Heat pump repair and installation in Santa Rosa, CA

Signs your heat pump needs repair

• "Aux Heat" or "Emergency Heat" shows on the thermostat most of the time. The backup electric heat strips are doing the work the heat pump should be doing, which costs a lot to run. Common causes are low refrigerant, a failed reversing valve, or a defrost problem.
• The outdoor unit stays caked in ice. A light frost that clears every so often is normal. A solid block of ice that never clears means the defrost system isn't working.
• It heats but won't cool, or cools but won't heat. This usually points to the reversing valve, its solenoid coil, or the thermostat wiring (the O/B terminal).
• The house never reaches the set temperature, even on mild days when the system runs continuously.
• Grinding, rattling, or loud buzzing from the outdoor unit, beyond the normal whoosh of a defrost cycle.
• A sudden jump in your PG&E bill during the heating season with no change in how you use it.

Normal heat pump behavior in winter

Many people who are new to heat pumps call about things that are just how the system works. If you've moved from a gas furnace, these are normal:

• The air feels lukewarm. A furnace delivers air at 120°F or more. A heat pump typically delivers air in the 90s. It heats the house by running longer at a lower temperature.
• Long run times, especially on cold mornings. Variable-speed heat pumps are built to run almost continuously at low speed.
• Defrost cycles. On cool, damp mornings the outdoor fan stops, you hear a whoosh, and steam rises off the unit for several minutes. That's the system melting frost off its coil.
• Brief backup heat during defrost or after you raise the thermostat several degrees at once.

Setting the thermostat back at night and pushing it up sharply in the morning makes a heat pump call for backup heat. With most heat pumps, a steady setting, or a setback of only a couple of degrees, costs less to run.

Common heat pump problems and failed parts

A heat pump runs in both seasons, so it builds up hours faster than an air conditioner that only runs in summer. The parts that wear out most often:

• Capacitors and contactors. The same electrical parts as an AC, but working all year.
• The reversing valve and solenoid, which switch the system between heating and cooling.
• The defrost control and its sensor, which decide when to melt the frost off the outdoor coil.
• Refrigerant leaks. Leaks hurt a heat pump more in heating mode, because both capacity and efficiency drop quickly.
• Backup heat strips and their sequencers, in the air handler.
• Thermostat setup. A thermostat configured for a furnace and AC instead of a heat pump will run it wrong. See thermostat installation.

How heat pump repair works

1. Test it in both modes. The technician runs heating and cooling and confirms the reversing valve switches cleanly.
2. Check the charge correctly. Heat pump charge is checked against the manufacturer's data for the current mode and outdoor temperature. In heating season, that sometimes means weighing the charge instead of reading pressures.
3. Force a defrost cycle. This verifies the defrost board, sensor, and outdoor fan relay work together.
4. Check backup heat and controls. Strip heater amp draw, sequencers, and the thermostat's heat pump settings.
5. Repair and retest. After the repair, the system runs in heating mode, and the supply air temperature and run behavior are checked against what's expected for the conditions outside.

Heat pump installation in Santa Rosa homes

Replacing a gas furnace and AC with a heat pump

Most conversions keep the existing ductwork. An outdoor heat pump replaces the AC condenser, and an electric air handler replaces the furnace. Another option is a "dual fuel" setup that keeps the gas furnace as backup.

Before quoting a conversion, check whether the electrical panel has room for the new circuits. Older 100-amp panels sometimes don't, and a panel upgrade changes both the cost and the timeline.

Heat pump sizing from a load calculation

A heat pump should be sized from a room-by-room heat loss and heat gain calculation (Manual J). Both the heating and cooling loads are calculated. An oversized heat pump short cycles, removes less moisture, and wears faster.

Ductwork for a heat pump

Because a heat pump delivers cooler air than a furnace, leaky or undersized ducts show up quickly as cold rooms. Ducts get tested as part of the permit, and fixing leaks during installation is cheaper than chasing comfort problems later.

Heat pump permits, HERS testing, and rebates

A heat pump installation needs a mechanical permit from the City of Santa Rosa (plus an electrical permit when new circuits are added) and HERS verification before the permit is closed. Incentive programs for heat pumps change often. Check Sonoma Clean Power and TECH Clean California for what's currently offered before you sign a contract, since some programs require the contractor to reserve the incentive first.

Santa Rosa's all-electric building code and your heat pump

In November 2019, the City of Santa Rosa adopted a reach code requiring new low-rise residential buildings to be all-electric. That meant heat pumps for space heating and no gas lines. The city suspended enforcement on May 30, 2024, after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Berkeley's gas ban.

Here's why that matters to you. Many homes in Santa Rosa built between 2020 and mid-2024 have heat pumps for heating, and often heat pump water heaters too. That equipment is now reaching the age when first repairs show up: capacitors, defrost sensors, and small refrigerant leaks.

Owners who are new to heat pumps also tend to read normal defrost and run-time behavior as a problem, or miss a real problem because the house still feels warm while expensive backup heat does the work. If your home was built in that window, it's worth learning what your thermostat's "aux heat" indicator means and booking a yearly heat pump tune-up.

For older homes, the code never applied to replacements. You can still choose between a gas furnace and a heat pump when the time comes.

Many Santa Rosa owners choose the heat pump because it also replaces the air conditioner. Homes rebuilt earlier, like most of Coffey Park, are likely to have gas furnaces with central AC, and converting is an option when that equipment wears out.

What affects heat pump repair and installation cost

For repairs: which part failed (a capacitor versus a reversing valve or compressor), how much refrigerant work is needed, whether the system is a variable-speed or communicating model with brand-specific parts, access to the air handler, and after-hours timing.

For installation: the capacity and efficiency tier, single-stage versus variable-speed equipment, whether the air handler and ducts are replaced or reused, electrical work (new circuits, disconnects, or a panel upgrade), line set length, pad and condensate work, permit and HERS fees, and removal of the old furnace and condenser.

When a heat pump problem is an emergency

Call right away if the system has no heat on a cold night with vulnerable people in the house, if you smell burning from the air handler (often the backup heat strips), or if a breaker for the heat pump or air handler keeps tripping. Remember that a heat pump and its backup heat both need electricity, so in a power outage neither one will run. Plan another safe way to keep warm.

Heat pumps are a growing part of the Santa Rosa HVAC service we provide. If you're comparing options, our AC replacement and ductless mini-split pages cover the alternatives.

Heat pump questions from Santa Rosa homeowners