Heat Pump Repair in Wilmington, NC
Homes here need heat from November through March and cooling from May through September. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers New Hanover County will get in touch.
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It takes about a minute.
Ten months of work, most of it in the cold
Your heat pump runs from November through March to keep the house warm, then switches over and runs May through September to keep it cool. That's ten months a year with barely a break, and almost nine in ten homes here rely on it for heat, not a furnace as backup.
Winter nights averaging 36°F mean the system spends its coldest months in defrost more often, cycling the reversing valve back and forth to clear the outdoor coil. That valve and the sensors that trigger it take the wear. When they stick or fail, you'll notice the outdoor unit icing over and staying that way, or heat that used to feel steady falling behind. On top of that, this area has seen 59 damaging wind events and 6 winter storms over the past ten years, and a quarter of North Carolina households lost power for a full day or more in 2024 alone. A hard shutoff during a storm is rough on a system already working through defrost cycles all winter.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 36°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 88°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
North Carolina requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors tests and licenses HVAC contractors in North Carolina. That license belongs to the contractor, not to the job, so the same license that covers one repair covers the next.
A heat pump repair usually means opening the refrigerant side of the system. Federal law requires the technician doing that work to hold EPA Section 608 certification, in North Carolina or any other state. So the person working on your heat pump answers to both the state board that licensed them and the federal rule that governs handling refrigerant.
Sources: North Carolina General Assembly · North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors
- Why is my heat pump blowing cold air?
- In heating mode, a heat pump moves heat from outside air into your home, so the air coming out of your vents is warm compared to outside but cooler than the air from a furnace. That's normal. If the air feels flat out cold, not just cool, check your thermostat is set to heat and not fan only. A dirty filter or a system stuck in defrost can also leave you with cold air, and a low refrigerant charge will do it too. If the outdoor unit isn't running at all while the indoor fan blows, that points to a problem a contractor needs to diagnose.
- Why is there ice on my heat pump?
- A thin layer of frost on the outdoor coil during winter is normal, especially on cold nights, and your heat pump clears it with a built in defrost cycle. Thick ice that doesn't melt off, or ice that builds up around the base or fan, is not normal. That usually means the defrost cycle isn't kicking in, the fan motor has failed, or refrigerant is low. With winter lows here averaging 36°F, your heat pump is running its defrost cycle often through the season, so a defrost problem shows up fast as heavy ice rather than a light coating.
- Why is my heat pump running but not cooling?
- If the outdoor unit is running and the indoor fan is blowing but the air isn't cold, the most common causes are a dirty filter restricting airflow, a coil covered in dirt or ice, or refrigerant that's low. A refrigerant leak won't fix itself and only a technician with EPA Section 608 certification is allowed to open that side of the system to check the charge. With summer afternoons here reaching 88°F, a system that's low on refrigerant or short on airflow will struggle to keep up, so it's worth having it looked at before the next hot stretch.