If your heater is blowing cold air, you’re probably not a happy homeowner. After all, the comfort of your home should be consistent. And, you rely on your heater to keep you warm all winter. Having to wear a blanket or warm layers indoors isn’t your idea of comfort. What to do?
This is where experience and knowledge can help. Even in North Georgia heat pump service is super important. Because comfort systems have a range of normal operation, you need to know what’s normal – and what should lead you to call for repairs. At Neal’s Heating and Air, we want to help. So, here are 4 questions you should ask if your heater is blowing cold air.
4 Questions to Ask If Your Heater Is Blowing Cold Air
Hold the phone! These questions are essential to ask before you get a heating service company to check your system. Once you know the answers, you’ll know if you need a tech.
1. Is Your Heat Pump Defrosting Like Normal?
If your heat pump is doing what it should, it’ll run on a schedule. Once per hour or so, it should activate to melt ice off the unit. While it’s warming up, you will feel cold air through your vents. This is normal during defrosting. After the defrosting cycle ends, you’ll feel warm air again.
Call for heating system service if the heater keeps pushing cold air out. Make sure to ask for a licensed and insured tech. We’ll be able to diagnose the problem quickly and bring back your comfort.
2. Is Your Outside Heater Unit Frozen?
If your heat pump is frozen, it could look and sound like it’s operating normally – while failing to warm your home. If your heater is blowing cold air, make sure your heat pump isn’t frozen. When the temperature drops below 20° F, ice may form on top of your heat pump. Remove it, then wait a bit. If your heater starts putting out warm air again, you’re good to go.
Give Neal’s a call if nothing changes once the ice is removed. We’ll come out to restore heat to your home. No need to live in Antarctica!
3. Is It Really Warm Air?
What temperature is your thermostat set at? Somewhere between 65 and 80, right? Well, your normal temperature is around 98° F. Heated air will always feel cool when it’s blowing on you. The best gauge of whether your heater is blowing cold air is your thermostat. Check it first – then call for service if the indoor temperature is more than a few degrees colder than the setting.
4. Could the Compressor Be at Fault?
Let’s say your heater is blowing cold air. And, it isn’t defrosting, frozen, or blowing warm air. If that’s the case, your compressor may be broken. To make it simple, your heater never really heats air in the winter. Rather than making air hotter, it draws heat from air outside your home and forces it through your ductwork to heat your home. That’s why heat pumps are less effective when it gets extremely cold outside.
Heat is removed from air by refrigerant. To keep the refrigerant moving and more effective, the compressor circulates it. And the compressor circulates the refrigerant. It’s a crucial part. And, if it breaks, your heat pump is immediately useless. Call a heating and air specialist if your heat pump stops operating. If you hear it making screeching sounds, that’s a clue that your compressor is breaking but not quite broken yet.
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If your North Georgia heater is blowing cold air and you want your home to be warm, call Neal’s Heating and Air at (706) 764-7185 or fill out our contact form today. We’ll fix your heat pump and restore comfort to your home.