You Expect A Lot From Your Heat Pump — Give It The Attention It Needs

The cooling months are here, which means overtime for your heat-pump system. Your heat pump works hard to keep your home cool and comfortable. Help it out by doing some easy do-it-yourself care, and scheduling service with a heating and cooling professional. You’ll save energy, help your system last longer, and help avoid major repair problems down the road.

To better care for your heat-pump system, it’s good to understand the basic operation. In the Orlando area, heat pumps are generally split-system air-source systems, with an outdoor unit, an indoor unit and a compressor. The outdoor and indoor units house a blower and heat exchanger. The compressor sits in the middle, pumping refrigerant throughout the system. As refrigerant flows through the indoor heat exchanger, the blower pulls air across it, instigating the refrigerant to extract heat from your home. The resulting cold air is circulated through your ductwork. The heat that was extracted is released at the outdoor heat exchanger as the outdoor blower pulls air across it, as well. This process repeats until the right amount of heat is removed from your home.

Do-It-Yourself Tips

The three factors that most influence efficient heat pump function are air circulation, refrigerant levels, and your duct design. For maximum heat pump function, you should have preventive maintenance twice a year. Perform these simple do-it-yourself tips in between service calls:

• Check your air filter regularly. A dirty filter hinders efficient airflow.
• Wipe the indoor heat exchanger coils. They easily collect dust and dirt.
• Wipe the blower fan blades. They collect debris as well.
• Keep the outdoor unit housing completely free of blockages, like leaves, grass, and any other debris.

Professional Service

Now is a good time to have your heat pump serviced. These are some of the details performed:

• Lubricate all moving parts.
• Check electrical components for secure connections and wear.
• Check thermostat function.
• Check blower speed.
• Inspect duct system.
• Check refrigerant level.

Contact Rinaldi’s Air Conditioning for more information about preparing your home for the cooling months. This is our 42nd year of providing HVAC service and installation for the Orlando area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers 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.

Rinaldi’s services Orlando, Florida and the surrounding areas. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!