Heat Pump Repair in Oxford, MS
Homes here need heat from November through March and cooling from May through September. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Lafayette County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Ten months of work a year, with little rest in between
Your heat pump runs from November through March to keep the house warm, then switches over and runs May through September to keep it cool. That's ten months of the year with almost no break, and the switch between modes puts its own strain on the reversing valve. On winter nights that average 34°F, the unit has to pull what heat it can from cold air, and it works harder than most people expect a heat pump to. On summer afternoons near 90°F, the compressor runs long hours to keep the house cool.
57.9% of homes here heat with electricity, which usually means the heat pump is doing that work alone. When it stops in December, there's often no backup carrying the house. Lafayette County has seen 46 damaging wind events and 8 winter storms over the past ten years, and outages follow storms like these. In Mississippi, 30% of households went at least 24 hours without power in 2024. A heat pump usually comes back on by itself when the power returns, but a surge like that can still leave a capacitor or contactor damaged, and that's when a homeowner notices the air isn't warm anymore.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 34°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 90°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Mississippi requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license comes from the Mississippi State Board of Contractors, and it belongs to the contractor, not to any single job. It means the state tested that contractor and keeps a record of them, so the license standing behind a heat pump repair in Lafayette County is the same one that would stand behind any other job that contractor takes on.
A heat pump repair often means opening the refrigerant side of the system, and anyone who does that, in Mississippi or any other state, has to hold EPA Section 608 certification. That certification is federal, separate from the state license, and it exists because refrigerant work carries its own risk no matter where the home is.
Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors
- Why is my heat pump blowing cold air?
- In heating mode, a heat pump moves warm air through the house at a lower temperature than a furnace would, so it can feel cool against your skin even when it is working right. If the air coming out feels truly cold, not just cool, check that the outdoor unit is running and not caked in ice. A system stuck in defrost mode, low on refrigerant, or with a failed reversing valve will blow air that has no heat in it at all. A contractor licensed by the State Board of Contractors can check the refrigerant charge and the valve, since only an EPA 608 certified technician is allowed to open the refrigerant side.
- Why is there ice on my heat pump?
- Some frost on the outdoor unit during winter is normal, and the system should clear it on its own through a regular defrost cycle. Heavy ice that builds up and stays means the defrost cycle isn't kicking in, airflow across the coil is blocked, or the refrigerant charge is off. Winter nights here average 34°F, cold enough that a stuck defrost control can let ice build fast. If the ice isn't melting off within a few hours, the coil is likely staying too cold for too long, and that points to a problem a contractor needs to diagnose rather than something to wait out.
- Why is my heat pump running but not cooling?
- If the outdoor unit and indoor blower are both running but the air isn't cold, the system is likely low on refrigerant or has a coil that can't shed heat. Check the outdoor unit first. A coil packed with leaves, grass clippings, or dirt won't release heat properly, and on a 90°F afternoon that alone can keep a system from cooling the house. If the outdoor coil is clean and the system still runs without cooling, the issue is more likely a refrigerant leak or a failing compressor, and only a technician with EPA 608 certification can legally check the refrigerant side to find out.