If you have a heat pump, you may be tempted to only schedule maintenance for the system once per year, if not less often. However, your heat pump really needs maintenance twice each year.
If you’re wondering why heat pump maintenance is so important, you can keep reading to learn more about these unique HVAC systems. Then give our team a call to schedule your service if you haven’t already this year. It’s never too late to begin investing in heat pump maintenance.
How a Heat Pump Works
A heat pump is different from other types of air conditioners because it provides both cooling and heating for your home. It works just like a central air conditioner when it comes to cooling your home, but also has some additional components that allow it to reverse the flow of refrigerant and provide heating in the fall and winter.
The primary way that a heat pump does this is with a reversing valve that triggers the refrigerant to move in the opposite direction. Of course, there are other components that help your heat pump operate as a heater, but it is the reversing valve that controls the change in operation.
Biannual Heat Pump Maintenance
If you had a separate air conditioner and heater, you would schedule maintenance once per year for each system. So, maintenance expectations are really not all that different for a heat pump. You are still scheduling maintenance twice per year. You schedule maintenance once for your heat pump as an air conditioner and another time for your heat pump as a heater. Ideally, you schedule maintenance at the end of the summer and winter seasons since these are the heavy-use months.
The reason that you need maintenance twice per year is that your heat pump is running around the clock all year long without a break to keep your home comfortable. If you had a separate air conditioner and heater, each of the systems would get a break during half of the year when the other system was in operation. But your heat pump does not enjoy this benefit. It can take on wear and tear faster and repair needs can worsen quickly.
Risks of Skipping Maintenance
When you skip out on maintenance, you open up the opportunity for a lot of problems with your heat pump. The first is that your heat pump may not have as long of a lifespan. Generally speaking, things last much longer when they are well cared for, and your heat pump is no exception to this rule. Investing in maintenance is the best way to make sure that your heat pump has a longer-than-average lifespan.
But maintenance also impacts efficiency. As your heat pump takes on wear and tear, it has to work harder to produce the same results. This can mean that your heat pump uses more energy and your energy bills increase. You may think that you’re saving money by skipping out on annual maintenance, but you’re just spending the money somewhere else. In fact, you may end up spending more over the life of your heat pump when you skip out on annual maintenance.
You’re also more likely to face unexpected breakdowns. The whole goal of maintenance is to identify problems before they are significant. When our team can fix minor things that are going wrong, we can prevent the larger problems from ever happening. This also helps you stay ahead of an unexpected heat pump breakdown that leaves you scheduling emergency service appointments.
Serving St. Johns County since 1988 with quality, hometown service. The Climate Masters team is here to help with all of your AC needs, so schedule an appointment today.
