Be Aware of These 5 Wintertime Heat Pump Problems

Since heat pumps function as both heating and cooling systems, they will face challenges throughout the entire year. Nevertheless, a few particularly serious issues are especially likely to emerge during the winter. Here are five wintertime heat pump problems that homeowners in Long Beach, MD, may face:

Frozen Coils

When your heat pump runs in heating mode, its evaporator coils sit in its outdoor unit and its condenser coils sit in its indoor unit. To properly heat your home, both of these coils need to be clean and free of any obstructions. Unfortunately, many things may prevent this from being the case.

Ordinarily, when your heat pump is in heating mode, refrigerant will sit in its evaporator coils and absorb heat from the air located outside. This fluid will then heat up and raise the surrounding temperature. For this to happen, the surface area of the coils will need to make direct contact with the outdoor air.

When debris gathers on the coils, it can interfere with this contact. Consequently, your coils will absorb less heat, and the temperature in your heat pump will increase by a lower amount.

With the cold weather, the probability that stray condensation on the coils forms into ice increases during this time of year. That ice, if it forms, will further prevent the coils from making contact with outdoor air, which willexacerbate the problem.

Ice Accumulation

During the winter, ice may also appear in or around other parts of your heat pump besides its coils. Since the system will generate heat for you, humidity levels in its interior increase. This, along with the low temperatures outdoors, will make ice formation more likely.

Since this ice can form almost anywhere, it has the potential to adversely affect your heat pump in all sorts of ways and reduce the effectiveness of virtually any of its parts. The system may enter into defrost mode in an effort to remove any accumulated ice, but defrost mode may sometimes fail.

This is why it’s important for you to make sure that all of the parts in your heat pump remain clean and can function adequately. You should ask HVAC service technicians to perform maintenance on your system at least once per year. As part of this, they will thoroughly clean and inspect everything.

Freezing Refrigerant

To keep you warm this winter, your heat pump absolutely needs to have a sufficient amount of refrigerant. During the heat transfer process, this all-important substance should alternately evaporate into a gas and condense into a liquid.

Refrigerant leaks can significantly inhibit these actions, but they may happen at any time of year. During especially frigid winters, an additional danger exists that refrigerant may freeze solid. If this happens, we strongly urge you to turn the system off and request professional help as quickly as possible.

Frozen Pipes

Many circumstances can occur that can cause your system to leak refrigerant. For example, icy winter temperatures may cause the copper tubes through which refrigerant travels to freeze and crack. Refrigerant gas can then escape through any holes in these pipes.

Dirty Air Filters

The air filters in your heat pump may become dirty and restrict airflow at any time of year, but the consequences of this can be seriously problematic during the winter. First, by diminishing airflow, clogged filters will decrease your heat pump’s performance right when you most need to stay warm. Second, they make it more likely that circulating air will pick up some debris from the filters and move it to the coils, possibly causing eventual ice formation there.

To prevent this, remember to keep your filters clean. You should wash or replace them every three months.

Despite the difficulties that winter weather may pose for you, you can feel quite comfortable as long as you get the right professional help. Working with a licensed and experienced professional may prove instrumental in keeping your heat pump working. Call B.M.C. Clower Heating and Air Conditioning to request our heat pump services today.

Image provided by iStock

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