If you have a heat pump, you may notice that your home doesn’t go quite as warm as you would like as temperatures drop lower and lower. Heat pumps have a unique way of providing heat to homes, and sometimes this method cannot stand up to extremely cold temperatures.
There are a few ways that you can know if your heat pump is struggling to keep your home warm this winter. If you notice any of them, you can give our team a call and schedule heat pump repair in Charlottesville, VA. We can check your heat pump to make sure that there are no issues contributing to the decline in operation. You can keep reading to learn why your heat pump may not be able to keep your home as warm as you would like and what we can do about it.
How a Heat Pump Works as a Heater
First, it is important to understand how your heat pump operates to provide warmth for your home. A more traditional heater uses gas and a pilot light or burners to create heat that blows into your home. A heat pump works differently because it does not generate heat in any way.
Instead, a heat pump reverses the direction of refrigerant so that heat gets absorbed from the outside and moved into your home. It’s basically the opposite of how an air conditioner works to cool your home by absorbing heat inside and moving it away. Even in the winter, there is some heat in the air outside that refrigerant can absorb and transfer into your home—no pilot light or burners are required.
The Potential for Lack of Heat
The only problem with this method of operation is that as temperatures outside get lower and lower, there is less heat in the air that can be absorbed and transferred into your home. As a result, a heat pump may not be able to raise the temperature in your home as much as you would like.
This is not as big of a problem in the south, where temperatures don’t get as cold. But here in Virginia, we experience some pretty cold winters. If you have a heat pump, the system may struggle when temperatures are their coldest during the season.
How to Address Heating Problems
First, it is important to have your heat pump checked out to make sure that there are no repair needs that should be addressed. Our team can check your heat pump inside and out to make sure that all of the components are working together the way they should to provide heat for your home. If we notice anything that needs to be fixed, we can talk to you about your options and address those needs.
But if there isn’t anything wrong with your heat pump, it may simply be that the system cannot meet your heating expectations. This does not mean you need to overhaul your entire heat pump. Instead, you can install a small add-on furnace alongside your heat pump. It will kick in automatically and provide extra heat when you need it most. This way, you can enjoy the many benefits of a heat pump while also having a little bit of comfort when the temperatures are at their coldest.
We can’t control the weather outside of your home, but we can control the weather inside your home. The team at Mack Morris Heating & A/C is here to help with heat pumps, so schedule your appointment today.