Heat Pump Maintenance in San Antonio

Your heat pump runs 12 months a year with no off-season. It needs twice the maintenance of a standalone AC or furnace — a spring tune-up for cooling and a fall tune-up for heating. That's not upselling, that's how the equipment works.

Schedule Heat Pump Maintenance Call (210) 561-COOL

A traditional AC gets serviced once a year in spring. A furnace gets serviced once a year in fall. A heat pump does both jobs — so it needs both service visits. That's not a marketing gimmick, it's mechanical reality. Your heat pump runs in cooling mode from March to November and heating mode from November to March, with no months off. Components that would last 15 years in a system that rests half the year wear out in 10–12 years of continuous operation.

In San Antonio, the cooling-season service is the more critical of the two. Your heat pump handles 8 months of brutal summer cooling, accumulating the same wear as any AC — dirty coils, weakening capacitors, low refrigerant from slow leaks. The fall heating service is shorter but focused on the heat-pump-specific components: reversing valve operation, defrost cycle timing, and backup heat strip function.

We've maintained heat pumps across San Antonio for over 24 years and we see a consistent pattern: homeowners who do both annual visits get 12–14 years from their equipment. Homeowners who skip maintenance or only do one visit per year get 8–10 years and pay more in repairs along the way. Bi-annual service costs $189/year on our maintenance plan — less than a single emergency repair call.

Heat Pump Maintenance Service

Why Choose Our Heat Pump Maintenance Service

Bi-annual service: spring for cooling, fall for heating. Each visit inspects the system in its current operating mode and checks components specific to that season. You can't adequately test a defrost cycle in July or check cooling performance in November — two visits exist because the system has two jobs.
Dual-mode component inspection. Heat pumps have parts that standalone systems don't: the reversing valve, defrost board, defrost temperature sensor, and backup heat strips. These components only engage in specific modes and can't be fully tested during a single annual visit. We check them in the season they operate.
Refrigerant pressure check in both modes. Refrigerant behaves differently in heating vs. cooling mode — pressures that look normal in summer might reveal a problem in winter. Checking both gives us the full picture. Low refrigerant in a heat pump degrades both your cooling AND your heating, so catching a slow leak early saves you twice.
Coil cleaning and inspection on both indoor and outdoor units. The outdoor coil collects San Antonio's cedar pollen, dust, and cottonwood fluff during the months it runs as a condenser (summer) and as an evaporator (winter). The indoor coil accumulates household dust and pet dander year-round.
Electrical testing on all motors, capacitors, and contactors. These components work harder in a heat pump because they run all year. We test capacitor strength, motor amperage, and contactor condition — replacing anything below spec before it fails under load.
Written report after each visit documenting component condition, test results, and recommendations. You can track how your system ages over time and plan for replacements instead of reacting to emergencies.

What We Catch During Heat Pump Tune-Ups

Heat pump maintenance catches the same issues as AC and furnace maintenance — plus the heat-pump-specific components that only fail when you need them most.

Defrost Cycle Problems

During the fall tune-up, we test the defrost cycle — the mechanism that prevents your outdoor unit from icing over in heating mode. A failed defrost board or temperature sensor won't show symptoms until the first cold night, when your outdoor unit turns into an ice block. Testing it in October means fixing a $300 board, not calling us at midnight in December.

Reversing Valve Sluggishness

The reversing valve switches your system between heating and cooling. Over time, the solenoid weakens or the valve sticks from mineral deposits. During the fall tune-up, we switch modes and verify the valve reverses cleanly. A sluggish valve today is a stuck valve next month — and a stuck valve means no heat or no cool depending on where it sticks.

Weak Capacitors (Year-Round Wear)

Capacitors in heat pumps wear faster than in standalone AC systems because they cycle year-round. A capacitor that's at 70% strength might start the compressor fine in spring but fail during a 105° July afternoon when startup loads are highest. We test capacitance at every visit and replace anything below 90% of rated value.

Backup Heat Strip Issues

Most ducted heat pumps have electric backup heat strips that engage during very cold weather. If these strips fail silently, you won't know until a deep freeze when the heat pump can't keep up and the backup doesn't kick in. We test backup heat operation during the fall visit so you're covered for winter.

Cedar Pollen Buildup on Outdoor Coil

San Antonio's cedar season (December–February) coats your outdoor coil in pollen while it's running in heating mode — the worst timing because restricted airflow directly reduces heating efficiency. The spring tune-up is where we catch and clean this buildup before cooling season starts.

Thermostat Mode Misconfiguration

Heat pump thermostats have more settings than traditional systems — heat, cool, auto, emergency heat, and auxiliary heat. Misconfigured settings can result in the backup heat strips running full-time (3–4x the cost) or the system switching modes when it shouldn't. We verify thermostat programming during each visit.

What to Expect

1

Schedule your spring visit in March/April and your fall visit in October/November. Each visit takes about 45–60 minutes. Our maintenance agreement handles the scheduling automatically — we call you when it's time.

2

Spring visit (cooling focus): We check the outdoor condenser coil (clean if needed), test the compressor, measure refrigerant pressures in cooling mode, verify the reversing valve switches cleanly from last winter's heating mode, test all capacitors and contactors, clear the condensate drain, and check airflow at registers.

3

Fall visit (heating focus): We fire the system in heating mode, verify the reversing valve engages, test the defrost cycle, check backup heat strip operation, measure temperature rise, test gas leak detection (dual fuel systems), and verify CO levels if a gas furnace is part of the hybrid setup.

4

At both visits, we test all electrical components (motors, capacitors, contactors, relays), check the air filter, inspect both indoor and outdoor coils, and verify thermostat operation and programming.

5

After each visit, you get a written report covering every component checked, its current condition, and anything we recommend addressing. We flag components that are "working but aging" so you can plan replacements on your schedule rather than reacting to failures.

6

If we find something that needs attention, we provide a cost estimate on the spot. Maintenance agreement members get 15% off repairs — and since heat pump components fail more frequently than standalone systems, that discount adds up fast.

Heat pump tune-ups start at $89 per visit.

Maintenance agreement: $189/year for 2 visits (spring + fall), 15% off repairs, priority scheduling, no service fees between visits.

View Full Pricing Guide

Frequently Asked Questions

Twice a year — once in spring (before cooling season) and once in fall (before heating season). This isn't optional or a sales tactic. Heat pumps run year-round with two distinct operating modes that stress different components. A single annual visit only covers half the system. Our $189/year maintenance agreement includes both visits, 15% off repairs, and priority scheduling.
A single tune-up visit runs $89–$250. Since heat pumps need two visits per year, most homeowners choose the maintenance agreement at $189/year — it covers both visits and includes 15% off any repairs, priority scheduling during peak season, and no service call fees between visits. Paying per visit would cost $178–$500/year without any of those benefits.
Because it runs all 12 months instead of 8. A standalone AC sits idle from November to March — 4 months where nothing is wearing. Your heat pump switches to heating mode and keeps running. That's 50% more operating hours per year, which means 50% more wear on shared components like the compressor, fan motors, and capacitors. Plus, it has additional components (reversing valve, defrost system, backup heat strips) that a standalone AC doesn't have at all.
You can, but you're gambling on your heating. The fall visit specifically checks components that only operate in heating mode: the reversing valve, defrost cycle, and backup heat strips. If any of these fail, you'll find out on the coldest night of the year — not during the tune-up. The spring visit doesn't test these components because they're not active in warm weather. Skipping fall means 6+ months of potential issues going undetected.
Three things: change your air filter every 30–60 days (heat pumps are more sensitive to restricted airflow than furnaces because they produce lower-temperature air), keep the outdoor unit clear of debris and vegetation (2 feet clearance minimum — especially important during cedar season when pollen coats the coil), and don't stack anything against or on top of the indoor air handler. Also, if you notice ice building on the outdoor unit during winter beyond a light frost, that's a defrost problem — call us before it damages the compressor.
It can. Most manufacturer warranties (including Trane) require proof of regular maintenance for warranty claims. If your compressor fails at year 7 and you can't show maintenance records, the manufacturer can deny the claim — leaving you with a $2,000+ bill that would have been covered. Our maintenance agreement provides documented service records for every visit, which satisfies warranty requirements.
More so than for any other system type. Heat pumps need two visits per year (not one), have more components that can fail, and have shorter lifespans due to year-round use. The $189/year agreement covers both visits ($178–$500 value), gives you 15% off repairs (heat pump repairs average $400–$600, so that's $60–$90 savings per repair), and includes priority scheduling (critical when your only heating and cooling source fails). Most heat pump owners break even on the agreement within the first year.
Yes. Mini-split heat pumps need the same bi-annual service as ducted systems, plus cleaning of the indoor wall unit's blower wheel and drain pan — areas where mold and dust accumulate in San Antonio's humidity. We service all mini-split brands including Mitsubishi, Daikin, and RunTru by Trane. The maintenance agreement covers mini-split systems at the same $189/year rate.

Other Heat Pumps Services

Heat Pump Repair

Heat pumps run year-round in San Antonio — cooling 8 months, heating the rest. That's double the wear of a standalone AC...

Learn More

Heat Pump Installation

One system for heating and cooling, lower energy bills, and up to $4,000 back in rebates and tax credits. In San Antonio...

Learn More

Need Heat Pump Maintenance?

Contact us today for fast, reliable service from licensed technicians.

Schedule Service Call (210) 561-COOL
Call Now Schedule