Along the South Carolina coast, the heat pump is the system most homes rely on year-round. It cools all summer and heats through our short winters, so it works more months than almost any other appliance in the house. Dependable Service Plumbing & Air provides heat pump repair in Myrtle Beach and throughout the Grand Strand, along with the regular service that keeps these systems running well.
Call (843) 353-0461 or contact us online to learn more about our heat pump services in Myrtle Beach.
A heat pump doesn’t create heat by burning fuel. It moves heat. In summer, it pulls heat out of your home and releases it outdoors, just like an air conditioner. In winter, a valve reverses the flow, and it pulls heat from the outdoor air and brings it inside.
That works best when winter temperatures are mild, which describes most of the year in Myrtle Beach, Pawleys Island and the rest of the Grand Strand. With one outdoor unit handling both heating and cooling, many homes here don’t need a separate furnace.
On cool, damp mornings, frost can build up on the outdoor coil while the heat pump is heating. To clear it, the system briefly switches into a defrost cycle. You may notice the outdoor fan stop, a whooshing sound, and steam rising from the unit. That’s normal. What isn’t normal is a coil covered in thick ice that doesn’t clear, or a unit that’s encased in ice. That usually points to a defrost control problem, a sensor issue, low refrigerant, or a fan motor that isn’t running.
Most heat pumps here have backup electric heat strips in the indoor air handler, often called auxiliary or “aux” heat. It kicks in during defrost and when the heat pump can’t keep up on a colder night, or when you raise the thermostat several degrees at once. Aux heat uses more electricity than the heat pump itself, so if your thermostat shows aux heat running much of the time on mild days, or your winter bill jumps, the heat pump may not be doing its share. That’s worth a service call.
Some homes use a dual-fuel setup, with a gas furnace as the backup instead of electric strips. We service those as well, along with standalone furnaces.
If your heat pump stops heating on a cold night, you can switch the thermostat to “emergency heat” to run only the backup heat until a technician can check the system. It costs more to run, so use it as a temporary measure.
Because a coastal heat pump runs nearly all year, it benefits from maintenance before both the cooling and heating seasons. A service visit typically includes cleaning the coils, checking the refrigerant charge and electrical connections, testing the reversing valve, defrost controls and backup heat, clearing the condensate drain, and checking airflow.
Between visits, change your filter regularly, keep the outdoor unit clear of plants, leaves and sand, and gently rinse salt off the outdoor coil with a garden hose with the power off. Our Dependable Comfort Club maintenance membership is an easy way to keep service on schedule.
If your heat pump is older, needs repeated repairs, or has a failed compressor or a badly corroded coil, replacing it may be the better value. We’ll lay out the costs of both paths. Learn more about heat pump installation and financing, or see all of our air conditioning and heating services.
For heat pump repair in Myrtle Beach, Conway, Surfside Beach, Pawleys Island or anywhere on the Grand Strand, call Dependable Service at (843) 353-0461, Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, or schedule service online.
That’s usually the defrost cycle melting frost from the outdoor coil. It’s normal as long as the frost clears and the unit returns to heating.
It means the backup heat is running, usually electric heat strips. It’s normal during defrost and on colder nights, but if it runs often in mild weather, have the system checked.
Heat pumps deliver air that is warm but not as hot as a gas furnace, and they run longer cycles. That’s normal. If rooms aren’t reaching the set temperature, call us.
Since heat pumps on the coast heat and cool, many homeowners schedule service twice a year, before summer and before winter.
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