In a gas house we price two paths and let the numbers decide.
Two paths for a gas house
- Keep the furnace and put a heat pump where the AC was. That is dual fuel, and it fits when the furnace is sound.
- Retire the furnace and go all-electric with a heat pump and a matched air handler. That is a gas furnace to heat pump conversion, and it fits when both halves are failing.
Your power company changes the rebate
Southaven is in Mississippi, and most of it is served by Entergy Mississippi rather than a TVA power company. That matters because the TVA EnergyRight heat pump rebate, which Memphis-side customers can claim, is only for TVA power customers.
Entergy Mississippi runs its own heating and cooling incentive program. Its terms and tiers change, so we check what is current for the specific equipment on your estimate.
Gas and electric costs here
Entergy Mississippi’s electric rates and your gas supplier’s rates aren’t MLGW’s, so the Memphis per-BTU comparison doesn’t carry over. If you send twelve months of power and gas bills before the visit, we run the comparison from your own numbers.
Late-1990s houses, late-1990s equipment
A house built around 1998 is on its original system or its second. Original equipment from that era usually ran on R-22, which is no longer made. Any R-22 system that needs a coil or compressor is a replacement, not a repair.
What to look for
- The nameplate date on the outdoor unit and the furnace or air handler.
- The refrigerant type printed on the outdoor unit’s label.
- Rust at the burners or a flame that looks lazy on an older furnace.
- A capacitor or contactor replaced more than once on the outdoor unit.
The repair or replace guide walks through the decision.
Attic equipment over the bedrooms
Many Southaven ranches put the furnace or air handler in the attic. A Mississippi summer pushes gallons of water through an air handler every humid afternoon, and in an attic that water sits above a ceiling.
Every attic unit we install gets a secondary pan, a float switch that shuts the system off before the pan overflows, and a drain line with a cleanout. If the attic unit is the only part that’s failing, air handler replacement covers the indoor half alone.
Sizing for a Mid-South summer
Southaven shares Memphis’s climate: summers near 95 degrees with heavy humidity and winter lows near 20 at the design point. We size the heat pump from a load calculation for those conditions, using the house itself rather than the old nameplate.
Why the size matters for humidity
A heat pump that is too big cools fast and stops before it pulls the water out, so the house sits at 72 degrees and still feels damp. The humidity guide explains the connection.
Ducts in a 1990s attic
Most Southaven ranches run their ducts through the attic, where summer air tops 120 degrees. Flex duct from the 1990s sags between trusses, and the tape on its seams has had decades to dry out.
What we check before quoting
- Static pressure, the resistance the blower pushes against. A high reading means the ducts are holding the air back.
- Flex runs that have sagged or crushed where they cross framing.
- The return, which in many ranches is one grille in the hall, sized for a smaller system.
If the ducts need work, it goes on the estimate as its own line, done the same day as the install. Heat pump ductwork explains the fixes.
Permits in Southaven
Southaven’s Department of Building enforces the city’s adopted codes and issues permits for work inside city limits. A heat pump replacement needs a permit and an inspection.
We pull the permit and schedule the inspection. Homes outside city limits in unincorporated DeSoto County go through the county’s planning and building office instead, and the estimate names which office applies to your address.
What it costs in Southaven
For a Southaven gas house keeping a sound furnace, Bluffline’s typical range is $5,000 to $10,000. The full set of ranges:
| If the job is | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Heat pump on the furnace you keep | $5,000 to $10,000 |
| Whole-home system with a new air handler | $8,000 to $16,000 |
| Outdoor unit only | $4,500 to $9,000 |
| Air handler only | $2,000 to $4,500 |
The estimate we write after the visit sets your price. The size of the heat pump, attic access, the line set and any duct fixes move it most. The cost guide explains each driver.
The outdoor unit on a Southaven lot
The outdoor unit usually goes where the old AC sat, on a raised pad so meltwater from defrost drains away.
Pine straw and mulch beds against the house are common here; we keep the coil clear of them and leave the maker’s clearances on every side.
Gas meters and side yards
On many Southaven ranches the gas meter, the electric meter and the AC share one side of the house. The new unit has to keep its distance from the gas meter’s regulator vent, which sometimes means shifting the pad a few feet.
Getting ready for the visit
The first visit goes faster with a few things on hand:
- Photos of both nameplates, outdoor and indoor.
- Where the furnace or air handler sits: attic, closet or garage.
- Twelve months of power and gas bills, for the cost comparison.
- Any rooms that run hot, cold or damp.
Nearby
We work across Southaven, from Stateline Road to Goodman Road and out toward Snowden Grove Park.
Next door, Horn Lake has more electric-heat houses, and Olive Branch is split between two power companies, which changes its rebate picture. Hernando to the south has the newest houses in DeSoto County. For the whole decision in order, start with the Memphis heat pump buying guide.
