Heat Pump Repair in Bakersfield, CA
Homes here need heat from November through April and cooling from May through September. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Kern County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eleven months of work a year on your heat pump
Your heat pump runs almost year round here. It heats from November through April, then switches over and cools from May through September. That switch happens at both ends of the system, the reversing valve, and it gets exercised more in Kern County than in places with a real off season.
Summer afternoons averaging 93°F push the outdoor coil hard for five straight months. Winter nights averaging 37°F keep the compressor cycling on the other side. A unit that never gets much downtime shows wear sooner, in the compressor or the reversing valve, and you notice it as a system that runs long, blows air that isn't quite warm or cool enough, or stops switching over the way it should.
- 6 months
- November through April, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 37°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 93°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
California requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license comes from the Contractors State License Board, and it's the contractor who is licensed and on record with the state, not the repair itself. That covers whoever you hire for the whole of their work, not just this one job.
Your heat pump repair likely means opening the refrigerant side to check the charge or find a leak, and that requires the technician to hold EPA Section 608 certification. That's a federal rule and it applies no matter which state you're in. In California it sits alongside the state license rather than standing in for it.
Sources: California Legislative Counsel · Contractors State License Board
- Why is my heat pump blowing cold air?
- In heating mode, a heat pump puts out air that feels cool compared to a furnace, even when it's working right. The air coming out is usually still warmer than the room, just not hot like gas heat, so people mistake normal operation for a problem. If the air is actually cold, or the same temperature as the room, the system may be stuck in defrost, low on refrigerant, or the reversing valve may not be switching over. A contractor can check the refrigerant charge and the reversing valve to find out which it is.
- Why is there ice on my heat pump?
- Some frost on the outdoor unit during winter is normal. A heat pump runs a defrost cycle on its own to melt it off, usually several times a day when it's cold out. If the coil is coated in thick ice instead of light frost, or the ice isn't clearing after a defrost cycle, something is keeping the unit from defrosting properly. That can be a failed defrost control, a stuck reversing valve, or low airflow across the coil, and a contractor will need to look at it to tell which.
- Why is my heat pump running but not cooling?
- If the unit is running but the air isn't cold, start by checking the filter. A clogged filter cuts off airflow across the indoor coil and can ice it up, which stops cooling even though the system is on. Low refrigerant from a leak does the same thing, and so can a failing compressor. On summer afternoons here that hit 93°F, a system that isn't cooling right will fall behind fast, so it's worth having a contractor check the charge and the coil soon rather than waiting.