Heat pumps are gaining popularity because of their ability to both heat and cool your home while saving money on your energy bill, but they’re still susceptible to wear and tear. Troubleshooting problems with your heat pump can get it working faster and keep your home comfortable.
1. Your Heat Pump Isn’t Heating
You’ll switch your heat pump to heating mode as the weather changes, which reverses the refrigerant’s flow. A dirty air filter could be the cause if your heat pump doesn’t heat your home. A clogged surface will block the airflow, but you can replace the filter.
Another common reason your heat pump isn’t heating is a blockage around your outside unit. The outside unit takes in warm air, but debris such as leaves or snow can block the airflow. Remove any obstruction to allow the airflow to circulate.
2. Your Heat Pump Runs Constantly
The heating cycles of your heat pump should run intermittently rather than constantly. The thermostat’s sensor tells your heat pump when to turn on or off, but settings that are high can make it run longer. A thermostat should be set between 68 degrees and 72 degrees Fahrenheit to heat your home during winter.
Your coils absorb heat during a normal intermittent heating cycle. Dirt or other debris can force longer cycles and require more energy to heat your home. Our technicians can clean your system during a maintenance visit to lower the stress on the unit.
3. Your Heat Pump Is Short Cycling
Short cycling means your heat pump doesn’t stay on long enough to heat your home and constantly turns on and off. This causes unnecessary wear and tear to the equipment. One common reason is simply that a unit is the wrong size. Our technicians can run a load calculation to determine this.
Your thermostat measures the indoor temperature, and the sensors tell your heat pump when to turn on and off. An incorrectly calibrated thermostat can also cause your heat pump to short cycle, and this reduces its life span. An HVAC technician can recalibrate the thermostat, but a broken thermostat would need a replacement.
4. Your Heat Pump Doesn’t Switch to Heat Mode
Heat pumps can switch between cooling and heating modes, but sometimes one fails to do so. If you find yourself in this situation, you probably have a stuck or broken reversing valve. This what differentiates a a heat pump from a traditional HVAC. The component might have failed, but perhaps it’s only a bad wiring connection, which an HVAC technician can investigate.
The versatility of a heat pump offers you advantages over other heating methods, but the device can have problems just as other machines do. Troubleshooting heat pump issues gives you an idea of what’s wrong, and our technicians can repair it quickly. If you have any heat pump issues in the College Station, TX area, call us at Cover HVAC today to schedule an inspection.
