Heat Pump Repair in Sacramento, 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 Sacramento County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Your heat pump works almost year round here
Eleven months out of the year, your heat pump is either heating the house or cooling it. Cold nights averaging 40°F from December through February and afternoons hitting 92°F all summer mean the system rarely gets a real break. That kind of run time wears on the compressor and the reversing valve, the parts that switch the system between heating and cooling and keep it running through both.
Sacramento County has seen 54 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and statewide, 17% of households lost power for at least a day in 2024. A heat pump that loses power mid-cycle and comes back on under stress can trip a breaker or strain a worn capacitor. If your system is short cycling, blowing air that is not warm or cool enough, or not coming back on after an outage, that is what months of steady use and a hard season can do to it.
- 6 months
- November through April, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 40°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 92°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
California requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
California's license is issued to the contractor, not to the job. The Contractors State License Board tests and records the person or company, and that record covers them across every job they take on, not just this one.
Repairing a heat pump almost always means opening the refrigerant side of the system, and that requires EPA Section 608 certification, a federal rule that applies no matter what state the work is done in. In California that certification exists alongside the state license, not in place of it, so a licensed contractor working on your heat pump should hold both.
Sources: California Legislative Counsel · Contractors State License Board
- Why is my heat pump blowing cold air?
- In heating mode, a heat pump does not put out air as hot as a furnace, so it can feel cold even when it is working right. If the air is actually cold, not just cool, check that the outdoor unit is running and not iced over or blocked by leaves and debris. A dirty filter can also cut off airflow enough to make the air feel off. If the system is set to heat and still blowing air that feels room temperature or cooler, the reversing valve may be stuck, and that calls for a licensed contractor to check.
- Why is there ice on my heat pump?
- Some frost on the outdoor coil during a cold snap is normal, and the unit should melt it off on its own through a defrost cycle. On a 40 degree night that cycle runs more often, since the coil sits below freezing whenever the unit is heating. If ice is building up faster than it melts, or covers the whole unit, that points to low refrigerant, a failed defrost control, or an outdoor fan that has stopped turning. Do not chip at the ice yourself. Turn the system off and call a licensed contractor to find out why the defrost cycle isn't keeping up.
- Why is my heat pump running but not cooling?
- If the outdoor unit and indoor blower are both running but the air coming out isn't cold, something is stopping heat from moving between the two coils. A dirty air filter or a coil clogged with dust cuts down the airflow the system needs to cool properly. Low refrigerant from a leak will do the same thing, and on a 92 degree afternoon that shortfall shows up fast since the system has to work harder to keep up. Refrigerant issues aren't something to diagnose or top off yourself. A licensed contractor can check the charge and find the leak.