Balanced Air, Inc. Blog: Archive for the ‘Heat Pumps’ Category

Your Heat Pump Is in Heating Mode … But It’s Not Heating

Monday, February 7th, 2022

cold-house-warm-houseWe think that heat pumps are one of the best ways for homes in the Tampa Bay area to enjoy year-round comfort. A heat pump works like an AC—a powerful AC that can handle the heat and humidity of our summers. But a heat pump can also work in reverse as an energy-efficient heating system. Although a heat pump can struggle to provide heat in freezing temperatures, we don’t have to worry about those days in Tampa Bay—a heat pump can stay energy-efficient through the winter.

Because heat pumps change between two different modes, heating and cooling, they can fall prey to a specific malfunction: failure to change from one mode to another. For most heat pumps, the default mode is cooling, so they can run afoul of a problem where they won’t switch into heating mode. 

If you have this problem with your heat pump, you may need us for heat pump repair in Land O’ Lakes, FL. We’ll take a look at why this might be happening with your heat pump.

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Where Does a Heat Pump Draw Its Heat From on Cold Days?

Monday, December 6th, 2021

cold-house-warm-houseA heat pump is like an air conditioner, except it can run in reverse. On a hot day, a heat pump does the exact same job you expect from an AC. It removes heat from inside the house and then exhausts it outside. If you’ve ever stood beside the condenser unit of your air conditioner when it’s running, you’ll know the feeling of hot air blowing from it. The same thing happens with a heat pump when in cooling mode. On a cold day, a heat pump switches the way the process works: it removes heat from outside and then blows it into the house. 

“Hey, wait a minute…” We can hear the gears in your mind working. Something about this process doesn’t make sense. A heat pump in heating mode is drawing its heat energy from outdoors. But … you only need to run the heat pump in heating mode when it’s cold outside. Where is that heat coming from?

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Fall Maintenance Time Is Here … Yes, Your Heat Pump Needs Fall Maintenance!

Monday, October 11th, 2021

heat-pumpMaintenance for heating systems in the fall is something people in Florida occasionally let slip. We don’t experience bracing cold winter weather, so homeowners often forget that their heaters need to have attention from HVAC professionals to clean, adjust, tune up, and inspect them. 

We want to stress that any heating system must have annual maintenance visits. But we’re putting a special emphasis on heat pumps in this post, for two reasons:

  • People often mistakenly believe that heat pumps only need a single maintenance visit during the year, the way ACs and heating systems do.
  • Heat pumps are not just for cold weather, and they often do a good amount of cooling even during the fall and winter. 

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Making a Change for the Fall: What to Know About Getting a Heat Pump

Monday, September 13th, 2021

air-conditioner-units-near-grassFall is almost here, and no matter what the weather outside currently is, you’ll start making plans for lower temperatures. Part of your plans this year might include a heat pump installation Wesley Chapel, FL. Heat pumps are popular choices in Florida because they can function well in both modes: heating and cooling. If this is what has you interested in replacing your old HVAC system with a heat pump, you’re already on the right track for great comfort. 

Before you go further into finding a heat pump, we have important general information about heat pump installation that will help you with making your decision.

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Can I Install My Own Heat Pump?

Monday, February 3rd, 2020

hand-holding-wrenchIf you ask, “Can I install my own heat pump?”, the best response is another question: “Could you install your own central air conditioning system?” And not a window unit: a large central cooling system, with an outdoor cabinet, fixed on a large concrete slab and an indoor air handler and evaporator hooked up to the ventilation system.

Your answer is probably no. Well, a heat pump is almost the same as a central air conditioner. It may be able to change the direction it operates so it can provide heat to a home as well as cooling, but the configuration of parts and how they integrate with the house exterior and interior are identical.

So no, you can’t install your own heat pump.

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How Long Can a New Heat Pump Installation Last?

Monday, January 20th, 2020

heat-pumpsWhen it comes to HVAC in Trinity, FL, the heat pump is one of the best systems to install. A heat pump is a combination of an air conditioning system and heating system in one. As an air conditioner, it’s the match of any standard AC of the same size—and that’s terrific for handling the hot Florida summer weather. As a heater, it has much better energy efficiency than electric furnaces. A heat pump can struggle in extremely cold weather, but that’s never an issue here!

If you have a heat pump in your home, you’ll want to know how long you can expect it to run. There is no single answer that applies in all cases, but we can give you some benchmarks.

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Advice on What Not to Do With Your Heat Pump

Monday, January 6th, 2020

air-conditioning-ductlessHeat pumps are a great way to provide central heating and cooling for a home, especially in the climate we enjoy in Tampa Bay. A heat pump works as a powerful air conditioner during hot weather, the equal of any standalone AC system. When the short cold days arrive, a heat pump changes over to an energy-efficient heater that won’t drain the same amount of power as a furnace.

But when it comes to operating a heat pump, user error can still end up lowering system effectiveness. We’re going to look at a few things you shouldn’t do with a heat pump. These are even more important if you’ve only recently switched to heat pump use or added a ductless heat pump as part of your HVAC system.

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Problems With Broken Ductless Heating Units

Monday, December 23rd, 2019

ductless-mini-splitUsing a ductless mini split heat pump for your winter warmth is one of the best methods available—especially in Florida, where the energy efficiency of a heat pump is an ideal match for our mild winters. Ductless systems take away the hassles of ducts and allow more flexible comfort options for both older homes and new home construction. Without ducts, an HVAC system will need fewer repairs. Ducts can be the source of several heating and AC problems, and with a ductless mini split, they simply vanish.

But not all problems leading to heating repair in Clearwater, FL vanish along with the ducts. During the winter, you may encounter broken ductless heating units. We’re going to take a look into some of these problems, how they happen, and what can be done about them.

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A Few Common Heat Pump Troubles

Monday, November 25th, 2019

vent-registerHeat pumps seem like they were designed with Florida weather in mind. They’re powerful air conditioning systems that can deal with the hottest summer days in our tropical climate, and they can change into energy-efficient heaters that never experience efficiency troubles during the mild winters. Compared to using an AC and furnace, a heat pump is convenient and saves money.

We’re not saying heat pumps are perfect. It’s why we wrote this post: your heat pump may run into one or more of the following problems during the coming cooler days of winter. If you can’t locate a simple solution for a heat pump problem (such as somebody tampering with the thermostat settings—you know it happens), you need a Lutz, FL, HVAC contractor with the experience to repair it. We’re here to help whenever you need us 24-hours a day.

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How a Heat Pump Gets Heat From Outside

Monday, November 11th, 2019

cold-house-warm-houseWe recommend heat pump installations to many of our customers because they are an excellent option for comfort in the Tampa Bay climate. For those who aren’t familiar with this HVAC system, they are refrigerant-based cooling and heating systems that operate similar to air conditioners. The difference is that a heat pump can work in both directions when it comes to moving heat. An AC moves heat outside of the house to cool the air. A heat pump can also do that, but with only a basic adjustment, it can move heat from outside the house and release it indoors, warming the space.

This is usually where people who don’t know about heat pumps raise their hand with a question: “Since I’ll only use the heat pump in heating mode when it’s cold outside, how is the heat pump getting any heat from the outside air?”

It does seem strange, but the explanation is a simple one.

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