Reliable heat when Texas winters turn cold

Houston-area winters are mild by national standards, but that does not mean a heating system gets a pass. A furnace or heat pump that only runs a handful of weeks a year is more likely to have a problem show up on the first cold snap, because issues that develop over the off-season go unnoticed until the system is actually asked to work.

Gas furnaces and heat pumps solve the same problem differently. A furnace burns fuel to generate heat directly, which tends to recover a cold house faster; a heat pump moves existing heat rather than generating it, which is efficient in a mild climate like this one but works hardest on the rare hard-freeze night. Neither is universally right — the better fit depends on the home's ductwork, insulation and how it is currently heated.

A pre-season check — ignition system, blower operation, thermostat calibration, and a look at the heat exchanger for cracks — catches most heating failures before they happen. For a system that only runs occasionally, that inspection is often the difference between a five-minute fix in October and an emergency call during the one cold week of the year.