Heat Pump Repair

A heat pump cools your home all summer and then runs in reverse to heat it in winter, so it works almost year-round in Central Texas. Many Austin homes, especially newer ones, use a heat pump with electric heat strips as backup instead of a gas furnace. When a heat pump starts blowing cool air, icing up or leaning on its heat strips, you notice it fast, on the comfort side and on the electric bill.

Gold Eagle Services is a family-run, locally owned Austin HVAC company serving Central Texas homes since 2017. We are a Mitsubishi Electric Diamond Contractor and a GE Elite Dealer, and we repair central heat pumps, dual fuel systems and ductless heat pump mini-splits. We work on homes only, not commercial buildings.

Heat pump acting up? Call 512-489-4653 or schedule a heat pump repair online. We schedule repair visits Monday through Saturday, 7am to 7pm, and help existing customers on Sundays.

In heat mode, the outdoor coil pulls heat out of the outside air, which makes it cold enough to collect frost. Every so often the heat pump runs a defrost cycle: it briefly switches to cooling mode to warm the outdoor coil, the outdoor fan stops, and you may see steam and hear a whoosh. That is normal, and so is some water dripping from the unit in winter.

What is not normal:

• A unit encased in ice that stays that way. Common causes are a failed defrost board or sensor, low refrigerant, or an outdoor fan that is not running. Turn the system to emergency heat and call us rather than chipping at the ice, which can damage the coil.
• An outdoor fan that does not spin while the compressor hums. This is often a failed capacitor, contactor or fan motor. See Why Is My Heat Pump’s Outdoor Fan Not Spinning?.
• A reversing valve that will not shift. The valve (and the solenoid coil that moves it) switches the heat pump between heating and cooling. When it sticks, you may get cool air in heat mode or warm air in cool mode.
• Low refrigerant. A heat pump is a sealed system, so low charge means a leak. We find and repair the leak instead of just adding refrigerant and hoping it holds.

Most Austin heat pumps have electric heat strips in the air handler for backup. The thermostat calls them aux heat when it adds them to help the heat pump, usually on the coldest mornings, during defrost, or when you raise the setpoint by several degrees at once. Emergency heat turns the heat pump off and runs only the strips.

Heat strips work, but they use much more electricity than the heat pump itself. If aux heat is on in mild weather, or your winter bill jumps without a cold snap to explain it, the heat pump may not be pulling its weight. Common causes are low refrigerant, a defrost or sensor problem, a failed outdoor fan, or a thermostat that is wired or set up wrong. Read Aux Heat vs. Emergency Heat: What Your Heat Pump Thermostat Is Telling You and Heat Pumps vs. Electric Resistance Heat.

During a hard freeze, a heat pump losing capacity and leaning on its strips is expected. See Can a Heat Pump Keep Up With a Texas Freeze?.

Most heat pump problems, like a capacitor, contactor, fan motor, defrost board or sensor, are worth repairing. Because a heat pump runs for both cooling and heating, it works more hours a year than a furnace, so age and repair history matter when a big part fails.

Replacement is worth a conversation when the compressor fails on an older unit, refrigerant leaks keep coming back, or the system uses the older R-22 refrigerant. You also have more than one path: a new heat pump, or a dual fuel system that pairs a heat pump with a gas furnace for the coldest nights if your home has gas. Learn more about our heat pump services, and read Repair or Replace Your HVAC System? How to Decide.

Wondering what a new system would cost? Build your system online to compare heat pumps and dual fuel and see pricing for your home.

A fall heating tune-up tests the defrost cycle, heat strips, reversing valve and refrigerant charge before the first cold front, and cleans the outdoor coil so the heat pump can do its job. Keep leaves, mulch and plants clear of the outdoor unit so air can move through it.

Our Home Maintenance Plan includes a spring cooling visit and a fall heating visit, which fits a system that works in both seasons.

Want to understand what your heat pump is doing before you call? These homeowner guides are written by our team for Central Texas homes.

• Why Is My Heat Pump Blowing Cold Air in Heat Mode?
• Aux Heat vs. Emergency Heat: What Your Heat Pump Thermostat Is Telling You
• Can a Heat Pump Keep Up With a Texas Freeze?
• Why Does My Heat Pump Run Nonstop When It’s Below Freezing?
• Why Is Water Dripping From Your Heat Pump in Winter?
• Why Is My Heat Pump’s Outdoor Fan Not Spinning?

Browse all homeowner guides in the Gold Eagle Resource Center

• Heat pump services
• Heating services for furnaces and heat pumps
• Dual fuel heat pump systems
• Ductless mini-split installation and repair
• AC repair
• Heating tune-ups