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Heat Pump Repair in Bellingham, MA

Heat pump diagnosis and repair for Bellingham and MetroWest — ducted and ductless, every major brand, in both seasons.

Call (508) 282-1000 4.3 · 45 Google reviews

Hannon Heating & Air Conditioning diagnoses and repairs heat pumps in Bellingham, MA and the MetroWest towns around it — ducted and ductless, every major brand, in heating season and cooling season alike. Heat pumps fail in their own particular ways, we work on them every week, and you get a quote before any repair begins. We cover Millville, Norfolk, and Mendon along with the rest of MetroWest.

Normal or a Fault? Read This Before You Worry

A heat pump does several alarming-looking things on purpose. Frost on the outdoor unit in winter is normal, and so is the periodic defrost cycle that melts it off with a whoosh and a cloud of steam. Supply air around 90 to 100 degrees is also by design; it feels lukewarm compared to a furnace blast, but it is well above room temperature and it heats the house. The versions that do mean trouble: an outdoor unit encased in solid ice that never clears, defrost running constantly, ice climbing the refrigerant lines, or air that is genuinely room-temperature at the register. Those get a service call, because each points at a defrost fault, a failing sensor, or low refrigerant.

Goodman outdoor unit on a pad beside a light-blue wall in golden late-day sun

Aux Heat Running Constantly and a Shocking Electric Bill

This is the big winter complaint, and the bill is real: auxiliary heat is electric-resistance backup that costs several times what the compressor costs to run. Sometimes the cause is settings, which is the cheapest fix we make — deep nighttime thermostat setbacks force aux heat every morning while the system claws back the temperature, and wrong lockout settings let aux run when the compressor could carry the load. A thermostat set up properly for heat pumps ends that pattern. Sometimes the cause is mechanical: low refrigerant or a compressor that is quietly failing, leaving aux heat to cover the shortfall. We check the settings first and tell you which one you have.

Short Cycling Wears Out the Expensive Part

A heat pump that starts, runs a few minutes, and stops over and over is short cycling, and every one of those starts wears the compressor — the most expensive component in the system. The usual causes are an oversized system, a clogged filter or iced coil choking airflow, a refrigerant problem, or a control fault. Short cycling rarely fixes itself and gets costlier the longer it runs, so it is worth a diagnosis while the repair is still a small one.

No heat or no cooling? Emergency service is available.

Call (508) 282-1000 — we pick up when we can, and if we miss you we call right back.

Repair or Replace an Aging Heat Pump

Figure 10 to 15 years for a heat pump's working life. Our rule of thumb is the same one we use on furnaces: when a repair would cost more than half of replacement, or it is the third repair in three years, replacement wins. Compressor failure on an old unit usually settles the question on its own. Newer cold-climate equipment also heats better in deep cold than what was sold even eight years ago, which weighs in when the old unit never quite kept up in January. When it tips that way, we walk you through the heat pump installation options, and estimates on full system replacements are free. When the fix is the smart money, we just fix it. Either way, reach out and we'll take a look.

10–15 years

a heat pump's working life

Half the cost

a repair over half the cost of replacement means replacement wins

3 in 3 years

the third repair in three years means replacement wins

Frequently Asked Questions

My heat pump's outdoor unit is covered in frost — is it broken?
Frost alone, no. Winter frost is normal, and the unit periodically runs a defrost cycle that melts it off with a plume of steam — also normal, even when it looks dramatic. Call when the unit is sheathed in solid ice that never clears, ice climbs the refrigerant lines, or defrost seems to run constantly. Those mean a real fault.
The air feels lukewarm compared to my old furnace — is something wrong?
Probably not. Heat pumps supply air around 90 to 100 degrees, below a furnace's blast but well above room temperature, and the longer, steadier cycles are how they are meant to heat. It becomes a problem when the air is truly room-temperature or the house loses ground on cold days; that pattern suggests low refrigerant or a reversing-valve fault worth a diagnosis.
Why is my auxiliary heat running all the time and my electric bill huge?
Aux heat is electric-resistance backup, several times the cost of compressor heat, so this pattern deserves attention. The common causes are deep thermostat setbacks that trigger aux every morning, lockout settings that bring it on too early, or a compressor or refrigerant problem leaving a shortfall that aux quietly covers. Settings fixes are quick, so we check those first.
My heat pump turns on and off every few minutes — what does that mean?
That is short cycling, and it is worth a prompt look because every start wears the compressor. Causes range from a clogged filter or iced coil to refrigerant trouble, a control fault, or a system that was oversized on day one. The diagnosis pins down which, and the earlier it is caught, the smaller the repair usually is.
When do I repair an aging heat pump versus replace it?
Use the half-rule: past ten years old, if a repair runs more than half the cost of replacement, or it is the third repair in three years, replace it. A failed compressor on an old unit almost always tips the call. Short of that, most faults are honest repairs, and we quote the fix first rather than steering you toward new equipment.

Ready to Get It Running Right?

Call with what the system is doing — you'll talk to the person who does the work, and most repairs finish in one visit.

(508) 282-1000 Request an Estimate

Mon-Fri 7am-5pm · Emergency Service Available