When the weather cools down, homeowners will turn off their air conditioning systems and begin to fire up their heaters. But you’re in a different situation: you have a heat pump for your house, which means you’ll continue to use it through the coming season, but you’ll switch it over to heating mode. This causes the heat pump to “run backwards,” so that instead of removing heat from the house and exhausting it outside, it will remove heat from outside and send it into the house.
Well, this is how it’s supposed to go. You may run into a problem during the first day of cold weather when you try to change the heat pump into heating mode. If you’re only getting room temperature air from the vents, or you’re getting cold air, you may need to call us for heat pump repair in Gretna, LA.
We’ll dive into this problem below and see what might have happened to your heat pump.
If you’re getting room temperature air…
The heat pump isn’t stuck in cooling mode, but it also doesn’t seem like it’s switched into heating mode either. Instead, it seems like the HVAC system is in the “fan only” setting. (In fact, check the thermostat right now to see if this is the case.)
Whenever your heat pump is underperforming in any mode, check on the air filter. If it’s clogged, this may be the reason you’re not receiving conditioned air. The air filter needs to be changed on a regular basis, every 1 to 3 months.
Check around the outdoor cabinet of the heat pump to see if anything is blocking it, such as leaves or branches. If the heat pump doesn’t have easy access to the outside air, it won’t be able to draw enough heat.
On the more serious side, lack of heating can indicate a major repair issue, such as a problem with the compressor or leaking refrigerant. In these cases, you’ll need a technician to repair the heat pump.
If you’re getting only cool air…
Something has caused the heat pump to become trapped in its cooling mode. A simple possibility is a loss of connection from the thermostat. The thermostat sends the signal to the reversing valve (more on that in a moment) that causes the heat pump to physically change from heating to cooling. If the thermostat loses the connection, it can’t change modes.
The problem might be with the reversing valve itself. This component is the essential part that allows a heat pump to operate as both a cooling and heating system. It controls which direction the refrigerant moves as it exits the compressor: if it moves first to the outdoor coil, the unit is in cooling mode; if to the indoor coil, heating mode. The valve can become stuck, and this will trap the heat pump in one mode or the other. You can’t repair this yourself. In most cases, technicians will need to replace the valve to restore the heat pump to normal operation.
You can depend on us to see you have your heat pump doing the job you need from it, whatever the season. We’re available at your convenience, not ours.
Gowland’s Heating & A/C believes in “Relationship over revenue!” Schedule service today to have your heat pump or other HVAC system fixed.