A heat pump job is sold as one thing and scheduled as several. The homeowner sees "new heat pump." Your board sees a load calculation visit, an install crew for one or more days, refrigerant work that needs a certified tech, electrical work that may need a different person, and in many places a permit and an inspection.
Each of those pieces has a different shape. Treat them as one big block and the day falls apart at the handoffs.
The stages and who owns each date
| Stage | Who goes | Shape | Who sets the date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Site assessment | One comfort advisor or tech | A visit | You, with the homeowner |
| Equipment arrival | Supplier | A delivery | The supplier |
| Install | Two- to four-person crew | One or more crew-days | You |
| Electrical | Electrician, in-house or sub | Part of a day | You or your sub |
| Inspection | Local inspector | A window | The inspector |
Only some of these dates are yours. The install crew-days are the expensive ones, so book them only when the stages in front of them are real: equipment confirmed, electrical capacity checked, permit in hand where one is required.
Assessments are route work
The assessment looks like a service call. One person, a short visit, several a day. Capacity is set mostly by the drive between them, not by the visit itself.
That makes assessments the place where booking by time alone costs the most. A comfort advisor with a 9:00 in the north end and an 11:00 in the south end, booked on two separate calls, spends the gap driving. Offering the homeowner times that fit the advisor's existing day is travel-feasible scheduling, and it is the same problem a regular HVAC board faces with tune-ups.
Install days are counted in crew-days
A ducted system replacement and a three-zone mini split install are different jobs, but both are sold and scheduled in crew-days: one crew on one site for one working day. Line sets, wall penetrations, mounting heads, setting the outdoor unit, pulling vacuum and charging all happen with the crew on site together.
Two things follow:
- The drive comes off the top of every day. A crew that drives an hour each way has two fewer hours on site. A job that fits in one day at 20 minutes away may need two at 60.
- Multi-zone jobs are the hard ones to estimate. Each added head adds penetrations, line set runs and wiring. Track actual on-site time by system type so the next estimate is closer.
The electrical piece
Many heat pump installs touch the panel: a new circuit, a disconnect, sometimes a service upgrade when the home's capacity is short. Whether your HVAC techs can do that work depends on your state's licensing rules and your company's setup, so check with your state board before deciding who does it.
On the board, the question is timing. The electrician needs to be on site after the outdoor unit location is set and before the system is started. Three common setups:
- Your own electrician joins the crew for part of day one. Book the electrician as a separate person on the same job, with a start time that matches when the crew will be ready.
- An electrical sub comes on a separate day. Then the install has a gap in the middle. Book the startup visit only after the electrical date is confirmed.
- A service upgrade is needed. That usually means a utility and an inspector, which puts dates outside your control. See the electrical page for how permits and inspection windows set that sequence.
Refrigerant work needs a certified tech
Refrigerant handling has its own federal certification. As of October 2026, the EPA's Section 608 technician certification page says technicians who maintain, service, repair or dispose of equipment that could release ozone-depleting refrigerants must be certified, and it lists Core, Type 1, Type 2 and Type 3 test sections. Confirm what applies to the systems you install with the EPA and your own compliance advice.
For scheduling, the rule is simple: every install crew needs someone qualified for the refrigerant work on site when it happens. Treat it the way you treat any crew scheduling requirement: the crew is only bookable if the right person is on it.
A worked example: one install, two drives
Illustrative numbers only. A three-person crew works a 10-hour shift. A two-head mini split job is estimated at 14 hours of on-site work.
Both jobs take two days. The far one pays three times the drive and has almost no room if the line set run is longer than planned. That is the job to quote and date carefully.
Seasonal swings
Heat pumps do two jobs, heating and cooling, so service calls can arrive in both peak seasons. If the same techs install and run service, a heat wave or a cold snap pulls them off install days. Decide in advance which crews stay on installs during a surge, and book install days with that in mind, the same way an HVAC board handles peak season.
How CrewLink handles heat pump installation scheduling
CrewLink offers only start times a qualified crew can reach, with the drive computed from where the crew will be at that hour, the previous job, not the shop. The dispatch board shows month, week and day views, and the tech app records time on site when a job is marked done, so future bookings use what installs actually took. It is built for companies running 5 to 50 trucks and is in early access.
CrewLink does not do load calculations, equipment ordering, permitting or rebate paperwork. If your electrical work is done by a subcontractor, subcontractor scheduling covers sending work into a partner's open times.
What to take away
- A heat pump install is an assessment, crew-days, electrical work and sometimes an inspection, each scheduled differently.
- Assessments are route work: their capacity is set by the drive between them.
- Count installs in crew-days and take the round-trip drive off every day.
- Book the electrician as a separate person with a real start time, or confirm the sub's date before booking startup.
- A crew is only bookable if someone qualified for the refrigerant work is on it.
Common questions
How long does a heat pump installation take to schedule?
Work it out from your own install hours for that system type, divided by the on-site hours per day after the round-trip drive, rounded up. A ducted swap and a multi-zone mini split will give very different answers.
Should the electrician be on the same day as the install crew?
It works well if the electrician can arrive when the crew is ready for the electrical connection. If the electrician is a sub on a separate day, plan a gap and book startup only after the electrical date is firm.
How do I schedule mini split installs with several heads?
Estimate on-site time per head from past jobs, add the outdoor unit and line set work, and convert to crew-days. Multi-head jobs are where estimates miss most, so record actual times.
Do heat pump installers need special certification?
Refrigerant work is covered by EPA Section 608 certification, and electrical work by your state's licensing rules. Requirements vary, so check the EPA and your state board.