Why Is My Heat Pump Freezing?

The most common causes of why your heat pump is frozen are a dirty air filter, dirty coils, and low refrigerant levels. Each of these parts of the unit needs to be checked regularly to ensure they’re working properly. Read on to learn more about these problems.

If there’s one thing Florida is known for, it’s our mild weather. In fact, when we’re not dealing with a hurricane, we enjoy almost year-round sunshine and mild winters with warmer temperatures. That being said, it often surprises people to learn that their heat pump can freeze over. The cause isn’t necessarily the weather outside, but the conditions your heat pump operates in. Let’s take a closer look at what causes this to happen and learn how you can repair and prevent it from happening again.

Three Causes

It’s perfectly normal for there to be a little bit of frost on your heat pump coils, but when certain conditions aren’t right, the frost can grow, eventually becoming solid ice that can damage other components of your system as well as the pump itself.

Here are three reasons your heat pump can freeze:

• Dirty Air Filter: The air filter in your system needs to be clean in order for the most air to flow over the coils and your system to be the most effective. A dirty air filter prevents air from being able to flow over the coils, and a filter that’s too dirty can restrict the air so heavily that the coils don’t get the flow they need to regulate their temperature. This can lead to ice developing from condensation, which rapidly grows and eventually shuts your system down.
• Dirty Coils: No air filter is perfect at removing all contaminants from the air, so over time dust and dirt can accumulate on your coils. While a little bit of dust isn’t going to do much to your system, it does encourage water condensation and prevent your coils from being able to transfer heat as well as they could. In turn, both of these things could lead to rapid ice buildup and an emergency shutdown.
• Low Refrigerant: Central heating and cooling systems are designed to operate within a precise range of pressure in refrigerant lines. If this pressure drops outside of optimal operating ranges, the heat pump isn’t going to be able to compress it properly, which leads to it not working effectively. Not being able to produce enough heat can lead to your system eventually freezing and breaking down.

Frozen Coil Prevention

The best way to make sure your coils won’t leave you out in the cold this winter is to have your system inspected by a Sarasota heating repairs expert. An annual tune-up service includes things like coil cleaning and filter inspection to make sure your system is ready to handle the months of use ahead.

Need Air Conditioning Repair? Talk to your air conditioning repair experts at Airrific Air Conditioning & Heating today! Call (941) 371-3355.