Air Conditioning and Heating tip of the Month: Emergency Heat or Auxiliary Heat Mode

With the extreme cold outside temperatures we had this last week in the Fort Worth area, many of you were probably wondering where to find heating repair near me? At Lawrence Air Conditioning and Heating we were thinking about the many of you who have Heat Pump systems, as part of your HVAC, and how those systems work in a prolonged cold spell.

Heat pump systems reverse the flow of freon when a thermostat is calling for Heat instead of Air Conditioning and as such puts warm air into the home and puts the cold air outside. This combination of cold outside and cold air being blown out from your HVAC system will cause the condensing unit to freeze up. Often it causes unwanted HVAC repair service calls because it forces the HVAC system to go into defrost mode. These systems are designed this way on purpose and have electric heat strips to help compensate for this.

If the temperatures outside are going to be freezing for longer than a couple of days it is best to turn your system to emergency heat or aux. heat during this time.  This will turn the outside condensing unit off and allow you to keep heat blowing from your HVAC system into your home during the extreme cold weather. Once temperatures return to normal you can then put your thermostat back to its normal operation.

This simple trick will reduce un-needed repair calls that cost you money, you trying to find a HVAC repair near you and, more importantly keep your home nice and warm.  We hope this tip helps you stay comfortable and save money with HVAC maintenance.