Why Does My Heat Pump Short Cycle in Vestavia, AL?

Short cycling is when the heat pump in your home in Vestavia, AL turns on and off before it can complete a cycle. It’s one of the strangest behaviors a heat pump can exhibit. Here are a few reasons why your heat pump might have started short cycling.

Low Refrigerant Level

Refrigerant absorbs heat from one area and transfers it to another. If any leaks out, your heat pump’s capacity to work will diminish, possibly causing short cycling.

Malfunctioning Thermostat

It’s quite possible that the reason for your heat pump’s short cycling may have nothing directly to do with your heat pump. Your heat pump responds to your thermostat’s signals, and problems with the thermostat can cause your heat pump to act abnormally.

If your thermostat is too old, has electrical issues or has suffered any physical damage, it may not correctly register the room’s temperature and will send erratic and incorrect signals to your heat pump. This can easily cause short cycling. Therefore, we recommend asking our HVAC technician to check your thermostat during a tune-up.

The System is Too Large

A final reason for heat pump short cycling might have a much more fundamental cause. It might be that your heat pump is too large and powerful for your home. In that case, it would heat or cool your home with minimal effort, which would cause your thermostat to signal the heat pump to turn off prematurely.

Since the root of this problem is an oversized heat pump, no repair work will be able to set things right. The only solution is to install a new and smaller heat pump, ensuring that the installation team meticulously performs a manual J load calculation this time.

If you notice your heat pump turning on and off suspiciously quickly, it may be short cycling. In that case, we urge you to ask for technical assistance right away. Call Airloc Heating and Cooling and request heat pump services near Vestavia, AL.

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