Residential Heat Pump Repair in Temple Terrace, Florida

One machine, two jobs: how a heat pump fails

The U.S. Department of Energy explains that a heat pump heats your home by collecting heat from the outside air and concentrating it for use inside. It does double duty as a central air conditioner, collecting the heat inside your house and pumping it outside. Refrigerant is the fluid that carries that heat between the indoor and outdoor units.

The part that lets one machine do both jobs is the reversing valve. Carrier, the equipment manufacturer, describes it as the component inside a heat pump that switches the system between heating and cooling modes. One sign of trouble Carrier lists is a unit that works in one mode but not the other, such as a system that cools normally but fails to heat.

That symptom does not prove the valve is bad. Carrier advises that the system be tested first, because the same symptoms can come from another component, such as an electrical or solenoid problem. Carrier also notes that reversing valve issues are not DIY repairs, because they involve refrigerant handling that requires professional certification. A good repair visit finds the cause with tests before any part is ordered.

What a Temple Terrace winter asks of a heat pump

The nearest long-term weather record is NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals for Tampa International Airport. The airport is in Tampa, not Temple Terrace, so read these figures as the regional picture.

The National Weather Service measures heating and cooling need in degree days. Each day, the average of the high and low is compared with 65°F. A day averaging below 65°F adds heating degree days; a day averaging above 65°F adds cooling degree days. At the Tampa airport, the normal year adds up to 433.5 heating degree days and 3,928.2 cooling degree days.

Cold nights are few. The normals show an average of 7.5 nights a year at or below 40°F, and 0.8 nights a year at or below freezing. The normal winter high for December through February is 73.0°F, and the normal winter low is 54.7°F.

January shows why a heat pump has to switch modes. The National Weather Service's Tampa January table lists 152 heating degree days and 61 cooling degree days for the month. So in the same month, some days call for heat and others for cooling. The same table, with records back to 1890, shows January lows in the 20s, including 21°F on January 21, 1985. A hard freeze is rare here, but the records show it does happen.

Aux heat, emergency heat and what the thermostat is telling you

Carrier describes auxiliary heat, often labeled AUX on the thermostat, as a secondary heating source built into a heat pump system. Tampa Electric's thermostat guide explains that it is normally electric strip or resistance heat.

Aux heat is supposed to come on by itself in a few situations. Carrier lists outdoor temperatures below freezing, a heat pump that cannot reach the set temperature alone, a sharp raise of the thermostat, and defrost cycles. Tampa Electric's guide says aux heat comes on automatically when it is very cold outside, usually below freezing, and the compressor cannot hold the setpoint.

Freezing nights are rare near Tampa, which makes aux heat on a mild day worth noticing. Carrier notes that dirty filters or low refrigerant can force the system to rely on backup heat even in mild weather. Check the filter first. If the filter is clean and AUX still runs in mild weather, a licensed contractor should check the refrigerant charge and the outdoor unit.

Emergency heat is different. Carrier explains that it is a manual setting that shuts off the heat pump entirely and uses only the backup heat source. Carrier says to use it only if the heat pump has physically broken down or malfunctioned. If you switched to emergency heat to stay warm, tell the technician when you call. Our guide to auxiliary heat explains the settings in more detail.

Tampa Electric's cold-weather advice for heat pump owners

Tampa Electric describes itself as the primary power provider in Hillsborough County. In January 2026 it published cold-weather tips that speak directly to heat pump owners.

The utility advises lowering the thermostat to the lowest comfortable setting and keeping the temperature constant. With a heat pump, it says to adjust the temperature only two degrees at a time, to avoid activating the supplemental heat strip. It also advises setting the fan to auto, and inspecting air filters regularly and replacing them monthly.

Tampa Electric adds that a cold snap can raise a bill even when the thermostat stays the same, because the system has to run longer to hold the indoor temperature. A higher bill after a cold week is not, on its own, a sign of a fault.

The Department of Energy gives a related warning about deep night setbacks. It suggests turning the thermostat down 7°F to 10°F for eight hours a day in fall and winter, but not on a heat pump without a smart or programmable thermostat designed for heat pumps. Tampa Electric's thermostat guide notes that when the gap between the home temperature and a new setpoint is large, aux heat can come on to assist the heat pump compressor. Our guide to thermostat settings covers the basics.

Safe checks before you call

These three checks need no tools and no ladder. Stop at anything that feels unsafe.

1. Thermostat settings. Make sure it is set to Heat or Cool as needed, with a setpoint a couple of degrees past the room temperature and the fan on Auto. Check that it is not left on emergency heat by mistake.
2. The air filter. Look at it. If it is grey and matted, replace it with a clean filter of the same size.
3. Vents, returns and the outdoor unit. Move furniture and rugs off supply vents and return grilles. Turn the system off at the thermostat, then clear leaves, grass clippings and other debris from around the outdoor unit.

If a circuit breaker for the heat pump has tripped, leave it off and call a licensed contractor. Resetting it is not one of the homeowner checks on this page; a contractor should find out why it tripped.

Do not open the outdoor unit's panels, do not touch the capacitor or wiring, do not work on the condensate drain line, and do not add refrigerant. Those jobs belong to a licensed contractor.

Permits, refrigerant and the repair-or-replace decision

Temple Terrace runs its own Building & Permitting Department at City Hall, 11250 N 56th Street. It handles permitting, inspections and contractor registration for the city. The city lists mechanical permits among its common permit types. Its rules call for a permit before anyone alters or repairs mechanical systems regulated by technical codes. The city's FAQ lists some work that may be done without a permit, including any portable heating, cooling or ventilating appliance. Whether a particular repair needs a permit is a question for your contractor or the city.

Refrigerant work is regulated at the federal level. Under Section 608 of the Clean Air Act, the U.S. EPA requires technicians who maintain, service or repair equipment that could release refrigerants to be certified. Blume has EPA Section 608 certified technicians, the federal refrigerant-handling credential.

You get a written, upfront price before any work starts, with repair and replacement numbers side by side when both make sense. When replacement is the better choice, Blume sizes the new equipment with an ACCA Manual J load calculation. Manual J is the room-by-room method for working out how much heating and cooling a house needs. We select the equipment with Manual S and do not sell equipment a building does not need. Financing is available through Synchrony Bank.

For more on that decision, see when to replace a heat pump. For other HVAC questions in the city, see our Temple Terrace HVAC page.