For Portland’s weather, a heat pump is a great option for year-round comfort in your home. They can handle any level of heat with their cooling power, and our winter temperatures rarely drop to the extremes that will give their heating much trouble.
But a heat pump is only as good as the state of repair that it’s in. When your heat pump shows any signs of troubling behavior, you need to have professional repairs done on the double. We’ve put together a list of common warning signs of a heat pump that needs attention.
Call Clean Air Act for heating repair technicians in Portland, OR who can handle your heat pump issues.
Warning signs of heat pump problems
- Ice developing along the coils: If you notice ice along the coil that is currently operating as the evaporating coil (indoor coil in cooling mode, outdoor coil in heating mode), then your heat pump could be suffering from one of two problems. There might be a refrigerant leak, in which case you will need repairs to find and seal the leak and then recharge the lost refrigerant. The second possibility is the coil has become too dirty to allow easy heat absorption, and this will require a technician to remove and clean the coil. Just scraping the ice off will not do any good. It will come back and continue to grow.
- Grinding or clicking noises from the cabinet: Unusual noises from a heat pump cabinet are rarely good signs. The two most common warning noises are clicking and grinding. Clicking is usually a signal that one of the capacitors is on the edge of failing. (Capacitors transfer voltage to start the motors and keep them running.) Grinding tends to mean motors that have lost lubrication or become dirty and will soon burn out. In both cases, you’ll need a repair technician to replace the failing unit(s).
- The heat pump remains stuck in one mode: If your heat pump refuses to cool or refuses to heat, then the issue is probably from the reversing valve. This valve allows refrigerant to change the direction of its flow through the unit, which is how the heat pump switches from heating to cooling. If the reversing valve malfunctions, the heater will remain in one mode. Call for repairs to have the reversing valve replaced.
You need professional repairs
Heat pumps are complex devices that require a precise balance of different systems—refrigerant loops, compressors, air handlers, motors, thermostats—to work accurately. Without special training and tools, it’s almost impossible to repair them. Amateur repairs are likely to do the opposite: cause further damage to the unit.
Put away the do-it-yourself kit and call up Clean Air Act. We have heating repair technicians in Portland, OR ready 24/7 to assist you.