With 90% of all heat pump failures due to a lack of ongoing attention, we say that prevention is better than the cure; in other words, regular maintenance by our team is better than repairs, or even a replacement. However, despite your best efforts, there may be times when your heat pump starts doing strange things, and we’ll fix them. After all, we are specialists in heat pump repairs in both Auckland and Wellington. Here are some of the most common “strange things” we resolve.
- Unusual smells coming from the heat pump are an unpleasant sign that something isn’t quite right. These odours are usually due to a number of factors; the insulation in your heat pump may be damaged, or the ductwork has become mouldy through a lack of maintenance and cleaning. When mould, mildew or dirt accumulates, your heat pump will send contaminated air into the room and this could worsen existing health conditions e.g. asthma and other respiratory problems.
- Strange noises are also common when something is wrong with a heat pump. Constant ticking sounds, pops, bangs, and crackles are not what you should hear when your unit is operating properly. The usual culprits are loose parts within the indoor part of the heat pump, the fan might not be working as it should, or it could even be leaves or grass slapping against the fan of the outdoor unit. While we recommend you remove vegetation from around the outdoor unit, every other noisy issue should be left to us.
- Restricted airflow is something else our customers call us about. They switch on their heat pump but nothing really happens. Any air that comes from the unit is nothing more than a whisper and certainly isn’t effective. Most of the time, this happens when the filters haven’t been cleaned for a long time, or if the air ducts are blocked. While cleaning filters is something you can easily do (and it should be done once a month or so) the air ducts should be fixed by us.
- And then, there might be times when the heat pump might not turn in at all. This is very common and you’d be surprised to know that this is often caused by flat batteries in the remote! We’ve been called out on many occasions only to find this is the case. It could also be down to your heat pump not receiving power, so a quick check that the mains power is OK and that the switch hasn’t flicked off (or tripped) might be all that is required. Loose wires or blockages can also put a heat pump out of action, and these are times when you need experts to make a repair.
Heat pump faults are less likely to happen with ongoing maintenance. So, contact us to arrange a preventative maintenance schedule. We’re also the people to call when an urgent repair is needed.