Austin Heat Pump Repair Pro
Heat pumps are a great HVAC system for homes throughout the Texas area as they can provide all-year-round comfort regardless of the season. Homeowners can opt for having a heat pump and use their existing ductwork, or they can go with the new ductless mini-split system. The latter relies heavily on individual mini-split units with an evaporator coil and blower components.
Regardless of the type of heat pump system that you have, you may experience one or more of the issues below:
- No cooling or heating
- Not turning on
- Not switching between heating and cooling
- Poor airflow issues
- Unpleasant smells
- Abnormal noises
When you decide that a heat pump is the right heating and cooling system for your home, it can be helpful to understand how it functions. This can allow you to identify potential problems with your system and their underlying cause better. Every heat pump uses a substance known as refrigerant. Refrigerant simply absorbs heat and releases it.
During the summer months, your heat pump uses its blower components to circulate air from the rooms in your home into your ductwork. Air flows through the heat pump’s indoor air handler unit, where it comes into contact with an evaporator coil. Inside this coil is refrigerant, which has a low pressure.
Heat naturally wants to move to lower-pressure substances. As higher-pressure hot air passes over the evaporator coil, its heat will transfer to the refrigerant. This causes the refrigerant to increase pressure and turn from a liquid to a gas. Refrigerant continues its journey by being pumped to the outdoor condenser unit via your system’s compressor.
At the outdoor condenser unit, the refrigerant flows through another coil called the condenser coil. Just like inside, a fan blower blows air from outside your home over the condenser coil. Because the air outside is of a lower pressure than the hot refrigerant, heat moves from the refrigerant to the outdoor air.
Refrigerant continues to move back toward the indoor air handler unit. It passes through an expansion valve that lowers the refrigerant’s pressure so it can return to the evaporator coil as a liquid low-pressure substance. This process works repeatedly to cool your home adequately. The whole process works in reverse when it comes to heating your home.