Kyle TX AC (888) 217-3739

An independent phone line that connects homeowners in Kyle, TX and nearby Hays County towns with heating and cooling contractors.

Kyle, TX · Hays County

The heat pump is stuck on aux or emergency heat

Auxiliary heat is the set of electric strips in the attic air handler that helps a heat pump on the coldest nights and during defrost. Seeing it come on briefly is normal. Seeing it on all day in 50°F weather means the heat pump itself is not carrying the house.

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The line is answered 24/7. Visits depend on which contractors are working your ZIP code.

Normal or not

Normal: aux heat comes on during a defrost cycle, after the thermostat is raised by several degrees at once, and on hard nights. The San Marcos station averages about 20 nights a year at or below 32°F (NOAA 1991–2020 normals), and those are the nights the strips earn their place.

Not normal: aux heat runs through mild afternoons; the outdoor unit is silent while the house heats; the air at the vents is hot one minute and cool the next; the electric bill jumps in a mild month.

Emergency heat is a different thing. It is a setting you choose, and it locks out the outdoor unit and runs the strips alone. If the thermostat shows it and nobody set it, the thermostat or the outdoor unit may have forced it after a fault.

What a technician checks

Whether the outdoor unit runs in heating mode at all, the reversing valve, the defrost control and its sensor, refrigerant charge, the outdoor fan and capacitor, and the thermostat's wiring and settings. A wrong thermostat setup after a replacement is a surprisingly common cause.

What to do until then

If the outdoor unit has clearly failed, emergency heat keeps the house warm. It is the costliest way to run, so call rather than leaving it there.

What to have ready when you call

  • What the thermostat shows, and whether you set emergency heat yourself
  • Whether the outdoor unit runs, and whether it has ice on it
  • The install year and refrigerant on the outdoor data plate
  • Your address, ZIP code and attic access

Common questions

Is the outdoor unit supposed to steam? During defrost, briefly, yes. Steady ice is not normal.

Have the install year and the thermostat reading ready. Ask who is taking calls in your ZIP code today.

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Read next

Heat pump repair and replacementThe outdoor heat pump is covered in ice

Other things a system does

A burning smell the first time the heat comes onA dusty smell the first time the heat runs in a Kyle, TX house is usually normal. An electrical smell, one that lingers, or a CO alarm is not.
A ceiling stain or water dripping under the attic AC unitA ceiling stain or dripping water under the attic air handler in Kyle, TX usually means a clogged condensate drain or a full drain pan. What to do and what to ask.
Ice on the copper line or the attic unit in JulyFrost on the copper line or ice in the attic unit in a Kyle, TX summer means airflow or refrigerant trouble. What to do now and what a technician checks.
The AC runs all afternoon and the house keeps getting warmerThe AC runs nonstop and the house climbs past the setting every afternoon in Kyle, TX. What separates a weak system from a failing one, and what to report.
The furnace will not light on the first cold nightGas furnace in the attic won't light, or lights and shuts off, on the first cold front in Kyle, TX. What usually failed and what to tell the dispatcher.
The house still has the system the builder installedStill running the AC and furnace the builder installed in a 2000s Kyle, TX house? How to find its age and refrigerant, and when replacing it makes sense.
The outdoor heat pump is covered in iceOutdoor heat pump iced over in a Kyle, TX cold snap? Light frost is normal; a solid block is not. What defrost does, what fails, and what to do now.
The outdoor unit hums, but the fan does not spinThe outdoor AC unit hums but the fan won't start in Kyle, TX heat. Usually a capacitor; sometimes the compressor. What to do and when it means replacement.
The upstairs or one back room never cools downOne room or the whole upstairs stays hot while the rest of a Kyle, TX house cools. Attic ducts, returns and sizing: what a technician measures.

Towns this line covers

Kyle 78640Buda 78610Uhland 78640Niederwald 78640Mountain City 78610San Marcos 78666Driftwood 78619Dripping Springs 78620

Updated

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