Heat Pump Not Heating in San Leandro

Heat Pump Not Heating in San Leandro

San Leandro's climate keeps heating relevant most of the year, mild near the bay and a bit warmer inland. Much of the housing is mid-century, on its second or third HVAC system, and the original ductwork is often still in place and leaking. A heat pump that stops heating here has almost always lost a single component in the reversing cycle, not the whole system.

There is a wrinkle specific to San Leandro stock. If the unit is heating fine at the equipment but the rooms never warm up, the problem may not be the heat pump at all. Original ducts in these older homes can leak badly, which means the warm air is dumping into a crawl space or attic before it reaches the registers. We separate an equipment fault from a duct loss before quoting, because they are very different fixes.

Most of these calls come down to a part we can name once we test it. We diagnose first and put the cause and the price on a written estimate. The $75 diagnostic is credited toward the repair when it runs over $200.

Common causes

Reversing valve stuck in cooling. The reversing valve flips the system into heat. A stuck valve or failed solenoid leaves the unit running but blowing cool air. We read line temperatures across the valve and check for the solenoid click on a changeover. A bad coil is cheap; a seized valve means replacement.

Leaking ductwork stealing the heat. If the equipment heats but the rooms stay cold, original San Leandro ducts are a prime suspect. We test duct leakage on the estimate. When the leakage is high, warm air is escaping into the crawl space or attic before it reaches the registers. Sealing or replacing the worst runs restores delivered heat and protects the equipment's efficiency.

Defrost control fault. Cold damp mornings ice the outdoor coil, and the defrost cycle has to clear it. A failed defrost board or sensor leaves the coil iced and unable to pull heat from the air. We check defrost timing and sensor resistance and confirm the unit actually reverses to defrost.

Aux heat strips not engaging. Many conversions here keep electric backup heat for the coldest mornings. If a strip element opens or the sequencer never fires, the house stays cold while the compressor runs. We test each element for continuity and confirm the board calls for aux on a real demand.

Low refrigerant on aging equipment. Some San Leandro homes still run older systems, including some on R-22. A leak drops heating capacity, and on R-22 equipment a recharge is uneconomical. We measure the charge, find the leak, and give you the honest repair-versus-replace numbers.

How we diagnose it

• Confirm the thermostat is calling for heat and the system is in heat mode.
• Verify the equipment is producing heat at the air handler before chasing the outdoor unit.
• If rooms stay cold while the equipment heats, test duct leakage.
• Inspect the outdoor coil for ice and test the defrost board and sensor.
• Test aux strips and meter the contactor and capacitor.

$75 diagnostic, credited toward any repair over $200. You get a written quote before any work begins.

Heat Pump Not Heating in San Leandro: common questions

Nearby and related

Heat Pump Not Heating near San Leandro: Oakland · Hayward · Castro Valley .

This is usually a heat pump installation & service in San Leandro job. See our heat pump installation & service overview or the San Leandro service area.