Unusual noises, ice that will not clear, one mode working while the other does not, and rising bills are the main signals. Whether it is a repair or a replacement depends mostly on which component failed and how old the system is.

Symptoms That Point to a Repair

Heating works but cooling does not, or the reverse. This is close to diagnostic for a reversing valve problem — the component unique to heat pumps that switches refrigerant flow between modes. A system that cools fine and blows cool air in winter usually has a stuck valve or a failed solenoid.

Ice on the outdoor unit that does not clear. Heat pumps frost up in cold weather by design and run a defrost cycle to clear it. Ice that persists means the defrost control, sensor, or reversing valve has failed. Running the system that way collapses heating capacity.

A loud hum with nothing starting. Usually a failed capacitor — inexpensive, and it takes out the compressor or fan motor if left alone.

Grinding or screeching. Bearings in the outdoor fan or the blower.

The system runs constantly without reaching setpoint. Often low refrigerant, which means a leak.

The Refrigerant Point

Refrigerant is not consumed. A heat pump that is low has a leak somewhere, and adding more without finding it is a delay rather than a repair.

Running low makes the compressor operate hot and inadequately lubricated, which is the leading cause of premature compressor failure. Catching a leak early is the difference between a repair and a replacement.

The Bill Tells You Something Specific

Rising winter bills on a heat pump often are not the heat pump at all — they are the auxiliary electric heat running when it should not.

Heat pumps include electric resistance backup for cold conditions, and resistance heat is expensive. If the control staging is misconfigured, or if the heat pump has lost capacity and the backup is compensating, your bills climb while nothing appears broken.

This is worth diagnosing specifically, because the fix is sometimes just correct thermostat configuration rather than any repair at all.

Symptoms That Point Toward Replacement

A failed compressor on an out-of-warranty system past about twelve years is usually replacement territory. The part and labor approach a significant fraction of a new system, and the rest of the equipment is the same age.

Obsolete refrigerant changes the math too. On an R-22 system, a leak repair plus recharge costs enough that replacement often makes more sense — and the leak will recur.

Repairs arriving in sequence on different components is the other signal. Parts of the same age wear out at similar rates, so a third failure in two years is a pattern rather than bad luck.

Age in Context

Heat pumps typically last ten to fifteen years, and in this climate the lower end is realistic because the same equipment runs year-round rather than seasonally. There is no off season for a heat pump the way there is for a furnace.

That is not an argument against them — the efficiency here is genuinely good — but it does mean a twelve-year-old heat pump has more accumulated hours than a twelve-year-old air conditioner.

Problems That Are Not the Equipment

Uneven temperatures between rooms are usually ductwork rather than the heat pump. Heat pumps move more air than the equipment they often replace, and undersized or leaking ducts limit them severely.

We measure static pressure, which distinguishes a distribution problem from an equipment problem. Duct sealing is frequently the higher-value repair.

Getting a Straight Answer

We measure refrigerant charge, amp draw, temperature split, and static pressure, then give you both the repair price and the replacement price with reasoning attached.

Twice-yearly service under our Care Club maintenance plan catches most of these while they are still small. Financing is available for replacements.

Contact 72 Degrees or call (830) 240-1835.