Heat pumps are extraordinary climate control tools, fabled for their high energy efficiency relative to traditional HVAC systems. However, homeowners in Freeport, FL may sometimes encounter a problem when using a heat pump to cool their homes. By discussing some of these difficulties and what to do about them, we’ll better enable you to get the most out of your heat pump.
1. It Won’t Turn On
It’s hard to imagine a more obvious sign that something is wrong with your heat pump. Many different things might prevent your heat pump from turning on and working at all, and these problems will typically demand professional assistance. For example, it might be that your pump was not properly wired when initially installed, thus requiring HVAC technicians to come in and redo the process correctly.
Another possibility is that, though the pump has been rightly connected to your home’s electrical system, power simply isn’t flowing to the system as required. The causes of this are similar, with the most prominent being that your heat pump cause the circuit breaker to switch off. If this happens to you, then either you have an old circuit breaker that cannot handle the power load required for a modern heat pump, or the heat pump itself is old, damaged or inefficient, causing it to pull in more power than it should.
A number of alternative issues may be responsible for this problem as well. You may have a faulty reversing valve or a malfunctioning starter capacitor, for example. The one connecting thread between all of these varied sources of trouble is that HVAC repair services will almost surely be necessary.
2. The Heat Pump Runs 24/7
Just as an utter failure to turn on is a sign of trouble, so also is a heat pump that runs nonstop. Under normal conditions, the system should cycle in response to your home’s internal temperature changes, turning on and off successively depending on whether temperatures are at the level you desire them to be or not.
Common sources for this problem include refrigerant leaks, dirty condenser or evaporator coils, debris-filled filters and thermostat misuse. Luckily, you can handle the last of these problems by not changing around thermostat temperatures, and HVAC technicians can resolve all of the others for you during a regularly scheduled maintenance visit.
3. Odd Sounds
Heat pumps will inevitably make some amount of relatively faint background noise as they do their work, but this should never rise to the level of a disturbing noise. As a rule, loud and unusual noises pretty much always mean that something is amiss.
Different noises will mean different things, and we advise you to be on alert for anything strange. For instance, vibrating or rattling noises typically indicate that a screw or some other system part has come loose, while gurgling noises commonly suggest that refrigerant levels are low. Buzzing implies that the heat pump’s coils may be compromised, and grinding sounds could mean that it has dirty motor bearings.
We cannot stress enough that you should not ignore such sounds if you hear them. You should call our office for a maintenance technician to fix them for you before things get worse.
4. Foul Smells
If an unpleasant racket is bad news for your heat pump, then so is an unpleasant smell. As with the noise issue, different smells can mean different things — though, generally speaking, none of these possible meanings are good.
A musty smell points to biological contaminants in or on your system, which can cause damage if allowed to fester for a long enough time. Burning or charred smells imply electrical or wiring issues. Sometimes, animals may crawl into your ductwork, die there and create a very nasty odor.
If you don’t take steps to handle them, any of the above heat pump issues could put an end to your ability to stay cool in Freeport, FL during the summer. Thankfully, to get help, all you need to do is call Lunsford Air Conditioning & Heating and ask for our HVAC services.
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