Your heat pump has two different jobs, and they’re both equally important: it heats your home, but it also keeps it cool. However, sometimes it runs into trouble when it tries to switch from one mode to the other, then it gets stuck trying to figure out what to do. But it’s jammed–it can’t do anything, so what are you to do?
While you’ll have to call for heat pump repair in Long Beach, CA, it’s also important to know why that is so you can prevent this problem from happening again in the future. Let’s talk about what you can do to prevent your heat pump from running into this problem again.
Keep Those Air Filters Clean
Your air filters are critically important to maintaining function of your heat pump. The main issue here is that more homeowners underestimate just how important it is to monitor their air filters, and are often shocked to find out that they should be changed every 30 days.
If you’re not sure when your last air filter replacement was, it’s safe to assume it was more than 30 days ago. Start by changing out your filter and replacing it with a new one, and see if that fixes the mode-switching problem.
If that works, that’s good news. Now it’s time to set a monthly reminder on your phone to change out that air filter on the 1st day of the month. Then stick to it.
Your Thermostat Isn’t Calibrated Properly
EIther that, or it could be broken entirely. It’s difficult to say, but an HVAC technician should be able to tell you. Your thermostat reads the temperature of the room, then sends that information to the heat pump to give it instructions.
But what happens when those instructions never make it there? Or they don’t show up at all? Your heat pump is just waiting on standby mode, and there’s no further instructions to go off of. It could just be a miscommunication from your thermostat to your heat pump, but it still requires a technician to fix iit.
Solenoid Is on the Fritz
Inside of your heat pump, there’s a small mechanism called a solenoid. Think of it as a switch that has one side dedicated to the heating function, and another for the cooling. When that solenoid doesn’t operate properly, your heat pump stays in one mode.
The reason this is good? It means there’s no widespread mechanical failure causing this problem. Sure, it still needs some TLC from a licensed technician, but it’s not the worst issue you could have faced with this.
Your Heat Pump Needs a Tune-Up
These problems often happen because you haven’t had a tune-up in a while. It’s time to not only call for repair, but make sure you schedule annual maintenance to prevent these issues from popping up again. With Southwest HVAC on your side, we’ll be your frontline defense against malfunctioning heat pumps for the foreseeable future.
Contact Southwest HVAC today to schedule your heat pump repair as soon as possible.