Why Is My Heat Pump Blowing Cold Air?

February 15, 2024

Why Is My Heat Pump Blowing Cold Air? With the cooler temperatures experienced during the winter, your heat pump should be able to provide reliable warmth all through the season. However, circumstances may lead to your heating pump blowing cold air while it’s in heat mode. This can be unpleasant and make your home uncomfortable during the winter. There are various factors why your heat pump isn’t working; the problems can need simple or complex fixes that require a professional to handle. Below are some various reasons why your heat pump is blowing cold air. Your Heat Pump Is in Defrost Mode A heat pump can generate warm and cold air during different stages of compression and condensation. During the winter, a drop in the outside temperature could lead to freezing of your pump’s outdoor unit. The defrost mode enables the system to thaw the ice from the outdoor unit. This mechanism allows the system to direct the hot air toward the outdoor unit to melt any accumulated ice that would damage the system if manually removed. Since the defrost mode works like the cooling mode, the system will likely blow cold air inside your home. Once all the ice...

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12 Reasons to Use a Geothermal Heat Pump in Your Home

December 22, 2023

12 Reasons to Use a Geothermal Heat Pump in Your Home A geothermal heat pump taps into the Earth’s constant underground temperatures to provide efficient heating and cooling for homes. It uses a series of pipes buried underground to transfer heat to or from the ground. Geothermal systems work well in various homes, particularly those with the right climate, soil and ground conditions, like those in St. Louis. They are ideal for both new and existing homes, offering energy efficiency and cost savings while minimizing environmental impact, making them suitable for a range of residential settings. If you’re wondering whether your home could benefit from geothermal heating, check out these top 12 benefits. 1. Energy Efficiency Geothermal heat pumps enhance a home’s energy efficiency by utilizing the stable temperatures beneath the Earth’s surface. This minimizes the energy required for heating and cooling, resulting in lower utility bills. The consistent underground temperatures allow the system to operate efficiently year-round, reducing overall energy consumption and environmental impact. 2. Cost Savings Homeowners transitioning to geothermal heat pumps experience multifaceted cost savings. Lower utility bills stem from the system’s energy efficiency, reducing both heating and cooling expenses. Geothermal systems typically have fewer maintenance needs...

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14 Tips for Choosing the Right Size Heat Pump

December 7, 2023

14 Tips for Choosing the Right Size Heat Pump A heat pump is a versatile HVAC system that provides both heating and cooling. It extracts heat from the outside air during the winter for heating and reverses the process during the summer for cooling. Choosing the right size heat pump is crucial for optimal efficiency and performance. An undersized unit will struggle to meet a home’s heating and cooling demands, resulting in discomfort and increased energy bills. Conversely, an oversized unit will cycle on and off frequently, leading to inefficiency, higher energy consumption and premature wear. Proper sizing ensures efficient operation, energy savings and comfort. Here are the top factors to consider when choosing the right size heat pump for a home. 1. Home Size The capacity of a heat pump to efficiently heat and cool a house is proportional to its square footage. In order to keep the temperature acceptable throughout, larger houses often need greater heating and cooling capacity. On the other side, heat pumps that are too big for a home can lead to major heating and cooling inefficiencies. If you want your heat pump to work as efficiently as possible while also meeting your home’s unique...

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Understanding BTU Ratings in Heat Pumps

November 9, 2023

How To Determine What BTUs Mean With Heat Pumps Heat pumps are the most cost-effective heating and cooling systems on the market and a great option for new builds or for spaces that are being renovated. If you’re interested in a new heat pump system, you’ve probably noticed that these come with a BTU rating. What does this number mean? Why is it important? Does it matter which BTU rating you choose for your heat pump? You can find the answers to these questions and more below. What Does BTU Mean? BTU stands for British Thermal Unit, a universal method of measuring the amount of hot or cold air needed for heating or cooling a space. Heat pumps work by drawing heat in from the outside to heat your home and transferring heat out of a home to cool it. These heat transfers are measured in BTU, or in other words, by how many thermal transfers happen per hour. The main factor for determining your heat pump’s BTU rating is the size of your home, but other factors like insulation, ceiling height, and heated appliances can change your BTU rating. Why Is the BTU Rating Important When Choosing a Heat...

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The Benefits and Limitations of Heat Pump Use in Winter

December 18, 2020

The Benefits and Limitations of Heat Pump Use in Winter Manufacturers build reversible mechanical systems within heat pumps so that they can provide either heated or cooled air. The reversibility function means that in cold weather your heat pump can extract heat energy from outdoor air and move it into your home. On the surface, the notion that cold outdoor air has heat energy to offer feels difficult to believe. However, the depressurization of refrigerant moving through the heat pump lowers its temperature below the outdoor air. This allows the refrigerant to draw heat from the slightly warmer external air. Pressurization and Depressurization Placing refrigerant under pressure increases the temperature of the refrigerant because the molecules are crowded and colliding with each other and producing heat energy. Alternatively, reducing pressure on refrigerant gives the molecules space to spread out and therefore cool down. The reversing valve within a heat pump controls whether pressurized or depressurized refrigerant is moving into the outdoor unit. In the winter, the heat pump moves depressurized coolant outside. Because depressurization has caused the refrigerant’s temperature to drop, it cools the coil outside. As long as the cooled coil achieves a lower temperature than the outside air,...

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Keep Your Home Warm Without Spending More Money – St. Louis HVAC

February 22, 2016

Keep your home warm and cozy without increasing your heating costs. Cranking up the furnace is one way to keep your house warm, but it could be costly in terms of energy expenses and environmental impact. We will recommend some simple ways to keep your home warm without increasing your energy bills. Weather Proof the Garage Doors You might be letting in cool air through the garage doors. Weatherstrip and insulate the garage doors and seal all cracks around the windows. Check the Furnace Filter Regularly Change the furnace filter every month during the winter season according to the manufacturer’s instructions. A clean air filter will improve the efficiency of your furnace and keep you warm even during the coldest of winter months. Check the Vents Make sure that your HVAC system’s vents are clean and not clogged with dirt or blocked by furniture. This is important to ensure that warm air circulates freely across the house. Prevent Cold Attic Air From Cooling Your House The attic access cover and staircase may be a source of cold drafts. Weatherstripping is a good way to counter this problem. Ask your St. Louis HVAC contractor for a ready-made insulating attic access cover. Minimize Heat Loss Through Windows Windows are a major source of heat loss. Use weather stripping and caulking to prevent heat...

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Can You Tell When It’s Time to Replace Your Air Conditioner or Furnace?

October 23, 2015

Proper installation and regular maintenance can help extend the lifespan of your air conditioner or furnace. However, normal wear and tear is unavoidable. In fact, the average lifespan of a furnace, if properly installed and maintained, could be around 20 years. On the other hand, with proper installation and maintenance, a heat pump can last for around 14 years, and an air conditioner for 16 years, according to a recent study conducted by American Home Comfort. It is also important to consider that manufacturing companies nowadays upgrade their HVAC models at frequent intervals. This means that if your HVAC equipment is more than 10-15 years old, it may be using outdated technology. So it would be a good idea to replace your old air conditioner or furnace when it’s nearing the end of its lifespan. Upgrade from an R-22 System to R-410A If you are currently using old R-22 HVAC equipment, consider upgrading to a new R-410A system. The old ozone-depleting refrigerant not only lacks efficiency, but it has lately been identified as harmful for the environment. Manufacturing companies are gradually switching to R-410A from R-22. The price of R-410A models have come down considerably over the past few years,...

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How Ductless Heat Pumps Work

October 9, 2015

How Ductless Heat Pumps Work? It is estimated that a ductless heat pump can save you up to 40 percent on your energy bills! The use of ductless heat pumps in St. Louis area homes and offices is a relatively new trend. Previously, almost all heating and cooling systems would have some ducts. While ducts help achieve uniform heating and cooling throughout the entire home, they generally consume more energy than the ductless systems consume. In fact, a heating or cooling system may lose around 15 to 20 percent of its efficiency while the hot or cool air flows through the pipes to the ducts. This means that using ductless heat pumps will help you save a lot on your energy bills. A ductless heat pump system comes with an outdoor and an indoor unit. The outdoor unit contains the compressor or condenser, while the indoor unit consists of air handlers that are installed in the areas to be cooled or heated. You will also find portable floor units that do not require installation. The outdoor unit is connected to the indoor unit with conduits, which contain condensate drains, refrigerant tubing, power cables, and suction tubing. The indoor unit works...

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Use This Tax Credit Before the End of the Year

November 4, 2013

Do not miss the opportunity to claim the 30% tax rebate for geothermal heating systems. Put aside for a moment how environmentally friendly they are or how they can cut up to 70% off of your utility bills. Forget for now that they are more quiet and reliable than ordinary air conditioners and heat pumps. Focus instead on the tax break being offered by the federal government if you have one installed in your home or business. The Federal Tax Credit 2014 is right around the corner. Do not miss out on your opportunity to claim the 30% tax rebate being offered to homeowners who have a geothermal heating system installed. All you need to do to qualify is have purchased and installed a system that exceeds the requirements of the energy star program after 2007. You will not be required to provide any proof of purchase, but you should retain all receipts in the event of an audit. Business owners also can benefit from a tax credit of 10% if they install a geothermal heating system on their premises. Your Return on Investment A geothermal heat pump is an expensive investment initially. There is a need to dig large...

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What Is A Ground Source Heat Pump?

September 26, 2013

Ground source heat pumps utilize the solar energy that is stored in the earth. The earth has a fairly constant temperature and can be used to provide hot water, as well as heating and cooling for either commercial buildings or residences. Ground source heat pumps are electrically powered. What do they do? Ground source heat pumps can provide space heating, cooling, and hot water for a home or business through the one system. There is a thermostat located indoors and to switch from one mode to another you simply adjust the thermostat. How do they work? Ground source heat pumps use either open or closed loops that can be installed in three different ways. Determining which choice you should go with (horizontal, vertical, or rock/pond installation) depends on your location and the surrounding land. Open-loop systems and closed-loop systems operate in similar ways. Closed-loop systems use either antifreeze or a water solution that circulates through pipes made of plastic buried underground. Then during winter months, the solution is used to collect heat from the earth and then circulate it back to the home or building. During warmer months the system is reversed and the solution takes the heat out of...

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