A heat pump works in both seasons, so it can fail in both
A heat pump is one outdoor unit doing the work of an air conditioner in summer and a furnace in winter, which suits the Gulf Coast well and also means there is no off season for the wear. The complaints a Tomball homeowner brings are specific: it blows cool air when the thermostat is set to heat, the outdoor coil is iced over on a damp cold morning, the auxiliary heat strips run constantly and the electric bill jumps, or the unit simply stops in January with no warning.
Behind those symptoms are a handful of parts that an ordinary air conditioner does not have. The reversing valve shifts the refrigerant flow between cooling and heating and can stick between the two. The defrost board and sensor decide when the outdoor coil gets cleared of ice. The auxiliary heat strips in the air handler take over when the outdoor unit cannot keep up, so if they are always on, something upstream is wrong.
Diagnosis means running the unit in both modes and reading the numbers
A heat pump cannot be judged in one mode. The tech runs it in cooling and in heating, watching how the reversing valve responds, whether the defrost cycle starts and ends when it should, and how the outdoor fan and compressor draw against their ratings. Capacitors, contactors and the electrical side get checked first, the same way as on any outdoor unit.
Refrigerant is read with digital iManifold gauges reporting to a tablet at the unit: suction and liquid pressure, line temperatures, superheat and subcooling. A heat pump that is low on charge looks fine on a mild day and falls apart on a cold one, and only measured readings show the difference. Adding refrigerant without finding the leak is a repair that returns, so a low charge is followed back to its cause.
Crossway installs and replaces heat pumps from Amana, Carrier, Daikin, Goodman and ICP, and services all brands, including systems another company put in. Daikin ductless heat pumps are covered on the mini-split page. Installation also looks at the duct system and air handler the unit will be connected to, since the sheet-metal shop in Tomball can fabricate the plenum or transition when the existing opening does not suit the new equipment.
Maintenance keeps both seasons covered
A heat pump tune-up or inspection is done for both modes: coil and drain cleaning, electrical connections, reversing valve and defrost operation, auxiliary heat check, and refrigerant readings on the gauges. Doing it before summer and again before winter is the schedule that fits equipment that never rests.
The Preferred Service Agreement from Crossway puts that on a calendar. It is $15.00 per month or $180 per year, with priority service over non-members, a $47.50 service fee from 7:30 am to 5 pm, 15% off repairs, 5% off replacement equipment, and automatic reminders when inspections are due.
Call back if the unit blows cool air in heat mode, the outdoor coil stays iced after the cycle should have cleared it, or the strip heat runs for hours. Emergency heat-pump repair is taken 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 832-250-6191, and the office is open from 7:30 am to 5 pm.
