There are many ways to go about improving heat pump performance in Reading, PA, and the expert technicians with Essig Plumbing and Heating are familiar with all of them. If you are having problems with your heat pump not operating as efficiently as it should, call us and we can help.
Reasons for Heat Pump Inefficiency in Reading
Combustion furnaces suffer in performance due to inadequate maintenance, poor installation and problems with ductwork, but these problems are even more pronounced in heat pumps.
Leaking Ducts in Reading
Faulty ductwork can lead to as much as 30 percent of heating energy being wasted. The problem is especially serious if leaking ductwork is located in a crawl space or attic, because that leads to even worse energy loss. Many homes have return ducts, for example, made of fiberglass or plywood boxes. Some contractors place return ducts in ceiling, floor or wall cavities, and accidentally connect them to attics, crawl spaces or even outside. This can result in profound air leakage.
The professionals with Essig Plumbing, Heating and Cooling can test your entire home for ductwork leakage and determine exactly how much energy is being wasted. We can seal your ducts effectively so that your heat pump once again performs at top efficiency.
Increasing Heat Pump Airflow in Reading
If your heat pump does not have adequate airflow, it will have no way of operating efficiently. If your supply or return air ducts and registers are blocked in any way, that can lead to the air in certain areas of your home being pressurized or depressurized. This will result extremely poor heat pump performance.
In order for your heat pump to work as well as it should, air from all of your home’s supply registers has to be able to travel along unobstructed pathways. At Essig, our technicians can enlarge your home’s return ducts, but can also increase airflow by making sure your heat pump’s evaporator coils are thoroughly cleaned.
Heat Pump Refrigerant Charge in Reading
Packaged heat pumps and room heat pumps are typically charged with refrigerant at the factory, but usually this charging is improperly applied. If you have a split-system heat pump, however, that pump will be charged by a technician in the field.
If your split-system heat pump has the correct amount of refrigerant it will perform at its peak efficiency. Even a small amount of the wrong refrigerant– whether it’s too much or too little – will substantially reduce performance. We always measure airflow before we check the refrigerant, because that is the only way to ensure our refrigerant measurements are correct.
Wondering what’s going on with your heat pump’s performance? Call in an expert at Paul W. Essig today!