Heating and cooling
Heat Pump Services
One outdoor unit that heats in January and cools in July, installed, serviced and repaired in Conroe by technicians who write the reading down.
The heat pump that blows lukewarm air on a cold morning
Most heat pump calls in Montgomery County start the same way. The house will not warm up, the outdoor unit is wearing a coat of ice, or the electric bill climbed all winter and nobody can say why. A heat pump moves heat instead of burning fuel, so when it fails it tends to fail quietly: the unit runs and runs, the air at the vent feels barely warm, and the thermostat never reaches its setting.
A little frost on the outdoor coil is normal. The unit runs a defrost cycle, briefly reversing itself to melt the ice, and the defrost board decides when that cycle starts and stops. When the board or its sensor fails, the frost builds into a solid block, airflow collapses, and the compressor is left working against a coil that cannot pull any heat out of the air. A unit that looks frozen in Conroe or The Woodlands points us at the defrost board first.
The other quiet failure is the auxiliary heat. Electric strips inside the air handler are supposed to help only when the outdoor temperature drops below the balance point, the temperature under which the heat pump alone cannot keep up. A bad control setting or a failing outdoor sensor can leave those strips running on a mild day, and they draw far more power than the heat pump does. If the bill went up and the house did not get warmer, call (936) 703-2130 and tell us it is a heat pump.
Outdoor unit on a concrete pad beside the house it heats and cools
How a heat pump gets diagnosed before anything is replaced
A Luxury Air technician starts with readings, not parts. The temperature split across the indoor coil goes down for heating and again for cooling, because a heat pump that tests fine in one direction can still be failing in the other. Then comes the amp draw on the compressor and the outdoor fan motor against the nameplate, and then the refrigerant pressures read against the outdoor temperature. Each number gets written down on the ticket, so the next visit starts from evidence.
The reversing valve is the part that lets one refrigerant circuit run in either direction. When it sticks, or leaks internally, the unit heats weakly or cools weakly with no dramatic noise, and the symptom looks like a charge problem. We tell the two apart by comparing line temperatures on both sides of the valve. The defrost board and its sensor get tested by forcing a defrost cycle and watching the unit enter it and leave it, which is the only honest way to know the board is doing its job.
Low refrigerant means a leak somewhere, and topping off a unit without finding it is a repeat visit on a timer. We leak test first and charge to the readings after. One Google reviewer, Whocares33, describes a 3-ton unit with about a 10-degree split that came back to about 25 degrees after a blown fuse was replaced, a thorough leak test was run and the charge was corrected. Our NATE-certified technicians work on all makes and models, not only Comfortmaker.
What a heat pump needs to stay honest through its second winter
A heat pump runs in both seasons instead of one, so it accumulates wear all year when nobody looks at it. Leaves and debris packed against the outdoor coil, a filter that has gone gray, and a condensate line that has slowly silted up are the usual early causes. The Luxury Air maintenance agreement sends a NATE-certified technician twice a year with a 21-point inspection that covers filters, coils and refrigerant levels, from $16.58 a month.
Skip the checkups and the failures stack. A coil that cannot shed frost overworks the compressor, a compressor that overworks eventually fails, and a failed compressor is the repair that makes people ask whether to replace the whole system. Signs that the unit needs another look: ice that does not clear within a short defrost cycle, the backup heat running on a mild afternoon, a unit that never quite finishes a call for heat, or a new hiss or rattle from the outdoor cabinet.
When repair stops making sense, the estimate on a new system is free and carries no obligation, and we sell and install Comfortmaker equipment. If you already hold a quote from someone else, we offer a same-day second opinion on system installs, subject to scheduling availability and location. Financing for up to 60 months is available on approved credit through the Comfortmaker credit card, issued by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. We answer seven days a week, 7:30am to 8pm.
Licensed, bonded and insured. TACLA 20944C. Call (936) 703-2130.
The ticket you keep
Five readings go on every heat pump visit
That written record is why a second opinion here is same-day and costs nothing: the numbers are already on paper. Not sure whether your unit needs repair or a new install? Compare it with heating installation and replacement before you decide.
- Supply and return split
- Written down in heating mode and again in cooling mode
- Compressor amp draw
- Compared with the nameplate rating, not with a guess
- Defrost cycle
- Forced once, then watched from start to finish
- Refrigerant charge
- Adjusted only after the leak test, never before
- Backup heat strips
- Amp draw shows whether they engage on a mild day
Split before service
about 10
Split after service
about 25
Degrees, from the 3-ton unit in Whocares33’s Google review.