If you use a heat pump HVAC in your home, you know how versatile the system can be. However, every once in a while a heat pump may have trouble switching modes, and there can be a few reasons for this. It is never advisable that you tinker with your heat pump yourself; these are complicated devices, and you are likely to do more harm than good when you don’t have expert training, like the HVAC professionals at Carney Plumbing Heating & Cooling have. If you have tried to switch your heat pump system in New Hope, PA to heating, and found that it isn’t working, it’s time to give us a call.
Common Reasons for Mode Change Malfunction
Here are some of the more common reasons our technicians find that a heat pump won’t switch into the mode you need:
- Problems with the solenoid – on top of the reversing valve, which is the valve that allows your heat pump system to switch between heating and cooling, is a small electronic component known as a solenoid. This component provides the initial push the sliding mechanism of the reversing valve needs to move from one side to the other. Sometimes the wiring can go bad on these components, or the component itself can fail. These issues are enough to cause problems with mode-switching.
- There’s a refrigerant leak in the reversing valve – refrigerant leaks can occur just about anywhere in your heat pump. If one develops in the reversing valve, it can stop the valve from operating correctly, thereby preventing it from switching modes as needed.
- The valve is stuck – the reversing valve has a mechanism inside it that slides back and forth, and this change in direction changes the direction in which the refrigerant is flowing. This action is what causes the heat pump to provide cooling or heating. Sometimes reversing valves can become stuck, either in a specific mode or in between modes, and this will prevent the heat pump from being able to change modes.