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JHC ServicesHeating & Cooling · Madison, IN
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Heat Pump Repair · Madison, IN & Surrounding Areas

Heat Pump Repair & Maintenance

Heat pumps run year-round, so they log roughly double the hours of a furnace-and-AC pair. We diagnose refrigerant circuits, reversing valves, defrost controls, and auxiliary heat — the failure points other shops misread.

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20+ yrs in the tradeMitsubishi Diamond ContractorLicensed, bonded & insured

Heat pump symptoms worth a call

Outdoor unit encased in ice

Defrost failure, low charge, or airflow — running it that way grinds the compressor toward an early grave.

'Aux heat' showing constantly on the thermostat

Electric backup carrying the house at 2-3x the cost — the bill spike arrives before the comfort complaint.

Blowing lukewarm in heat mode

Could be a reversing valve, charge, or a defrost issue — heat pump symptoms routinely point away from their cause.

Steam or loud whooshing periodically

Normal defrost does this briefly; constant defrost means something's wrong with the cycle logic or sensors.

Breaker trips on the outdoor unit

Compressor or fan motor electrical trouble — stop resetting it and call before a repairable fault becomes a dead compressor.

Our work, not stock photos

Cold-climate heat pump installed at a country home
Cold-climate heat pump installed at a country home
Ruud side-discharge heat pump installed at a brick home
Ruud side-discharge heat pump installed at a brick home

What we handle

  • Heat pump blowing cold air in heating mode
  • Iced-over outdoor unit or defrost cycle failures
  • Reversing valve stuck in one mode
  • Auxiliary/emergency heat running constantly (and the bill that follows)
  • Refrigerant leaks and low-charge diagnostics
  • Outdoor fan or compressor failures

How the visit works

Full-circuit diagnostic

Pressures, superheat/subcool, defrost board, and aux heat staging — we test the whole system, because heat pump symptoms often point away from their cause.

Straight answer

Repair price up front. If the compressor is gone on a 12-year-old R-410A unit, we'll tell you why replacement may beat a major repair.

Verify in both modes

We confirm proper operation in heating and cooling before we call it done.

The honest economics of heat pump repair

Heat pump repairs price like AC repairs with two additions: the reversing valve and the defrost system, neither of which exists on a furnace-and-AC setup. Capacitors, contactors, and fan motors are routine truck-stock fixes. Reversing valves and compressors are the major surgeries, and on an older R-410A unit we'll give you the honest crossover math against replacement before you approve anything big.

Refrigerant diagnostics matter more on heat pumps than any other equipment because they run year-round — a small leak that an AC forgives for a summer will run a heat pump's efficiency into the ground across twelve months. We leak-search and fix rather than topping off and waving goodbye, because a recharge without a repair is a subscription, not a solution.

Because heat pumps log roughly double the runtime of seasonal equipment, twice-yearly maintenance isn't a luxury on these systems — it's what keeps the repair bills small and rare.

Timing & season

Heat pumps fail publicly in January and quietly in October. The quiet version — slightly low charge, a lazy defrost sensor — just shifts load to your electric strips, and the only symptom is a power bill that makes you blink. If winter bills jumped and the house feels fine, that's not efficiency, that's your backup heat doing the furnace's job at triple cost.

From the technician's side

We verify defrost initiation and termination, measure strip heat staging, and check refrigerant charge in the mode-appropriate way — charging a heat pump in heating mode takes a different procedure than cooling mode, and getting it wrong is how systems leave 'repaired' but still 20% down on capacity.

The repair mistake we see most: a generalist reads low pressure in winter, assumes 'low charge,' and adds refrigerant to a system that was never low — winter pressures read differently. Now it's overcharged, efficiency drops, and the compressor runs hot all summer. Heat pumps punish guesswork; we don't guess.

Heat Pump Repair — Common Questions

My heat pump is covered in ice — is that normal?

Light frost is normal; a solid block of ice is not. It usually means a defrost failure, low charge, or airflow problem. Shut it to Emergency Heat and call us before the compressor is damaged.

Why is my electric bill so high in winter?

Most often the heat pump has quietly failed and the electric auxiliary heat is carrying the house at 2-3x the cost. That's a repair that pays for itself fast.

Do you work on all brands?

Yes — Mitsubishi, Trane, Carrier, Rheem, Goodman, Lennox, York, and the rest. Diamond Contractor training just means we're strongest on the most advanced systems.

Heat Pump Repair near you

We provide heat pump repair throughout Southern Indiana and Northern Kentucky:

Need heat pump repair?

Call or text 812-493-3011 — or send a request and we'll get right back to you during business hours.

Call 812-493-3011Schedule Service