Heat Pump Repair in Vicksburg, 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 Warren County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eleven months of work a year, in heat and storms
Your heat pump runs almost year round here, heat from November through March, cooling from May through October. That leaves it about one month of rest. Summer afternoons averaging 91°F push the outdoor coil hard for six straight months, and winter nights averaging 39°F keep the system in defrost and reversing valve cycles for the other five.
That much cycling wears on the reversing valve and the outdoor fan motor, the parts that let the unit switch between heating and cooling and keep air moving across the coil. Warren County has also logged 145 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and wind-blown debris can bend fins or knock loose the electrical connections outside. When the power goes out, most heat pumps come back on by themselves, but a hard stop mid-cycle can trip the breaker or leave the outdoor unit silent when everything else in the house is running.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 6 months
- May through October, it cools
- 39°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.
That license is issued to the contractor, not to the job, so it does not get renewed or re-checked for your specific repair. It tells you the state tested this contractor at some point and keeps a record of who they are.
A heat pump repair almost always means opening the refrigerant side of the system, whether that is checking charge, fixing a leak, or replacing a valve. Whoever does that work, in Mississippi or anywhere else, has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, separate from the state contractor license. The state license covers who they are in Mississippi's records. The federal certification covers whether they are allowed to touch the refrigerant at all.
Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors
- Why is my heat pump blowing cold air?
- In heating mode, a heat pump moves warm air at a lower temperature than a furnace does, so the air from your vents can feel cool even when it's working right. If the air feels cold rather than just mild, check your thermostat is set to heat, not fan only. A frozen outdoor unit or a system stuck in defrost mode can also send cool air through the vents for a few minutes at a time. If the air stays cold and never warms up, the reversing valve or the compressor may not be switching modes correctly, and that needs a contractor to check.
- Why is there ice on my heat pump?
- Some frost on the outdoor coil during winter is normal. Your heat pump runs a defrost cycle on its own to melt it off every so often. Thick ice that builds up and stays, especially covering the coil or blocking the fan, means the defrost cycle isn't working or the unit isn't getting enough airflow across the coil. Check that nothing is blocking the outdoor unit, like snow, leaves, or something stacked against it. If the ice keeps coming back after you clear it, the defrost control board or a sensor has likely failed and a contractor will need to look at it.
- Why is my heat pump running but not cooling?
- If the outdoor unit is running but the air coming from your vents isn't cold, the system likely has low refrigerant or a blocked coil. Check your air filter first, since a clogged one restricts airflow enough to weaken cooling. Look at the outdoor unit too. If the coil is covered in dirt or the fan isn't spinning, the system can't shed heat properly. A refrigerant leak needs a technician with EPA Section 608 certification to diagnose and fix, since that means opening the sealed side of the system.