Heat pumps are very common in American and Canadian households, along with other surrounding countries. The reason why heat pumps are so popular is they can do both heating and cooling. But very few people know how they work and that why very few people understand how to troubleshoot for mechanical failures or malfunctions. That’s why I am here to, if I may, educate you on how to troubleshoot your heat pump so that you can stay ahead of your AC Repair situations.

But before I get into the troubleshooting part, let me explain how a heat pump works.

What is a heat pump?

As I have mentioned, a heat pump is capable of both heating and air conditioning. This is why they are so popular.

These heat pumps can be used anywhere from households to factories and facilities. As for their work function, they act as a refrigerator. Let’s talk about the work function in detail.

How does a heat pump work?

Basically, it works like a refrigerator. That means, in general, it has a refrigerant-like substance that collects heat and turns into liquid from the gas. Then it releases the heat and turns into a gas. The heat pumps can also reverse the cycle.

In summer, a heat pump collects heat from a high-temperature area and then exert that heat into the outside air, just like a central air conditioner. But in the winter, it reverses the cycle. Then these heat pumps take the amount of heat from the outside air and push that heat into your house.

The heat pumps mainly have two primary sources from where they extract the heat. These sources are ground and air. According to the sources, these heat pumps are named. Heat pumps that use air are called Air-Source Heat Pumps and the ones that use the ground, are called Ground-Source Hear Pumps and sometimes Geothermal Heat Pumps.

Troubleshooting your heat pump

Now, let’s get into the troubleshooting.

About troubleshooting, it is not that complicated. There are only a few things that you need to check. Some of the more advanced problems would require HVAC professional help.

Anyways, first of all, you need to know when to troubleshoot. The first scenario when you might go for a troubleshoot is when it makes squeaky noise. When your heat pump makes noise, it could be a sign that it needs cleaning. If it is not your heat pump, it could be the air duct. So, go with the air duct cleaning and proceed further.

The next step should be to check whether there is any loose component or not. Any loose component can cause the noise to be careful to check even for the smallest components like a screw.

Ok, now let’s go to the next scenario.

Let’s say the air inside your room is causing allergies, asthma or other lung diseases to your family. What do you do then?

You go ahead and check for the air filter in your heat pumps and see if it got dirty enough to be replaced or not. If it is, change the filter immediately and remember to change it every 1 month to 3 months depending on how often you use your heat pump. Also, the unclean air can also be caused by molds in duct, so call for mold removal and get the duct system cleaned.

The third and last scenario would be sudden heat pump malfunction.

When your heat pump stops on a sudden, you need to proceed very carefully to the heating system and find out where the power malfunctioned happened. Sometime, it could be the power supply and sometimes it could be the air conditioning or heating unit itself. When it is just the electric line in your house. You could call for an electrician and get it fixed. But if the problem is on the heat pump, call the company and wait for their further instruction. And by the way, if it wasn’t obvious by now, you must turn off or power off the unit before you get close to it.

Bottom Line

Now you know how to handle the mechanical failures or malfunctions of your heat pump and prepare for the AC maintenance & repair situations if needed. However, for someone who is not aware of the components that make a heat pump or for someone who has never gone through any repair situations, troubleshooting the heat pump can be daunting. In this case, just make sure to call for professional help. There are dozens of HVAC services and repair companies who are waiting for your call.

If you live in Dallas and Fort Worth area, call Green Leaf Air for the best quotes and professional service for any kind of AC installation, AC replacement, AC maintenance & AC repair situations.

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