Keeping your Fort Wayne area home's heat pump A/C working properly is critical for maintaining a comfortable home in the hot summer months. If your heat pump won't cool your home, you will want it working correctly as soon as possible. Try these quick troubleshooting tips to help get your heat pump A/C back on track:
- Check your settings. If your heat pump worked normally during the heating months, but is beginning to fail when switching to cooling mode, begin your troubleshooting by ensuring that the thermostat is set to "cooling" and on the "automatic" setting. If this doesn't fix the issue, try switching the unit to "fan only" to check whether the fan will work by itself. If it is, your heat pump must be getting power, so that's not the issue. It's also important to remember that the thermostat has to be kept at a comfortable temperature, but that if the setting isn't low enough, your heat pump can't turn on.
- Inspect the air filter. Air filters must be clean and free of debris in order for the heat pump to work efficiently. This means replacing or otherwise cleaning filters every month when the unit is being heavily used.
- Inspect your power source. If the heat pump A/C or its fan won't turn on, inspect the fuse or breaker box to see whether the system is receiving any power. If the heat pump frequently starts and stops, or consistently flips the breaker, there's likely a problem with either the unit's compressor, or your home's electrical wiring. In either case, this is the time to contact a professional to take a more thorough look at the issue.
- Replace the thermostat batteries. This is an easy problem to overlook, and an even easier one to solve, provided the thermostat uses batteries. Some of them get their power directly from the heat pump itself. Thermostat batteries should be changed at least every six months. Try to use high-performance options where available.
- Add refrigerant. Low refrigerant levels limit A/C and heat pump functionality, and eventually will cause system failure. However, working with refrigerant is not a do-it-yourself task. In most states, it requires special certification. If you suspect low refrigerant levels, contact your trusted HVAC technician.
To learn more about troubleshooting your heat pump A/C, or for other quality HVAC products and solutions, contact our experts at Hartman Brothers Heating & Air Conditioning.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in New Haven, Indiana and surrounding Fort Wayne area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about heat pumps and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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