With the cold months quickly approaching, it’s time to prepare your heating unit to keep you warm. Heat pumps are one of the appliances that have become popular in many homes because they can efficiently heat and cool.
However, low temperatures can take a toll on your heat-pump system. When it’s snowy and the temperature begins to plummet, your system may struggle to keep your home’s interior warm. Below are some common issues you may experience.
1. Insufficient Heat
Heat pumps work by transferring heat from outside your home to the interior. But during the cold months, the heat generated by these devices may not be as warm as you would expect. This is due to difficulty in pulling heat from frigid outdoor environments.
In most cases, the heat-pump system’s insufficient heat is due to extremely cold weather conditions. In other cases, the problem can result from dirty filters, poor refrigerant flow, blocked air ducts, faulty valves or low thermostat settings. Therefore, when your system doesn’t generate enough heat, call our technicians to inspect your system and get to the root of the problem.
2. Outdoor Unit Covered in Ice
During the cold season, it’s common for your outdoor heat-pump unit to become covered in snow, frost or ice. The ice can restrict airflow, making your system struggle, which may cause severe damage to the entire unit. If there are light layers of ice in your system, it should disappear soon. However, you should address the issue quickly and not let ice remain on it for extended periods.
Typically, your heat pump will go into defrost mode after sensing the ice buildup. The system should thaw the ice in about 10-15 minutes. If there is ice covering your outdoor unit or the frost goes beyond the covers and coils after the defrosting process, seek professional assistance from our team. We will clean or replace the heat-pump filters to improve airflow. We’ll also check if the blower motor, condenser, registers or vents have any issues that would contribute to the ice on your unit.
3. Freezing and Draining Issues
Something else you may experience is your heat pump having improper drainage, which can make your system freeze and prevent it from functioning normally or even stop it from working at all. When this happens, the liquid refrigerant stops flowing through your system’s coils. If you notice your heat pump is dripping or leaking, you are having drain problems. Make sure you call our professional as soon as possible to avoid costly repairs.
Draining problems happen when your heat pump is on an unsteady surface, exposed to rainwater or submerged in snow. Our team will realign your system to ensure the coils remain dry. We’ll place your unit on a high and sturdy surface where it cannot get submerged in water, snow or other elements — therefore, it won’t freeze.
4. Heat Pump Constantly Running
You might also notice that your heat pump constantly runs without shutting off during the cold season. Due to the chilly weather conditions, your system may run for extended periods as it tries to maintain the required temperature in your home. However, your heat pump will use more power, contributing to additional energy costs. Therefore, ensure you call our team to assess and fix your system.
Your heat pump may constantly run due to dirty or clogged filters that restrict air flow, forcing your system to run constantly to provide enough heat. Also, if there are refrigerant leaks, your system will run constantly. When there is a low refrigerant charge, there is a decrease in the heat pump’s heating capacity, so it has to keep running to supply enough heat to your home. You can rely on our experienced professionals to fix the leak or change the filters and ensure your appliance is in perfect condition.
Seek Help From the Best Heating professionals
Encountering a malfunctioning heat-pump system is the last thing you want to experience during the winter. Let the experts at Texas Pride AC & Heating help you eliminate these problems, so you never have to worry about waking up to a cold house during winter. We have been in the HVAC industry since 1984 and have always worked toward offering top-notch services to every customer. Our NATE-certified and professionally trained technicians in Houston always go the extra mile to surpass your expectations in every task. Our services include A/C installation, heating repair, heating maintenance, indoor air quality, A/C repair, heating installation and A/C maintenance.
Call Texas Pride AC & Heating today to book a service with our experts.
