Tired of LOUSY service? Try Angie’s List.

Latest Members

Air Conditioning @hvacperformance

Video Categories

  1. Air Conditioners
  2. Boiler Videos
  3. Commercial HVAC
  4. Direct Digital Control
  5. Electrical Videos
  6. Gas Furnace Videos
  7. Heat Pump Videos
  8. HVAC Air Filter Videos
  9. HVAC Opinion Videos
  10. HVAC Shame Videos
  11. Thermostats
  12. Travel & Events
Local Guides
 All Guides  Alabama  Alaska  Arizona  Arkansas  California  Colorado  Connecticut  DC  Delaware  Florida  Georgia  Hawaii  Idaho  Illinois  Indiana  Iowa  Kansas  Kentucky  Louisiana  Maine  Maryland  Massachusetts  Michigan  Minnesota  Mississippi  Missouri  Montana  Nebraska  Nevada  New Hampshire  New Jersey  New Mexico  New York  North Carolina  North Dakota  Ohio  Oklahoma  Oregon  Pennsylvania  Rhode Island  South Carolina  South Dakota  Tennessee  Texas  Utah  Vermont  Virginia  Washington  West Virginia  Wisconsin  Wyoming
Tired of LOUSY service? Try Angie’s List.

Who's Online

We have 72 guests online

Main Menu

Tired of LOUSY service? Try Angie’s List.

Proper Humidity Levels

Having proper humidity levels in your home or business is important not only for your health but also in the amount of energy your HVAC systems use to keep you comfortable. If the humidity level in your home is high in the summer you will not feel cool. If the humidity level is low in the winter you will not feel warm when the thermostat is set at an average temperature. This will result in turning the HVAC thermostat up to compensate and you will use more energy to stay warm. A properly designed and installed system will keep the proper levels of humidity in your home or business and save you money on energy used by the HVAC System. For more information on humidity and the benefits of maintaining proper levels visit High Performance HVAC's Humidifier Page.

Before You Call

Before calling a heating and air conditioning company, check the following:
  • Check selections on thermostat. Ensure that it is set to the desired settings.
  • Check power supply. This can include a circuit breaker and or/a regular looking wall switch close to the indoor unit
  • Check for freezing up of units. If the unit is frozen turn it off. Check the filter(s) and supply vents to make sure they are not obstructed in any way. If you find no problems leave the unit turned off and call a service company.
Home Ask Mr HVAC Heat Pump Condensing Unit Frost and Ice Build Up
Heat Pump Condensing Unit Frost and Ice Build Up
Written by Richard   

High Performance HVAC Air Conditioning & Heating

carrier heat pump defrost cycle, condenser defrost cycle, condensers freezing upHeat Pump Condensing Unit Frost and Ice Build Up

3) Hi. I noticed my that one of my outside heat pump condensing units was laboring throughout the night. This morning I found ice/frost buildup on the heat pump condenser fins. I live in Tucson, Az. It has been colder than normal (below freezing) with a bit more moisture in the air than usual as of late. Can you please tell me what causes this frost/ice buildup, and how I go about rectifying? Does this mean that the condensor pump is shot? I'm originally from the midwest, and have never experienced this before. What should I be doing? Thank you for your help. The answer...............

It sounds to me like you have a heat pump and this is normal for frost to build up on heat pumps. I would guess that in Tucson they set the heat pump defrost cycle times pretty high as it is dry there. If you have a lot of ice build up on the heat pump then there is a problem with the heat pump defrost controls but if the heat pump frost problem is just intermittent then everything is working fine and defrosting as designed.

There are different methods of initiating heat pump defrost but by far the most popular method is timed defrost. The heat pump unit will run for an hour and then automatically kick into the defrost cycle for a predetermined amount of time as engineered by the manufacturer in the defrost control circuit. This is all solid state control by a printed circuit board. Many are the same from manufacturer to manufacturer. The is no big difference from a Trane to a Goodman to a Carrier to Rheem heat pump as far as heat pump defrost controls are concerned. On the heat pump defrost control board there is usually a jumper or dip switch setting where the heat pump defrost times can be changed depending on geographical location and the HVAC technicians professional opinion.

For more info on heat pumps check out my other site http://high-performance-hvac.com and you should find some answers about heat pumps there. Good luck, and remember if you think there is something wrong with the unit then it never hurts to have it checked out by an HVAC pro. It will give you peace of mind. Better a good heat pump check-up by an HVAC Pro can keep you from being cold late at night.

heat pump icing up, frost on trane heat pump unit, carrier heat pump defrost cycle

Your Source for Heat Pump Information

Tags:
Trackback(0)
Comments (2)Add Comment
feedSubscribe to this comment's feed
0
...
written by Adam, May 03, 2010
Well it is most likely that your heat pump somehow got electricity pushed back into it causing the peltier inside to heat up one side and cool down the other this is known as the peltier effect. Hope this helps
Richard
peltier effect
written by Richard, May 06, 2010
I am 99.999999999% certain the problem is as described in the article and not the peltier effect

Write comment

busy
 
High Performance HVAC Air Conditioning and Heating