Temperatures have been brutally cold in recent weeks, especially in the south east. As temperatures continue to drop, your heating system is working overtime to keep you and your family comfortable inside when temperatures dip down into the teens outside. With a constantly working heating system it is no wonder why heating repair businesses are staying busy. It has been reported by many repair businesses that they are having difficulty keeping up with the rise in demand for unit repair.
So you think that you heating unit is not working? One common mistake that homeowners with a heat pump make is calling a repair service too soon. When its cold outside they notice that the temperature in their home is dropping and the system is having a difficult time because it is running constantly and putting out very little heat. They immediately pick up the phone and call for help without knowing how a heat pump system is designed to work.
Briefly, a heat pump system is a heat exchanger system designed to gradually warm or cool a home. In the summer time refrigerant flows in one direction carrying heat from the inside of a home to the exterior and dispersing the heat through the condenser on the outside of the house. The refrigerant is then returned to the interior evaporator unit in your home and the cycle continues on. In the winter time your heat pumps refrigerant flows in the opposite direction having the opposite effect.
With moderate temperatures a heat pump is effective and efficient. As temperatures drop below freezing heat pumps lose their efficiency and effectiveness. Because of this, heat pumps have auxiliary heat strips built into the unit. You will know when the heat strips are activated because you will receive an unusual blast of hot air often followed by the smell of burning dust. These heat strips are often activated whenever your household temperature drops below a certain threshold. (Usually 3-5 degrees below the set temperature.)
Before you pick up the phone to call the repair guy first understand that your unit may be a heat pump unit and this is usually normal. The last thing you want to do is call for help and have someone come out only to tell you that your system is in normal operation and waste both your time and theirs.
Author: Greg Jackson
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