Heat pumps combine the functions of an air conditioner and a heater into a single unit. In the summer, a heat pump cools the air inside your home while releasing heat into the air outside. In the winter, that process is reversed: releasing heat into the air in your home and cooling the air outside. They work extremely well in towns with mild weather like Puyallup; heating repair services often treat them in addition to handling problems with traditional gas furnaces. If you notice your heat pump short cycling (turning on and off rapidly multiple times throughout the day) it could indicate a number of different problems from an oversized heat pump to a faulty thermostat to a malfunctioning fan motor. Whatever the cause, however, it needs to be addressed before the issue gets out of hand. Here’s why heat pump short cycling is a problem.
Heat pumps use more energy when they turn on and off than they do at any other time in the heating process. The effort required to power up and get up to speed (or power down and shut off) is far greater than simply running once it all kicks in. Furthermore, the process of turning the pump on creates much more strain and stress on individual components than running at a clip: increasing the chances of a breakdown and hastening the point when that component needs to be replaced.
Thus, a heat pump that cycles on and off rapidly throughout the day will work harder to cool your home – raising energy costs and hitting you with a higher monthly bill to do the same job – while increasing the risk of a more serious breakdown and even more repair costs in the future.
In Puyallup, heating repair services are offered by Sound Heating, who understand why heat pump short cycling is a problem. Our trained Puyallup heating repair service professionals can hunt down the source of the issue and restore your heat pump to standard operating condition. Don’t waste money by ignoring a cycling heat pump. Give us a call to set up an appointment today.