It’s easy to think that ice buildup on your heat pump means that the system is cooling even better. However, ice buildup is actually blocking airflow from being able to cool down at all. If you suspect that you have ice buildup inside of your heat pump, give our team a call to schedule heat pump repair in Clinton TWP, MI.
You can keep reading to learn more about the risks of ice buildup and how ice develops in the first place. Addressing heat pump problems needs to be done sooner rather than later, but it is increasingly important to prevent ice from developing again or your heat pump could be at risk at a full breakdown.
What Causes Ice Buildup Inside a Heat Pump?
Ice buildup can happen for a couple of different reasons. The most common reason for ice developing inside of a heat pump is poor airflow. If the air filter on your heat pump is particularly dirty, it can block airflow from entering the system.
Without enough airflow to cool down, the refrigerant lines wind up freezing since they are not absorbing enough heat from the air. As a dirty filter stays in place, this process happens again and again until the ice buildup is significant enough to completely block airflow from reaching the refrigerant lines at all. Even if you change out the air filter, the ice will persist.
A leak in the refrigerant lines can also contribute to ice on the indoor portion of your heat pump. When refrigerant leaks out, it can cause ice buildup alone or contribute to ice buildup that develops because of poor airflow.
What Causes Ice Buildup Outside?
You also have to consider ice on the outdoor portion of your heat pump during the wintertime. With a heat pump, refrigerant is moving through the lines to absorb heat from outside and bring it into your home. If the lines outside get too cold, it’s very easy for ice to develop when temperatures are lower.
Heat pumps have built-in defrosters to detect when the outdoor unit begins getting too cold so that it can pause a heating cycle and reverse refrigerant flow to melt the ice off the coils. The problem arises when the defrosters malfunction and don’t kick in to help your heat pump out.
Addressing Ice Buildup
It’s easy to think that addressing ice buildup is as simple as letting the ice melt and then turning your heat pump back on again. Unfortunately, that solution will not work in the long term. The underlying issue still needs to be fixed.
Whether you have a refrigerant line leak or malfunctioning defrosters, our team needs to take a look at your heat pump and get down to the root of the problem so we can prevent it from happening again.
Contact Charter Home Comfort today to schedule an appointment with our professionals for air conditioning service. Old fashioned values with tech savvy results!