During winter months many heat pumps will need to go through a “defrost” cycle during operation. Often this has not been explained well before installation, which leads to a lot of confusion about why the heat pump is not working. This document is provided to help users understand the defrosting cycle and address any concerns.What is a “defrost cycle”?In heating mode a heat pump extracts heat from the outside air and transfers it inside your premises to warm it. When the ambient temperature outside gets very cold (close to 0°C or below) the moisture in the air freezes on the outdoor unit’s heat exchanger as the fan blows the air across it. A defrost cycle is simply the system recognising that ice has formed or begun to form and automatically fixing this.Why does my unit have to do a defrost cycle?Any ice building up on the outside heat exchanger reduces the airflow across it, which will effect the efficiency, sometimes reducing it dramatically. In extreme cases this can also cause damage to the outdoor unit.

How do I tell if my unit is in a defrost cycle?Inside you will notice the unit will stop heating, the indoor fan will stop and depending on the model there will usually be some form of visual indication like a light on the unit (usually the “run” light) will blink continuously. Outside, the outdoor fan will also have stopped and the compressor will be running. How often will my unit go in to defrost mode?There are a number of factors that influence how often a unit will go in to defrost mode. Some of these include:The outdoor temperature and humidityThe amount of heating load the unit is trying to deliverThe condition of the heat pump system.There are timers built in to the computer control of the unit that restrict how often defrosting can occur. Generally a unit must run for a minimum of around 35 minutes after starting up before completing its first defrost. From there defrosts should occur no more frequently than approximately every 35 minutes.Once my unit is defrosting how long will it take?

Either of two factors can bring the unit out of a defrost cycle. Firstly, if the sensors on the outdoor unit detect that it’s heat exchanger temperature has risen enough, the unit will stop defrosting. Secondly, if the sensors do not stop it beforehand, the maximum time a unit will be in defrost cycle is around 10 minutes. It is important not to stop the unit before the defrost cycle has ended, because if the unit is restarted shortly afterwards it will run very inefficiently and may cause damage to itself. My unit is defrosting frequently / not delivering enough heat – what could be wrong?Regular defrosting, or a lack of heat could be caused by a number of factors. If the unit has operated like this since it was first installed (first cold snap), you may be operating it incorrectly or it may be undersized for the space it is trying to heat. Initially you should consult your instruction manual to ensure you are operating the unit correctly. If this doesn’t remedy the problem you should consult your installer or another reputable heat pump installer.

They can assist you to ensure correct operation, and correct sizing.If the unit is undersized for the space it is not faulty. The responsibility for correctly sizing the unit initially rests with the installing company – they will need to remedy the situation if the unit is too small.A recently developed problem may be an indication of a fault or maintenance required. 2.5 ton air conditioner btu conversionYou can perform some basic maintenance yourself by cleaning the filters on your indoor unit, and ensuring that your outdoor unit is clear of foliage and the heat exchanger is not blocked. moving cool ac unitIf this doesn’t remedy the problem you should consult your installer or another reputable heat pump installer.portable air conditioning units hire melbourne

Is there any way I can help to reduce defrosting?Yes there certainly is. Keep your unit well maintained (as above) and ensure you are operating it correctly. This will help a lot.Of course the less load you place on the unit the less frequently it will need to defrost in cold conditions. Ultimately permanent fixes such as installing insulation in ceilings, walls and under floors will help reduce your heating requirement (and ultimately save you money). More immediately, keeping doors closed and curtains drawn will also help to reduce your heating required. #34  of 80 brands of heat pumps 41% of customers recommend What are the Best Heat Pumps for 2016? Read more about WESTINGHOUSE heat pumps Read reviews of other Heat Pump brands Installed both units in 2010. Have had constant problems. 4 defrost boards and 3 blower motors on 2 ton package. in discharge line at compressor and cond. fan on 1 1/2 ton. I am an HVAC contractor and installed Westinghouse for several years,

even in my own home. But as of late Westinghouse, and their parent, Nortek Global, has turned a deaf ear to me as a dealer and to the customers for whom I installed Westinghouse in their homes. Instead of doing what was right, Nortek denied replacing a unit under the Quality Pledge warranty, even though the unit that failed had a compressor failure on the unit which was installed only four months ago. The unit was a Quality Pledge replacement for the original unit that only lasted 11 months from the day the new home was occupied. The homeowner never registered the original unit so Nortek only would cover the part 5 year warranty. the compressor had to be shipped from the Westinghouse factory since none of the distributors within 100 miles of us had a replacement. top of that, it took 2 days for Nortek to send out the compressor by motor freight and as of today it has not arrived. That would have put the homeowner without air conditioning for 9 days, in North Carolina.

this time of year, that is not good. I was forced to find a compressor at another parts company, buy it myself and install it, and now Nortek says they will deduct $125 from my warranty credit for processing since I had to go elsewhere due to their mistake. When I asked the warranty department about the fee their reply was "That's not my problem". asked for an exception due to the lack of diligence on getting the compressor shipped in a timely manor but as of today have not received any answer, only that is "the way it works and it isn't their fault". an HVAC contractor, I will not be installing anything made by Nortek Global HVAC under any of its names - Westinghouse, Kelvinator, Maytag,I will not pass on to the customer the $125 processing fee and have even waived any fees for us to replace his compressor because with a 16 month old home, I feel that is what is right. It is a pity that Nortek, as large as it is, can't, or more like won't, do what is right.

Name: L W Barnes Replaced my 15-year-old Carrier unit. Westinghouse unit is so quiet I had to put my hand up to the vent to make sure it was working. Temperatures are much better in the house and my bills are also. Purchased unit in 1971 from distributor for $1130 and installed itIn the last 44 years I have had one compressor and one reversing valve replaced by the contractor. Myself I replaced one blower motor andNo service calls required ever. Now I need a newHave been looking at a new one but it appears almost everyone is not satisfied with the new ones. It will cost more to replace the compressor than I paid for the equipment. I have got prices on new unit for $8000 to $14000 installed. If I fix it and sell my house and somebody asks how old the unit is and I tell them about 45 years they will not understand that the old stuff is so much better than the newMy local dealer went to an equipment show and a Carrier engineer

told him anybody can design a unit that will last forever but it takes a real engineer to design one that will fail one day after the warranty Name: wayne e wilson Year 1, I made 13 calls for repairs; no heat, the auxilary heat on, the unit outside iced up. The installer said to get someone else to fix it because he would not come any more unless I paid for the call. Why should I pay when he could fix it? From the start he would not help. The distributor in Moncton would not help. He said the problem was between me and the installer. Now, a lot of money later, it's still not working right. The outside unit iced up. A new company is working on this problem. He has been in touch with the manufacturer and distributor in Moncton. Now, 5 years later, my electric bill is very high. "Long on warranty, short on quality!" Purchased this 15.00 seer, 3.0 Ton Pkg 2 stage heat pump 12/27/10 based on good reports and past history. First year it ran great and very

The first Spring started having freezing up problems and the defrost board was replaced 3 times in a couple of weeks. the next Spring when the defrost board is replaced again, twice as well as the blower motor and heat strip contacts. Now this Spring, it's not cooling again and the blower motor is replaced again. Week later it is still not cooling and expansion valve is bad and over heating. No ac at all until part comes in. My service provider has jumped whenever I called and hasn't charged me anything but tell me their other customers are experiencing the same problems. supplies replacement parts under warranty but their replacement warranty is only good if the compressor burns out, not multiple problems no matter how many you have. Free parts are good but the inconvenience isI would not recommend this unit to anyone and doubt I will deal with Westinghouse again! I'm also trying to get them to replace my unit under the lemon law.

"Westinghouse heat pump package unit" Put in a Westinghouse heat pump, package unit, 3 ton for my home 2 months ago, with electric furnace. Cools the house just fine, but noCannot get below about 62% humidity. The old Trane, 27 years old, I took out kept the humidity around 50% all the time. Working with contractor, but not happy, considering making him pull the Westinghouse out and put in another Trane. "Total Piece of crap" Since I installed it in March 2009, I have experienced a bunch of problems with this heating system. At first it was not heating or cooling properly and since I had a warranty they came out to fix it several times in the first few months of owning it and I continued to keep having the same issue time and time again. Then it started making an awful burning smell and I'm still unsure of what was causing this because my warranty was up and I couldn't afford to get this problem checked out. It uses up so much electricity for a piece of junk that doesn't even work properly and never has.