Residential Heat Pump Repair in New Port Richey, Florida

One machine, two jobs, and a climate that leans hard on cooling

A heat pump uses the same refrigeration cycle as an air conditioner. The U.S. Department of Energy describes it as pulling heat from one place and dumping it in another. It has a reversing valve, a part that lets the same machine both heat and cool your home. In winter it moves heat from the outdoor air into the house. In summer the cycle is reversed.

Most central heat pumps are split systems. The air handler, which houses the blower fan and the indoor coil, is inside, and the compressor is in the outdoor unit. Refrigerant is the fluid that carries the heat between the two coils.

The climate record near New Port Richey explains why that matters. At the NOAA station in Tarpon Springs, normal daily highs run from about 69 degrees in January to about 91 degrees in August. The same normals count about 95 days a year that reach 90 degrees or more. Cooling degree days outnumber heating degree days by roughly six to one.

In practice, the cooling side of a New Port Richey heat pump does most of the work.

Cold nights, backup heat and the 35-degree line

The Tarpon Springs normals put the average January low at about 51 degrees. They count about 11 nights a year that drop below 40 degrees, and fewer than two that drop below freezing. Most of those cold nights fall in December, January and February.

The Department of Energy notes that a standard air-source heat pump loses heating efficiency when the outdoor temperature drops below about 35 degrees. For that reason, all-electric heat pumps come with electric-resistance strip heaters for extra heat when needed.

Our guide to auxiliary heat explains what the thermostat light means.

Newer heat pumps may be significantly more efficient and can operate at wider temperature ranges, according to the same Department of Energy guide.

Not heating or not cooling: two different repairs

Because one machine does both jobs, the symptom you notice does not name the broken part. Several parts are involved in heat mode, including the reversing valve, which lets the machine both heat and cool. ENERGY STAR says dirty coils reduce a system's ability to cool your home, and wrong refrigerant charge or airflow problems reduce its efficiency.

ENERGY STAR's maintenance checklist says to tighten all electrical connections, measure voltage and current on motors, and check the starting cycle so the system starts, operates and shuts off properly. Faulty electrical connections can cause unsafe operation and reduce the life of major components.

Our guide to heat pump defrost mode covers what the outdoor unit does on a cold morning.

Safe checks before you call

A few checks are safe for any homeowner and can save a service call. None of them involve opening the equipment.

• Thermostat. Make sure it is set to heat or cool as you intend, and that the set temperature is above or below the room temperature.
• Air filter. ENERGY STAR advises inspecting, cleaning or changing the filter once a month. A dirty filter can raise energy costs and damage the equipment.
• Outdoor unit and vents. Clear leaves and debris from around the outdoor unit. The Department of Energy guide also says to keep vents and registers free of furniture, carpets and other items that block airflow.
• Drain line. Look for water around the indoor unit. ENERGY STAR notes that a plugged condensate drain can cause water damage and affect indoor humidity.

Stop there. Refrigerant, capacitors, wiring and anything behind a panel are jobs for a licensed contractor. If the system is completely dead, or the checks do not solve it, call us.

After a storm, wait before you switch it back on

If flood water got into your house, do not restart the heat pump to test it.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's flooded-home guidance is direct. It says not to turn on the HVAC system until the home has been cleaned and dried and needed repairs and remediation are done. It also warns that debris in the HVAC system, including mold spores, can spread into areas of the house that were not affected.

A heat pump has electrical parts both outdoors and in the air handler. Have a technician look at both before the system runs again. See also our New Port Richey AC repair page.

Refrigerant rules, permits and a fair repair-or-replace answer

Refrigerant work is regulated. Section 608 of the federal Clean Air Act prohibits anyone from intentionally venting refrigerants while servicing, repairing or disposing of air conditioning equipment. Blume's EPA Section 608 certified technicians handle that work. The EPA also asks homeowners to have technicians locate and repair leaks instead of topping off a leaking system.

If a heat pump needs replacing, the Department of Energy's heat pump replacement checklist calls for a room-by-room ACCA Manual J load calculation. It also calls for sizing the new equipment with ACCA Manual S. Blume sizes systems that way rather than by rule of thumb. Our guide on when to replace a heat pump sets out the signs.

Pasco County runs a Central Permitting office and its Building Inspections office at 8661 Citizens Drive in New Port Richey. Before a replacement, confirm with the city or the county which office covers your address.

Pasco County has three electric providers. The Pasco Economic Development Council says Duke Energy primarily serves southwest Pasco, and Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative primarily serves the north and center of the county. Check the name on your bill if you need to report an outage before a service visit.