A heat pump is one of the best ways to heat your home. It is efficient and eco-friendly manner. Rather than consume a fuel source in order to create heat, a heat pump transfers ambient heat for use within your home. This process uses only a small amount of electricity and lets you enjoy dependable heating service. It also reduces both your environmental impact and home heating costs.
As with any other home heating system, though, your heat pump does have some limitations and issues specific to its design. One problem that heat pump home owners may experience is the freezing of the coil on your heat pump’s outdoor unit. However, today most heat pumps have a built-in method to combat this freezing. Here is some information about your heat pump’s defrost cycle and why it is so necessary.
Most heat pumps have a defrost cycle setting that will kick on automatically as needed. Your heat pump will try to keep this cycle as brief as possible so that the ice will melt off without affecting the energy efficiency of the device. During this cycle the heat pump will operate in reverse, switching over to the cooling mode. This warms up the coil, which in turn melts any ice accumulation away. The outdoor fan will not activate, allowing the coil temperature to rise rapidly and melt the ice.
If you’re confused as to why ice would accumulate on your heat pump even though the temperature isn’t below freezing, it is due in part to humidity. The outdoor air is obviously a little cool if you are heating your home, and the evaporator coil on your heat pump’s outdoor unit can cause some frosting if the temperature and humidity levels are right. When your evaporator coil frosts or ices over your heat pump works harder than it should have to to maintain a comfortable temperature in your home, which in turn makes wear and tear or damage to your heat pump more likely. When your heat pump evaporator coil freezes the heat pump activates the defrost cycle to remove the ice. The amount of time this takes can vary, and your backup heat supply may come on to bridge the gap until your heat pump is ready to operate effectively and safely again.
If your heat pump is having trouble defrosting its coil, call the heat pump specialists at Douglas Heating and Air Conditioning for the service you need. Don’t let your heat pump suffer damage or lose efficiency due to an icy coil. Make sure that your home is heated efficiently and consistently this winter.
