Heat Pump Repair in Columbus, 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 Muscogee County will get in touch.
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Ten months of run time in Muscogee County
Your heat pump works most of the year in Muscogee County, heating from November through March and cooling from May through September. On winter nights averaging 37°F, it runs defrost cycles instead of straight heat, and on afternoons near 90°F all summer it runs long cooling cycles to keep the house down. Both push wear onto the reversing valve, the part that switches the system between heating and cooling.
56.5% of homes here heat with electricity, and for those homes the heat pump is what keeps the house warm when temperatures drop. Georgia households lost power for 24 hours or more at a high rate in 2024, and this area has logged 51 damaging wind events over the past ten years. When power drops and comes back, the system has to restart cold and catch up fast, which is hard on a weak capacitor or a compressor already struggling. You will notice it as a system that runs constantly without warming or cooling the house, or one that trips off and will not restart at all.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 37°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 90°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Georgia requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The State Construction Industry Licensing Board tests HVAC contractors before they can work in Georgia and keeps a record of who holds a license. That license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so it covers this repair the same way it covers every job that contractor takes on.
A heat pump repair means opening the refrigerant side of the system. That work needs its own credential. Any technician who handles refrigerant, in Georgia or anywhere else, has to hold EPA Section 608 certification. On this job the contractor's state license and the technician's federal certification are both in play, and both come from being tested, not just signed up.
Source: Georgia Secretary of State
- Why is my heat pump blowing cold air?
- In heating mode, a heat pump moves warmth from the outside air into your home, so the air at the vents will always feel cooler than a furnace's air even when the system is working right. If the air has no warmth to it at all, check the outdoor unit first. Ice, snow or debris piled against it will stop it from pulling in heat. A thermostat set to "emergency heat" by mistake, or a system stuck in fan-only mode, will also push cold air through the ducts with no heat behind it. If the outdoor unit is clear and the thermostat is set right, a contractor can check the refrigerant charge and the reversing valve, since a problem with either one leaves you with no real heat.
- Why is there ice on my heat pump?
- A heat pump will naturally build a light coat of frost on the outdoor coil in cold weather, and it runs a defrost cycle on its own to melt that off. Some frost is normal on the colder nights here from November through March. Heavy ice that covers the coil or builds up fast usually means the defrost cycle isn't kicking in, the outdoor fan has slowed down or stopped, or something is blocking airflow around the unit, like snow, leaves or a fence built too close. If the ice keeps coming back or covers the whole unit, a contractor should look at the defrost control and the fan motor.
- Why is my heat pump running but not cooling?
- If the outdoor unit and indoor fan are both running but the air isn't cold, the system likely isn't moving refrigerant the way it should. A dirty outdoor coil covered in dirt, grass clippings or leaves stops the unit from releasing heat outside, and that matters most on the afternoons here that reach 90°F, when the system has the most heat to get rid of. A clogged filter causes a similar problem from the inside, restricting airflow across the indoor coil until it can't pull heat out of the air. If the filter is clean and the outdoor coil looks clear, the system may be low on refrigerant, and that's a job for a licensed contractor to check and repair.