Heating Repair · Liberty Hill, TX

Heating Repair, Done Right Even When the Heat Quits

Heating repair on heat pumps, gas furnaces, electric backup, and thermostats. Texas heat-pump systems are unforgiving when they fail. Auxiliary strips run hot, bills double, and a 28-degree night turns into a long one. We diagnose the whole system, find what's actually broken, and fix it the same day on most calls.

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All
Heat Pump & Furnace
$89.95
Heating Inspection
1yr
Labor Warranty on Installs
Same
Day Service (Most Calls)
28°F
Liberty Hill Average
Coldest Night, Last 5 Yrs
Hill Country Heating

Texas Heating Is Its Own Thing

Most of the U.S. has it easy on heating: a gas furnace, a thermostat, and a 50-year-old playbook. Central Texas is different. Liberty Hill, Leander, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Round Rock - the homes built here in the last twenty years are mostly running electric heat pumps with resistance backup, not gas furnaces. That changes everything about diagnosis, repair, and what "broken" actually looks like.

A heat pump pulls heat out of cold outside air and moves it inside. It works great down to about 35 degrees. Below that, the auxiliary heat strips kick on - basically a giant hair dryer pulling 10 to 15 kW. That's when your bill spikes. If those strips are running when they shouldn't be, or if the heat pump itself never engages at all, your house gets warm but your wallet pays for it.

And then there's the freeze events. Uri in 2021 broke equipment that had never seen below 10°F in its lifetime. Coils cracked, defrost boards fried, condenser fans seized solid. We're still pulling failed parts from systems damaged that week. If your heat acts up the morning after a hard freeze, it isn't a coincidence.

The point: a Texas heating repair needs a tech who knows heat pumps inside out, not someone who's only ever worked on gas furnaces.
What's Wrong With It

The Five Most Common Heating Repair Calls We See

Each one tells us something different about what's going on. Here's what we look for on every heating repair, and why it matters.

Aux Heat Locked On (Bill Spike)

The thermostat is calling for heat and the auxiliary strips are running constantly, but the outdoor unit isn't engaging. The house stays warm - you might not even notice - but your electric bill doubles or triples in a single month. This is one of the most common calls we get, and one of the most expensive to ignore.

Likely CauseFailed reversing valve, bad defrost board, low refrigerant charge, or a stuck contactor on the outdoor unit.
What We CheckRefrigerant pressures, reversing valve operation, outdoor coil temperature, contactor pull-in voltage.

System Blowing Cold Air on Heat Mode

Thermostat set to 70, the blower runs, but what comes out of the vents is room-temperature or colder. On a heat pump, the outdoor unit isn't reversing into heating mode. On a gas furnace, the burners aren't lighting. Either way, you've got a blower pushing un-heated air around your house.

Likely CauseHeat pump: failed reversing valve solenoid, no refrigerant, defective control board. Furnace: bad igniter, failed flame sensor, gas valve issue, pressure switch.
What We CheckOutdoor unit operation in heat mode, reversing valve voltage, gas pressure (if applicable), ignition sequence.

Short-Cycling on Heat

The system kicks on, runs for 90 seconds, shuts off. Two minutes later, on again. Off again. The house never quite gets warm and the equipment wears itself out in months instead of years. Short-cycling on heat is usually a control or sensor problem, not a refrigerant problem.

Likely CauseDirty flame sensor, oversized equipment, faulty thermostat anticipator, blocked filter starving airflow, or high-limit switch tripping.
What We CheckStatic pressure, filter condition, thermostat differential, flame sensor microamps, limit switch operation.

Outdoor Unit Iced Over

A heat pump in defrost mode briefly looks frosty - that's normal. A heat pump completely encased in ice, with the fan blade frozen solid, is not. This is one of the most misunderstood symptoms. People assume it's "frozen up" like an AC, but the cause and the fix are very different.

Likely CauseFailed defrost control board (most common), bad outdoor temperature sensor, stuck reversing valve, or refrigerant undercharge.
What We CheckDefrost cycle initiation, sensor resistance values, refrigerant pressures, coil condition after thaw.

Thermostat Issues After a Power Event

A power flicker, an outage, or even a transformer hum can wipe out a smart thermostat or scramble its programming. The screen might be dim, calling for heat but nothing happens, or showing the right temperature but the system never engages. After Texas storms we see a wave of these calls, and most aren't actually thermostat failures - they're wiring or transformer issues at the air handler.

Likely CauseBlown 24V transformer at the air handler, tripped float switch, failed control board, miswired C-wire on smart thermostat.
What We Check24V at the thermostat, transformer output, condensate float switch status, control board fuse, C-wire continuity.
Know Your Equipment

Heat Pump vs Gas Furnace

We service both, but they fail differently, cost differently, and behave differently in a Texas winter. If you're not sure what you have, here's the rundown.

Heat Pump

Electric Heat Pump

Most Liberty Hill homes built after ~2000
How it worksMoves heat from outside air
Best operating rangeAbove 35°F outside
Air output temp90 - 110°F at the vent
Backup heatingElectric resistance strips
Cools too?Yes - same unit, year round
Typical lifespan12 - 15 years
Heat pumps thrive in Texas because we rarely sit below freezing for long. The catch: when they fail, the resistance strips cover for them silently while your bill quietly explodes. That's why we always check actual outdoor unit operation - not just whether warm air is coming out.
Gas Furnace

Natural Gas Furnace

Older homes, ranches, and homes off the gas grid
How it worksBurns gas, heats air directly
Best operating rangeAny outdoor temperature
Air output temp140 - 170°F at the vent
Backup heatingNone needed
Cools too?No - needs separate AC
Typical lifespan15 - 20 years
Furnaces are simpler and hit hard on the coldest nights - you'll feel it. They fail at the burners, igniter, flame sensor, or gas valve. Combustion equipment also means combustion safety: we always pull and check the heat exchanger for cracks during a service.

Not sure which one is in your attic or closet? Snap a photo of the indoor unit and outdoor unit before you call. If there's a tank-shaped unit outside and a wide rectangular unit inside, you've almost certainly got a heat pump. If there's only an indoor unit and a separate AC outside that goes silent in winter, that's a furnace.

Before You Call

Four Things to Check First

Honestly? About one in five "heat is broken" calls turns out to be one of these. Take three minutes and walk through them before you pick up the phone - if it's one of these, you just saved yourself a service fee.

Some heating "failures" are five-minute fixes

We're never going to talk you into a heating repair if you don't need one. The four checks on the right cover the most common false alarms we see. If none of them fix it, you're past the easy stuff, and that's exactly when you need a real technician.

And if you walk through them and something doesn't seem right - a smell, a noise, an unfamiliar light on the board - stop and call. Don't troubleshoot anything past a thermostat and a filter on your own.

Still broken after these? Call (512) 200-1740 for heating repair in Liberty Hill and across Central Texas. Most calls get same-day appointments and a real ETA - not a four-hour window.
1

Check the thermostat - really check it

Set point above current room temperature? Mode actually on "Heat" and not "Off" or "Cool"? Fan on "Auto" rather than "On"? (Fan on "On" runs the blower constantly and feels like cold air when the system cycles.)

Smart thermostat? Pull it off the wall and check the battery. A dead AA can disable a Nest or Ecobee even when it appears to have power.

Fixes ~30% of false alarms
2

Pull and inspect the filter

A clogged filter restricts airflow enough to trip a high-limit switch on a furnace or freeze up a heat pump coil. If you can't remember the last time you changed it, or if light won't pass through it when you hold it up, that's your problem.

Standard sizes (1-inch) should be changed every 60-90 days. Media filters (4-5 inch pleated) every 6-12 months. Texas dust and pollen put filters through more than most climates.

Fixes ~25% of false alarms
3

Check the breakers - both of them

HVAC systems usually have two breakers in your panel: one for the indoor air handler, one for the outdoor unit. A tripped outdoor breaker is the silent killer because the strips can still warm your house off the indoor breaker.

If you find one tripped, flip it fully OFF, then back ON. If it trips again right away, stop - that's an electrical fault, not a nuisance trip, and resetting it repeatedly can damage components or cause a fire.

If it re-trips, stop and call
4

Look at the float switch (if you can find it)

Air handlers in attics or closets have a small white plastic switch on the side of the drain pan. If the drain line backs up, the float rises and shuts the entire system down to prevent water damage. This is good - but it can also shut down a working heater on a freezing night because of a clogged AC drain.

You can sometimes reset by gently lifting the float arm, but the underlying drain clog still needs cleared. If you're not comfortable identifying or touching it, leave it alone - that's what we're for.

Fixes ~10% of false alarms
What You Get

Every Heating Repair Call Includes The Full Workup

We don't believe in band-aid heating repairs. Whether your heating repair is a $40 contactor or a full system swap, you get the same thorough diagnostic and the same up-front pricing.

✓
Full heat-mode diagnosticRefrigerant pressures in heat mode, reversing valve, defrost cycle, ignition sequence, gas pressure, electrical, controls - everything that touches heating.
✓
Heat exchanger crack inspectionIf you have a gas furnace, we always check the heat exchanger. A cracked exchanger means carbon monoxide risk, and it's the one thing no homeowner can see.
✓
Aux heat strip verificationWe confirm the resistance strips are sized right, wired right, and only kicking on when they're supposed to. This is where most "high bill" calls trace back to.
✓
Flat-rate quote, no hourly billingThe price we quote on-site is the price you pay. No "we found another problem" mid-job, no clock running while we work.
✓
1-year labor warranty + up to 10-year manufacturer parts & labor on new installsIf we install a new heat pump or furnace, the manufacturer's parts and labor warranty (up to 10 years available) backs the equipment. Our 1-year labor warranty backs the install itself.
Brands We Know

Factory-certified on heat pumps, gas furnaces, and dual-fuel systems across every major brand.

Some shops only know what they sell. We don't. Whatever's in your attic, your closet, or out beside the house - we've worked on it before and we have the parts on the truck.

Carrier Trane Lennox Rheem Ruud Bryant Goodman York American Standard
Questions We Hear A Lot

Heating Repair, Answered Honestly

Why is my electric bill so much higher in cold weather than in summer?
If you have a heat pump, this is almost always one of two things. Either the heat pump itself isn't engaging and the auxiliary electric strips are doing all the work (very expensive), or it's just been cold enough often enough that the strips have been supplementing more than usual (normal). The way to tell: walk outside while the system is calling for heat. If the outdoor unit is silent or only the fan is running, the strips are carrying it. That's a service call. If the outdoor unit is humming and warm, the system is working as designed and you're just paying for a colder month.
My outdoor unit has frost or ice on it. Is that broken?
A light layer of frost on a heat pump in winter is normal - that's how heat pumps work, and they go through a defrost cycle every 30-90 minutes to clear it. A unit completely encased in ice, with the fan frozen solid or the coil hidden under inches of buildup, is not normal. That's a failed defrost board, a stuck reversing valve, or a sensor problem. Don't pour hot water on it to thaw it - you can crack the coil. Shut the system off at the thermostat, switch to "Emergency Heat" mode if your thermostat has it, and call us.
What does "emergency heat" actually do on my thermostat?
It tells the system to ignore the outdoor heat pump entirely and use only the electric resistance strips (or the gas furnace, if you have a dual-fuel system). It's not for emergencies - it's a manual override for when the outdoor unit is broken or frozen up. It will keep your house warm but it will run your bill up fast. Use it to get through the night, then call us in the morning. Don't leave it on for days at a time unless we tell you to.
Is it safe to keep using my furnace if I smell something funny?
If you smell natural gas (rotten egg / sulfur), shut the gas off at the meter, leave the house, and call your gas utility, not us. If you smell something burning, dusty, or hot the first time you turn on heat in the fall, that's normal - it's dust burning off the heat exchanger. It should clear within an hour or two. If a burning smell persists, that's not normal - turn the system off and call. And every Texas home with a gas furnace should have a working CO detector on every floor, near sleeping areas. They're $25 at any hardware store and they save lives.
My smart thermostat says everything is fine but the house isn't warming up. What gives?
Smart thermostats only know what the system tells them. If the thermostat is calling for heat and getting confirmation that the equipment is "running," it'll show happy. But "running" can mean the indoor blower is on while the outdoor unit isn't doing anything. The thermostat doesn't know - it just trusts the wiring. The number on the screen vs. how warm the house actually feels is your real diagnostic. If you're set at 70 and the house feels like 60, something is wrong regardless of what the app says.
Should I be worried about Uri-style freezes again?
Honestly? Yes, a little. Texas equipment is rated for our climate, not for sustained sub-10°F. A few specific things help: have your system serviced in the fall (so problems get caught before the first freeze), keep a 4-foot clearance around the outdoor unit (snow and ice piling against it kills units fast), drip your faucets but also keep your blower running on "On" instead of "Auto" during a hard freeze (helps prevent indoor coil freeze-up). And know where your gas shutoff and main electrical disconnect are - in advance. When things go bad in a hard freeze, they go bad fast.
How much does a heating repair actually cost?
Range is wide because the failures are wide. A blown control fuse or a bad thermostat is one of the cheapest fixes in HVAC. A failed reversing valve or a cracked heat exchanger is on the high end. What we promise: you get a flat-rate quote on site before we start any work. No "let me run back to the truck and look up the part," no clock running, no surprise add-ons. If you don't want to do the repair at the quoted price, you don't pay for the repair - just the diagnostic.
Real Google Reviews

What Customers Say

Verified 5-star Google reviews from real Texas Legacy Services customers.

★★★★★

"Peter was very responsive. After our phone conversation, he did a service call shortly thereafter. He is professional and knowledgeable."

Sarah S.Google Review
★★★★★

"Peter came the very next day and was able to fix the issue. Very happy with the level of professionalism and service. Highly recommend to all."

Corey S.Google Review
★★★★★

"Peter and his team were great at repairing my AC unit. Very good and professional."

Meva B.Google Review

House Cold?
Let's Get It Sorted.

Same-day heating repair on most calls, flat-rate pricing, real techs who actually know heat pumps. Call or request service online.

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