I had a heat pump installed about a year ago. It came with one free service and the installing company has been calling me almost every week to come out and do the complimentary tune up. I know that I obviously should take a free tune up, but it made me wonder. How often do I actually need this done? What are they actually “tuning up”?
Never, do not let anyone touch it if it’s working. The furnace, yes…the outdoor unit, NO. Even then, the furnace would just need filter changes, and maybe checking gas pressures for heat and heat exchanger cracks or whatever…
It’s a closed loop system. Zero reason to even look at it unless it stops working.the more it gets worked on, the higher changlce it won’t be working the same after.
Also not an expert in that field even if I am an electrician. As far as I know a heat pump is really just a way to say A/C unit that can also run in reverse. If everything is set up correctly it should probably just work and not need a service or “tune up” for a long time. It may just be that whoever installed the one you are using now wants to ensure that it’s working correctly and as it should. Or… They may be trying to find something to upsell.
Do they work well as an A/C replacement?
Yes…just don’t turn the stat to heat OR don’t hook up the reversing valve.
Heat pump and AC are literally identical machines with maybe 2 components being actually different. There’s honestly no reason AC only even exists.
I’ve never heard of or had a HVAC “tune-up.” If it’s a standard air-to-air heat pump, you likely do not need one. You just need to change or clean the filters regularly, and maybe clean the coils once a year at most. I’m guessing that’s what the mean by “tune-up?” Modern cars do not need “tune-ups” either.
Not an expert but these systems are fairly self-contained and robust. A few things that can be checked easily is that the fan spins, the radiator is free of debris and some compressors might have a sight glass for the oil level.
Any other checks regarding performance of the system, leaks and refrigerant level require you to perform a full refrigerant discharge and recharge. That takes special equipment and some time so no one in their right mind would do that for free, unless they can then force/guide you into some kind of upsell situation.
Larger systems might have some kind of oil filter/catch-can that you might be able to check easily but I’m not too sure on that.
After all heat pumps are just plain old A/C units with a reversible cycle.
The only other thing that comes to my mind is if you have a pump with water/sole you should check the pressure from time to time to detect leaks.
If you are set on not having someone look at it, at least take a look at your condensation line. It will be a PVC pipe coming off your inside unit and going to a drain. It probaby also has a u-shaped trap so that it can operate under negative pressure.
The issue is that algae can build up over time and cause water to back up and drain in places you don’t want. A service person doing a tune up would take of this task… But at a price higher than what you’d want to pay.
