• Unit does not produce heat; fan blows cold air

    Dec.31.2010

    When the outside temperature drops below 30 degrees, the unit stops producing heat and the fan continues to work blowing cold air. The inside thermostat would be set to 72 degrees and it does shows the heat is on and it reads the inside temperature correctly at 61 degrees or however cold it is after cold air has been blowing. I called the manufacturer and they do not have a manual. The installing company went out of business. Why is my unit not producing heat and the fan blows cold air? The fuse box doesn't show anything tripped. In fact, if I trip it, the heat will work but only for less than a minute and then it blows cold air again. Are my coils frozen? Should my unit go to an emergency heat backup system? This is an electric heat pump. I had the unit inspected this past February and they said it is fine and that they aren't meant to withstand such cold temperatures.

    Jo, tampa, FL

     I am not so sure I agree that your unit is not appropriate for cold temperatures. I live in Indiana and we have heat pumps here that run year round and work just fine. Sounds to me like the heat pump may be going into defrost mode and either the auxiliary heat is not coming on or the heat pump’s reversing valve is getting stuck in defrost. The reversing valve switches the unit from heating to cooling. Defrost is the same as the unit running in the cooling mode, but the auxiliary heat should come on to keep the air coming out of the registers warm. I would recommend that you call a professional HVAC contractor, such as the ARS/Rescue Rooter branch in St. Petersburg, FL at (727) 588-4200 or (813) 282-3737, and ask an experienced technician to check the unit.

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