When the temps here in Sacramento dip down into the mid-30’s at night or we have the infamous fog settle into the valley, heat pumps can seem have a mind of their own. We get questions quite often from customer with heat pumps. Sometimes they call in because they think the system isn’t working. Sometimes they call in because they have no idea WHAT their system is doing.
Hopefully we can address some of the most common situations that arise with heat pumps and how to determine if you are having a problem, or just need to make some adjustments at home.
My heat pump starts blowing cold air for no apparent reason!
Heat pumps occasionally will ice up at the outdoor unit. And the only way to get rid of this frost or ice is to send the system into a ‘defrost’ mode which basically turns your system into an air conditioner. In the middle of winter. That’s fun, right!? To compensate for this- the auxiliary heat, or heat strips, are supposed to turn on to warm up that cold air before it reaches you. If this isn’t happening there is something wrong with the system, and we’ll need to come and take a look. A way to test the heat strips is to manually turn the thermostat to Emergency or Auxiliary heat and set the thermostat 7-10^ higher than the current room temperature. If the air doesn’t warm up, something is wrong. Call us at 916-481-0658 right away and we’ll come to your rescue.
I think the system is working, but when I stick my hand up to the register, it isn’t hot air blowing out!
Traditional gas heating systems produce much hotter air than heat pumps. While heat pumps still produce warm air (lets say 95^ air as an example) which is plenty warm when you have the thermostat set to 68^. But don’t forget, our bodies are 98^, so anything cooler than that (plus add in wind chill for air movement) and it isn’t going to feel warm at all. So as long as the temperature on the thermostat is being met, all is well in your humble abode.
If you really want to get techy, find yourself a thermometer and you can measure the air temperature at the intake (return air) and also at one of the supply vents (in a room). If there is a 20-25^ differential between the two readings, your system is working great. Less than that? You may want to have us out for a service call.
The unit outside is iced up and it isn’t melting off!
There may be a problem with the defrost board. Or the system could be low on refrigerant. Either of these issues are going to require a service call.
There is a big puddle of water around my outdoor unit!
This is completely normal. When the frost or ice melt from being in that defrost mode, the water has to go somewhere. It isn’t harming anything, the units are designed to do this.
The indoor fan keeps turning off and on, off and on!
Your unit is short cycling and could be caused by a few things. If it is a new problem, when was the last time you changed the filter? Or the outdoor unit maintained? Short cycling sometimes happens when the system is over heated. Typically due to an indoor filter that is clogged. Sometimes due to an outdoor coil that is clogged. If it has been happening more regularly- your system may be over sized for your home. This is something we’ll want to be aware of when it comes time to replace your system.
The system was working fine in the summer, but now it isn’t working!
Did you replace your own thermostat by chance? Not all thermostats on the market are compatible with heat pumps. Even if they state on the box that they are compatible, you want to make sure they say “multi-stage” so that you can attach both the regular heat and the auxiliary heat connections. Since they typically have more wires or need jumpers that aren’t needed in a standard central system, if they haven’t been installed properly, they aren’t going to function properly. There are lots of things that are very DIY these days, but I would leave thermostat replacement on Heat Pumps to the experts. Call us at 916-481-0658 if you would like options on thermostats.
I have the thermostat set to come on at 6am, but I hear the unit coming on sometimes at 4am!
Never fear, this doesn’t mean it is costing you an arm and having the system running. You probably have your thermostat set in what is called SMART, ADAPTIVE, or INTELLIGENT RECOVERY. It is a way for the thermostat to sense the temperature gap between the temperature you have scheduled and the temperature currently in the home. The thermostat does some quick math to determine what time it could turn the system on to bring the home up to the requested temperature at the scheduled time in the most efficient manner. With heat pumps this is a really big deal. Because if you have a large temperature difference to make up, those auxiliary strips may come on to hurry up the process otherwise. And then you’re essentially trying to heat your house with a toaster oven. A very expensive and inefficient way to heat your home. By using the recovery option on the thermostat, your heat pump will be heating up just a few degrees at a time slowly. Much more efficiently.
Another way to resolve this potential expensive inefficiency issue is to SET IT AND FORGET IT. With heat pumps and how they are designed, especially new heat pumps that are so energy efficient! The best way to use them is to not set-back the temperature too drastically at night. If you like it at 68^ during the day, only set it down to 64^ or so at night, if that isn’t so warm that you’re uncomfortable. Same with when you are away for the day. Don’t set the AWAY temp too low, it can be costly to recover that scheduled temperature at your return.
As always, feel free to give us a call at the office at 916-481-0658 or click Perfection Home Systems Email to contact us if you have any additional questions or concerns about how your heat pump works. At Perfection Home Systems we’re here to help!