Heat Pump Boise ac Repair

Heat Pump

On a Boise heat pump repair I was asked,  what is a heat pump?  A heat pump is an a/c that will do both heating and cooling in the same unit.  To understand how a heat pump works need to understand how Freon works.  The compressor takes Freon in a gas state and pumps it through a coil.   The air from the fan changes hot gas to a liquid.  That liquid is then pumped toward another coil and thru a hole called a metering device.  At this device the high pressure liquid passes thru and part of that picks up heat by flashing into a gas.  This process cools the remaining liquid which is then passed thru the coil removing heat from your home.  At this point the cool gas heads back to the compressor to start over again

Will your heat pump last this long?

Is a Heat Pump right For Me?

On a typical day where the outside temp is 90 degrees and your home is 75 degrees, the air coming from your cold coil (inside) would be about 55 degrees and the air coming from the hot coil (outside) would be about 120 degrees.  These temperatures will vary as the outside and interior temperatures change.  Freon does not go bad under normal use and never wears out.  Think of it as water boiling to steam as you heat it and then turning back to water as it cools again.

Boise AC Repair

A heat pump has a reversing valve that reverses the flow of Freon so that the outside coil becomes the cold coil and the inside coil becomes the hot coil.   So it stands to reason that the warmer it is outside to more heat a heat pump will create.  On most heat pumps you will also have heating elements.  These are electric coils that heat up as electricity passes through them (like a space heater).  These strips are used in several ways.  When set up correctly they add extra heat to your home when the heat pump cannot do the job alone.  They can be used instead of the heat pump when the temperatures outside are too cold for the heat pump to work well.  They provide heat to warm the air during a defrost cycle.

Defrost, What is that Noise?

What is a defrost cycle?  When the temps are very cold outside, that cold coil we spoke of is below 32 degrees and will start to form ice on it from the humidity in the air.  Too much ice means low heat transfer, so we need a way to remove the ice.  This is called the defrost cycle.  In defrost the reversing valve changes back to cooling mode (causing the outside coil to get hot) it also shuts down the fan motor so the coil gets hot faster to melt the ice as fast as possible.  During defrost the unit sends a signal to the heat strips to turn them on so that the air entering the house is not so cold.  A typical defrost will happen about every 30 to 60 min. of running time and last for between 1 and 15 min.  Your unit knows when to go into and out of defrost by using a sensors.

Choices?

For this Boise ac repair a heat pump was the correct choice.  The only other option to her was propane which for our area is very expensive.  Other important factors are how cold does it get where you are?  Heat pumps are better in areas where the temps stay above 25 in the winter such as Las Vegas or Phoenix.  In colder areas such as Boise, often times natural gas heating is a much smarter move.  For all of your Boise ac repair needs, Call Value Heating Inc. 208 938-2000.