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This is the time of the year when you\u2019ll probably appreciate having a heat pump to take care of both your warm and cool weather comfort needs. As the weather swings back and forth during spring, you can simply switch your heat pump between its two different modes\u2014heating and cooling\u2014with only a single adjustment on the thermostat. No reason to think about having to shut down a heater for the year, and your thermostat programming doesn\u2019t have to change much.<\/p>\n
But what if the heat pump won\u2019t turn over into cooling mode? This is one of the more common troubles a heat pump can run into, and it\u2019s also one our technicians are familiar with fixing so the heat pump can go back to work.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll take a brief look at what might be going on with a heat pump stuck in one mode.<\/p>\n
One of the more surface-level reasons for a stuck heat pump is the thermostat has lost its connection to the reversing valve. (A bit more on the reversing valve later.) A thermostat uses different wire connections to turn different parts of the heat pump on and off, and if the thermostat can\u2019t operate the reversing valve, the heat pump will stay in one mode.<\/p>\n
Another possibility is the heat pump isn\u2019t accurately sensing temperatures and is recording temperatures indoor as lower than they are. This will prevent the thermostat from turning the heat pump over to cooling mode unless the temperature is extremely high indoors, or the thermostat is set too low. A technician can recalibrate the thermostat to solve this.<\/p>\n
The reversing valve we just mentioned is the key component of a heat pump that makes it different from a standard AC. The reversing valve controls the direction refrigerant flows after it leaves the compressor, and depending on which direction the refrigerant moves, the heat pump will be in either heating mode or cooling mode.<\/p>\n
Since the reversing valve is a mechanical component, it can wear down or become stuck, and when this happens, the heat pump can\u2019t switch between modes. This can require a larger repair: in most cases, the technicians must replace the valve with a new one.<\/p>\n
If the heat pump seems to be putting out cooler air than in heating mode, but it\u2019s not cooling down the house, the trouble could be a clogged air filter or the heat pump is short-cycling (turning off before it finished a cooling cycle). If replacing the filter doesn\u2019t improve the situation, then call for a technician to get to the bottom of the situation and see what needs to be fixed.<\/p>\n