Heat Pump Repair in Athens, AL
Homes here need heat from October through April and cooling from May through September. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Limestone County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Your heat pump works almost every month of the year in Athens
There is no real off season here. Winters run October through April with nights averaging 33°F, and summer afternoons average 89°F from May through September. That leaves a heat pump switching between heating and cooling modes with barely a break, and the reversing valve that handles that switch takes the wear for it. A reversing valve that sticks will leave the system blowing warm air when you need cold, or cold air when you need warm.
Athens has seen 171 damaging wind events and 8 winter storms over the past ten years, and 18% of Alabama households lost power for 24 hours or more in 2024. Outdoor units take that weather directly, and a hard freeze or a jolt from storm damage can trip the system out or damage the outdoor coil. Most heat pumps restart on their own once power is back, but if yours does not, or if it is not heating or cooling like it should afterward, something inside needs a look.
- 7 months
- October through April, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 33°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 89°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Alabama requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license is held by the contractor, not issued per job, so it is the business and the person running it that the state has tested and put on record with the Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Contractors, not each repair that comes out of it.
Your heat pump has a refrigerant side, and whoever opens it, licensed or not, is required by federal law to hold EPA Section 608 certification. That is separate from the state license and covers the part of the job where a mistake means refrigerant escaping instead of staying in the sealed system where it belongs.
Source: Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors
- Why is my heat pump blowing cold air?
- In winter, air from the vents is naturally cooler than your skin, even when the system is working right. It's warmer than the room air going in, just not as hot as furnace air, so it can feel cold by comparison. If the air feels truly cold, not just cool, check that the thermostat is set to heat and not fan only. A unit stuck in defrost mode too long, or low refrigerant, will also send cold air through the ducts, and that calls for a contractor to check the charge and the reversing valve.
- Why is there ice on my heat pump?
- Some frost on the outdoor unit in winter is normal. Your heat pump runs a defrost cycle on its own to melt it off, then goes back to heating. Ice becomes a problem when it builds up thick and stays, covering the coil or blocking the fan. That points to a defrost control board that isn't cycling, a fan motor that's stopped, or low refrigerant, and any of those needs a contractor to sort out.
- 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, start with the filter. A filter clogged with dust chokes off airflow across the indoor coil, and the coil can ice over, which cuts cooling further even though the system keeps running. Check the outdoor unit too. Leaves, grass clippings, or anything piled against it blocks the airflow it needs to release heat. If the filter's clean and the outdoor unit is clear and you're still not getting cold air, the system is likely low on refrigerant or has a failing compressor, and a contractor will need to check it with gauges.