Heat Pump Repair in Madison, MS
Homes here need heat from November through March and cooling from May through October. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Madison County will get in touch.
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Eleven months of work a year in Madison County
Your heat pump runs from November into March for heat, then switches over and runs May through October for cooling. That leaves it idle one month out of the year. There is no real off season for it to rest and no long break for parts to sit unused.
Summer afternoons here average 91°F, so the outdoor unit is working hard for six straight months. Winter nights average 37°F, cold enough that the heat pump has to draw on its backup heat strip more often to keep up. That switching between modes and that reliance on backup heat puts real wear on the reversing valve and the electrical components that control it. When one of those starts to fail, you'll notice the system blowing air that isn't warm enough, or cool enough, for how hard it sounds like it's working.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 6 months
- May through October, it cools
- 37°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Mississippi requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license covers the contractor, not the job. Mississippi's Board of Contractors tests and records the contractor once, and that license is meant to follow them from one repair to the next rather than being issued fresh each time they take on work.
A heat pump repair means opening the refrigerant side of the system, and that work requires EPA Section 608 certification no matter what state it happens in. That certification is federal, separate from the state license, and it is what a technician needs on top of being licensed to touch the refrigerant lines.
Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors
- Why is my heat pump blowing cold air?
- In heating mode, air from the vents is often cooler than what a furnace puts out, even when the system is working fine. It should still feel warmer than the room, just not hot. If the air feels truly cold and the house isn't warming up, check that the thermostat is set to heat and not fan only. A frozen outdoor unit, a low refrigerant charge, or a failed reversing valve can also stop the system from heating, and those need a contractor to check the refrigerant side of the unit.
- Why is there ice on my heat pump?
- Some frost on the outdoor coil during cold weather is normal. The unit should clear it on its own through a defrost cycle a few times a day. If the coil is coated in thick ice that doesn't go away, something is keeping that defrost cycle from working, or airflow across the coil is blocked. Leaves, dirt, or snow piled against the unit can cause this, and so can a failing defrost control board or a low refrigerant charge. Don't chip the ice off yourself. Turn the system off and have a contractor look at it, since anyone working on the refrigerant side needs EPA certification to do it safely.
- Why is my heat pump running but not cooling?
- If the outdoor unit is running but the house isn't cooling down, start with the basics. Check the thermostat setting and change the filter if it's dirty. A blocked filter starves the system of airflow and can make it seem like the unit isn't working even though it's running. Beyond that, a low refrigerant charge, a failing compressor, or ice built up on the indoor coil can all cause a heat pump to run without actually cooling the air. On a 91°F afternoon here, a system low on refrigerant will struggle even harder to keep up, so it's worth having a contractor check the charge and the coil before the next heat wave.