Heat Pump Repair in Athens, GA
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 Clarke County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Athens asks a heat pump to run almost all year
Your heat pump works ten months out of the year here, heating from November through March and cooling from May through September. That is not a machine that gets much rest. It cycles on winter nights averaging 35°F and summer afternoons averaging 88°F, and each cycle puts a load on the compressor and the reversing valve that switches it between heating and cooling.
Most homes here heat with electricity, so when the heat pump falters, there is often no backup keeping the house warm. Power matters too. Georgia saw 31% of households lose power for 24 hours or more in 2024, and the area has logged 48 damaging wind events over the past ten years. A heat pump that loses power and does not restart on its own leaves a house without heat or cooling until someone resets it or repairs what the outage damaged.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 35°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 88°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Georgia requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The state board tests contractors before they can hold this license, and it keeps a record of who holds one. That license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so the same credential that qualifies them to work in Clarke County covers the repair on your heat pump today and whatever else they take on tomorrow.
Because a heat pump repair usually means opening the refrigerant side of the system, whoever works on yours also needs EPA Section 608 certification. That's a federal requirement in every state, separate from Georgia's license, and it exists because refrigerant work has to be handled a specific way regardless of where the job is done.
Source: Georgia Secretary of State
- Why is my heat pump blowing cold air?
- In heating mode, air coming out of the vents that feels cool to the touch is often normal, since heat pump air runs cooler than a furnace's. If the air is truly cold and the house isn't warming up, the system may have switched into backup heat, lost refrigerant, or the outdoor unit may have iced over and stopped pulling heat from the outside air. A contractor can check refrigerant levels and confirm whether the outdoor unit is running and defrosting correctly.
- Why is there ice on my heat pump?
- A thin layer of frost on the outdoor unit in winter is normal, and the system defrosts itself on a schedule. Ice that stays thick or covers the whole cabinet means the defrost cycle isn't working, airflow is blocked, or refrigerant is low. With winter nights here averaging 35°F, that frost cycle runs often, so a defrost problem shows up fast. Leave the ice alone and have a contractor look at the defrost board and refrigerant charge.
- Why is my heat pump running but not cooling?
- If the outdoor unit and indoor blower are both running but the house isn't cooling, the most common causes are a dirty filter blocking airflow, a frozen indoor coil, or low refrigerant from a leak. Summer afternoons here reach 88°F, so a system that's lost cooling capacity will fall behind quickly on a day like that. Check the filter first, since a clogged one can freeze the coil and stop cooling entirely. If the filter is clean and the system still isn't cooling, a contractor will need to check the refrigerant charge and coil.