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Heat Pump Repair in San Antonio

Heat pumps run year-round in San Antonio — cooling 8 months, heating the rest. That's double the wear of a standalone AC or furnace. When something goes wrong, you need a technician who understands both sides of the system.

Schedule Heat Pump Repair Call (210) 561-COOL

A heat pump is an air conditioner that can run in reverse — it cools your home in summer by moving heat outside, and heats your home in winter by pulling heat from the outdoor air and moving it inside. It's one system doing two jobs, which makes it efficient. It also means it runs all 12 months of the year in San Antonio, with no off-season to rest.

That year-round operation puts more wear on components than a standalone AC or furnace. Compressors, reversing valves, defrost boards, and fan motors all work harder and fail sooner in a heat pump than in a system that gets 4–8 months off per year. The good news: heat pump repairs follow predictable patterns, and most are the same components that fail in traditional AC systems — capacitors, contactors, refrigerant leaks, and fan motors.

We've been repairing heat pumps across San Antonio for over 24 years. Heat pump adoption has grown significantly in the last decade — the combination of federal tax credits, rising gas costs, and San Antonio's mild winters makes them the logical choice for more and more homeowners. That means we're seeing more heat pump repair calls than ever, and many of them come from homeowners whose previous AC-only company doesn't know how to diagnose heat-pump-specific problems like reversing valve failures or defrost cycle issues.

We service every brand — Trane, Carrier, Lennox, Rheem, Goodman, Daikin, Mitsubishi, and others — in both ducted and ductless configurations. The diagnostic process covers both heating and cooling modes because the problem isn't always in the mode you're using. A refrigerant leak degrades both cooling and heating. A weak capacitor that starts the compressor fine in April will fail under July's peak load. We check the full system, not just the complaint.

Why Choose Our Heat Pump Repair Service

Dual-mode diagnostics: heating and cooling. A heat pump problem in cooling mode might have its root cause in a component shared with heating mode. We check both sides of the system regardless of which mode failed — reversing valve, defrost board, refrigerant charge, and airflow.

All heat pump brands and types: ducted systems, ductless mini-splits, and dual fuel/hybrid setups. We're a Trane Comfort Specialist, but we repair every brand installed in San Antonio homes. Mitsubishi and Daikin ductless units included.

Same-day service, 7 days a week. Heat pumps are your only source of both heating and cooling — when one fails, you have no backup. We prioritize heat pump calls because there's no "switch to the furnace" fallback.

Refrigerant leak detection and repair. Heat pumps are sealed refrigerant systems — if the charge is low, there's a leak. We locate it, repair it, and recharge to manufacturer spec. Just adding refrigerant without fixing the leak is a waste of your money that we see from competitors constantly.

1-year warranty on all repairs, parts and labor. If the same component fails within 12 months, we come back at no charge.

Upfront pricing after diagnosis. You know the cost before we start. Diagnostic fee of $89–$250 applies toward the repair if you move forward the same day.

Common Heat Pump Problems in San Antonio

Heat pumps share many failure modes with traditional AC systems, but they also have unique components — the reversing valve and defrost system — that standalone systems don't have. Here's what we see most often.

Stuck Reversing Valve

The reversing valve switches your heat pump between heating and cooling modes. When it sticks, you get cold air in heat mode or warm air in cool mode. Sometimes it sticks partway, giving you lukewarm air in both modes. Reversing valve replacement runs $500–$900 — it's a heat-pump-specific repair that many AC-only companies misdiagnose.

Defrost Board or Sensor Failure

In heating mode, your outdoor coil collects frost. The defrost cycle melts it periodically to keep airflow clear. When the defrost board or temperature sensor fails, ice builds up on the outdoor unit until airflow is completely blocked. You'll see a solid block of ice around the condenser — that's not normal, and running the system in that condition damages the compressor.

Low Refrigerant / Leak

Same issue as traditional AC, but with year-round consequences. A leak that slowly drains refrigerant degrades both your cooling and heating performance. In heating mode, low refrigerant means the system can't extract enough heat from outdoor air. In cooling mode, you get the familiar warm-air and frozen-coil symptoms. We find and fix the leak — not just top off the refrigerant.

Capacitor and Contactor Failure

The same capacitor and contactor failures that hit traditional AC systems, but heat pumps burn through them faster because the system runs year-round. In San Antonio, where your heat pump cycles thousands of times more per year than a system up north that gets a winter break, these components are the most common repair we perform.

Compressor Issues

Heat pump compressors work harder than AC-only compressors because they run all year and handle the additional stress of reversing refrigerant flow. Compressor failures are the most expensive heat pump repair ($1,200–$2,500). On systems over 10 years old, a compressor failure usually makes replacement the smarter financial decision.

Auxiliary Heat Running Constantly

Most ducted heat pumps have electric backup heat strips for when outdoor temperatures drop too low for the heat pump to keep up. If your CPS Energy bill spikes dramatically in winter, your backup heat might be running when it shouldn't — often caused by a bad outdoor thermostat sensor, low refrigerant, or a defrost issue that's preventing the heat pump from operating efficiently. Electric backup heat costs 3–4x more to run than the heat pump.

What to Expect

You call, we schedule — same-day when possible. Since heat pumps are your only heating and cooling source, we treat these calls with the same urgency as no-heat or no-cool emergencies.

Our technician arrives and asks what you've noticed: which mode failed, when it started, any unusual sounds or behaviors. He checks your thermostat settings to rule out a programming issue before opening any panels.

Full dual-mode diagnostic: he tests the system in both heating and cooling modes (weather permitting). He checks the reversing valve operation, defrost cycle timing, refrigerant pressures in both modes, electrical readings on all components, and airflow. A problem in one mode often reveals a root cause affecting both.

He explains what he found, what caused it, and what it costs. If it's a reversing valve or compressor, he'll also give you a repair-vs-replace comparison for the full system so you can make an informed decision.

We complete the repair, test the system under load in the affected mode, and verify performance matches manufacturer spec. If we replaced a refrigerant component, we leak-test all connections and verify the charge is correct.

Before leaving, we document the diagnosis and repair, and flag anything else that's aging — capacitors, contactors, fan motors — so you know what to watch for. Heat pump components tend to fail in clusters because they're all the same age and have the same year-round usage.

Heat pump repair typically costs $300–$800 in San Antonio.

Reversing valve replacement $500–$900. Diagnostic fee of $89–$250 applies toward repair. 1-year warranty on all repairs.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Most heat pump repairs fall in the $300–$800 range — the same as traditional AC repairs for shared components like capacitors, contactors, and fan motors. Heat-pump-specific repairs run higher: reversing valve replacement is $500–$900, and defrost board replacement is $300–$500. Compressor replacement is $1,200–$2,500. We charge a diagnostic fee of $89–$250 that applies toward the repair if you move forward.

Three common causes: a stuck reversing valve (most likely), low refrigerant from a leak, or a defrost cycle stuck in "on" (pulling heat from your home instead of the outdoor air). First, check your thermostat — make sure it's set to "heat" and not "emergency heat" or "cool." If settings are correct, check whether the outdoor unit is running. If it's running but you're getting cold air inside, the reversing valve is the primary suspect. Call us — this is a heat-pump-specific diagnosis that AC-only companies often miss.

Heat pumps are designed to run longer cycles than furnaces — they produce lower-temperature air and heat your home gradually rather than in short intense blasts. Long run times are normal, especially when outdoor temps are below 40°F. But if your system literally never cycles off, even when the thermostat is satisfied, you likely have a sizing issue (too small for your home), a refrigerant leak (system can't reach the set temperature), or a stuck contactor (electrical switch welded closed). Running non-stop also burns out compressors, so get it checked sooner rather than later.

Yes — that's the defrost cycle, and it's completely normal. When your heat pump runs in heating mode, the outdoor coil gets cold and collects frost. Periodically, the system reverses briefly to melt the frost, which creates steam and a whooshing sound. This should last 5–10 minutes and happen a few times per day in cold weather. If the outdoor unit is a solid block of ice, or the defrost cycle runs for 30+ minutes, the defrost board or sensor has failed and needs repair.

"Emergency heat" switches off the heat pump and runs your electric backup heat strips only. These cost 3–4x more per hour than the heat pump. Only use emergency heat if the outdoor unit has failed completely and you need to keep the house warm until we arrive. It's a stopgap, not a heating strategy. If you find yourself using it regularly, something is wrong with the heat pump and it needs diagnosis.

Yes. We service and repair all ductless mini-split brands including Mitsubishi, Daikin, and RunTru by Trane. Mini-split heat pumps have the same core components (compressor, refrigerant, reversing valve) as ducted systems but also have unique elements: wall-mounted air handlers with built-in blowers, electronic expansion valves, and proprietary control boards. We carry common mini-split parts and can diagnose multi-zone systems where one head is working and others aren't.

Heat pumps in San Antonio typically last 10–14 years — shorter than in moderate climates because they run year-round without an off-season. With bi-annual maintenance (spring and fall), you can push toward the higher end. Without maintenance, expect closer to 10 years. When a heat pump over 10 years old needs a major repair (compressor, reversing valve), we'll show you the repair-vs-replace math. The 10-year age line is where replacement often starts making more financial sense.

Technically yes, but we rarely recommend it. The indoor and outdoor units are matched by the manufacturer for efficiency, refrigerant type, and capacity. Mixing a new outdoor unit with a 12-year-old air handler means the new equipment can't perform to its rated efficiency — you're paying for a 16 SEER2 system and getting 12 SEER2 performance. You also risk voiding the manufacturer warranty on the new unit. In most cases, replacing both units costs modestly more than one and gives you a matched system with a full warranty.

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Need Heat Pump Repair?

Schedule Service Call (210) 561-COOL