In my travels around the valley taking care of clients during the winter, I’ve noticed a number of significant issues that have been occurring. One of the more significant problems and most expensive for repairs has been the toll that our winter weather takes on the various heating systems. During my inspections, I can often hear unusual compressor and fan motor noises indicating that these components are under undue stress. Upon closer inspection, I am amazed that these systems can even continue to operate. The bottom line is that these systems are potentially incurring significant damage and shortened lives for a variety of reasons explained below.

The first thing to understand is that heat pumps need to have no restrictions in airflow in order to operate efficiently and achieve 15 to 20 year average life spans. Without proper airflow, lifespans can be shortened from 1/3 to 1/2 of average time. Airflow is critical not only through clean and frequently changed filters, but also necessary through all evaporator and condenser coils. The pictures you see here are some examples of fans and condenser coils that have been completely blocked by snow and ice resulting in very minimal to no air flow. The fans at the top function to draw air in across the lower condenser coils in order for the proper heat exchange to occur between the refrigerant in these coils and the outside air. This is essential for delivering the correct amount of heat needed for the interior of the home. Without this airflow, compressors and fan motors eventually burn out.

The second issue is that under proper operating conditions with good airflow, heat pumps periodically enter into defrost cycles resulting in melted snow and ice draining down to the bottom and then out of the unit onto the ground. When the bottom of the heat pump is either buried in snow or sitting down in a well or hole, this defrost water has nowhere to go. Also, as this picture demonstrates, snow again covers the condenser coils blocking more of the needed airflow. Consequently, the heat pump builds up successive layers of ice until it starts to look like one of the Winterfest Ice Sculptures. Again, this is not a good thing for insuring the longevity of these units. One of my clients now understands why they needed to replace their heat pump compressor after less than 5 years. It too was subjected to numerous episodes of snow coverage and ice buildup. Another friend of mine just spent over $ 3000 replacing his damaged compressor simply because he failed to change his air filter every 3 months. Mind you, none of these were cheap learning experiences. Since those experiences, I’ve set my clients up on a program to monitor their equipment; change filters on schedule and implement emergency steps to protect the equipment when weather changes    occur or if other issues are noted during my regular inspections. Most of us have experienced Murphy’s Law that states: “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong”. This principle was certainly in effect for many of these systems.

Cold weather generally will bring out the lion’s share of problems with heat pumps and heating systems. All components of the heat pump need to be properly functioning in order for the unit to work effectively and efficiently. During cold and adverse weather, this equipment needs to be vigilantly monitored and immediate steps taken to prevent serious damage. In cases of heavy snow and ice storms, heat pumps need to be manually switched over to Emergency Heat settings to protect units from icing and freezing up. Power outages also can wreak havoc on compressors by turning the normal vapor refrigerant back into a liquid state. Compressors unfortunately were not designed to handle liquid refrigerant. Specific steps need to be taken when power outages occur to prevent refrigerant flooding of compressors. Unfortunately, most power outages also occur in winter when there is no one around to take the required steps to protect this expensive equipment. Of course, when these heating systems fail, then there are many other issues with potential interior damage from frozen water pipes, cracked furniture, damaged electronics and flooded homes when temperatures do warm up again.