Heat Pump Repair in Gainesville, FL
Homes here need heat from December through February and cooling from April through October. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Alachua County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Your heat pump barely gets a break in Gainesville
Ten months out of the year, your heat pump is either pulling heat in or pushing it out. Summer afternoons average 91°F, so from April through October the system runs long hours to keep the house cool. By December it switches over, and on nights that average 45°F it works just as hard in the other direction.
That back and forth puts wear on the reversing valve, the part that decides whether the system heats or cools. A valve that sticks will leave you with cool air when you need heat, or warm air in the middle of summer. Most homes here heat with electricity, so when the heat pump cannot switch over, there is no furnace to fall back on.
Gainesville also sees its share of severe weather. The area has logged 164 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and in 2024 more than a third of Florida households lost power for at least a day. A heat pump that loses power mid-cycle and does not come back on is worth checking, especially after a storm.
- 3 months
- December through February, your system heats
- 7 months
- April through October, it cools
- 45°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Florida requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
That license comes from the state's Construction Industry Licensing Board. It belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so the same license covers everything from a heat pump repair to a full system install.
Opening up a heat pump to work on it almost always means opening the refrigerant side, and federal law requires EPA Section 608 certification for that, in every state. In Florida that certification sits alongside the state license rather than replacing it. A technician working on your heat pump here is expected to hold both.
Sources: Florida Legislature · Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation
- Why is my heat pump blowing cold air?
- In winter, heat pump air feels cooler than a furnace's because it comes out around body temperature instead of hot. If it's blowing air that's actually cold, the system may have iced up outside or gotten stuck in defrost, or the reversing valve that switches it between heating and cooling isn't shifting all the way. A dirty filter can also starve the system of airflow and cause this. A contractor can check the reversing valve and refrigerant charge to find out which it is.
- Why is there ice on my heat pump?
- Some frost on the outdoor unit in winter is normal, and the system should clear it on its own by running a defrost cycle. If ice is building up faster than it melts, or covering the coil heavily, airflow is likely blocked, either by a dirty coil, a failed fan, or low refrigerant. Ice that doesn't go away on its own means something in that defrost cycle isn't working right, and it needs a contractor to look at it before the coil damage gets worse.
- Why is my heat pump running but not cooling?
- If the outdoor unit is running but the air inside isn't cool, the most common cause is low refrigerant from a leak. It can also mean the compressor is failing, or the outdoor coil is too dirty to release heat properly, especially after a stretch of 91°F afternoons here. Check that the outdoor unit isn't blocked by debris first. If it's clear and the air still isn't cooling, a contractor will need to check the refrigerant charge and the compressor.