Heat Pump Repair in Houma, LA
Homes here need heat from November through February and cooling from April through October. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Terrebonne Parish will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eleven months of run time in Houma heat and humidity
Your heat pump works almost year round here. Heat from November through February, cooling from April through October, that's 11 months with barely a break between seasons. The compressor doesn't get the rest it would somewhere with a real spring and fall.
Summer afternoons averaging 90°F push it hard on the cooling side, and winter nights averaging 48°F keep it cycling through the cold months too, just not as hard as somewhere farther north. That kind of steady demand wears on the compressor and the capacitor that helps start it. With 65.2% of homes here heating with electricity, the heat pump is often the only thing keeping a house warm, so when it stops, there's no furnace running quietly in the basement to cover for it.
- 4 months
- November through February, your system heats
- 7 months
- April through October, it cools
- 48°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 90°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Louisiana requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The state board tests contractors before they can hold this license, and it keeps a record of who holds one. That license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job. The same license that covers a new install covers a heat pump repair.
A heat pump repair means opening the refrigerant side of the system. Federal rule requires EPA Section 608 certification for that work, no matter which state the technician is in. On this job, the technician should hold the state license that put them on the board's record. They should also hold the federal certification that lets them handle refrigerant.
Source: Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors
- Why is my heat pump blowing cold air?
- In heating mode, a heat pump moves warm air through the house at a lower temperature than a furnace does, so it can feel cool even when it's working right. If the air feels cold rather than just mild, the system may be stuck in defrost mode, low on refrigerant, or the outdoor unit may not be running at all. Check that the outdoor fan is spinning. If it's not, or if the air stays cold for more than a few minutes, a contractor needs to look at it.
- Why is there ice on my heat pump?
- A light, even frost during cold weather is normal. Your heat pump defrosts itself on a cycle, so this frost should melt off and disappear on its own within an hour or so. Thick ice that builds up and stays, or ice that covers the coil, points to a problem such as a dirty coil, low refrigerant, or a fan that isn't running. Don't chip at the ice yourself. Turn the system off and have a contractor check it, since running a unit with a frozen coil can damage the compressor.
- Why is my heat pump running but not cooling?
- If the outdoor unit and indoor fan are both running but the air isn't cool, start with the filter. A clogged filter chokes off airflow and can make the whole system struggle. If the filter is clean, the problem is more likely low refrigerant from a leak, a failing compressor, or a stuck reversing valve that's kept the system in heating mode. With summer afternoons here reaching 90°F, a system that's not actually cooling needs attention quickly. A contractor holding EPA 608 certification is required to open the refrigerant side and diagnose it.