2

I have a Panasonic heat pump that's about 11 years old. The indoor unit is an inverter R410a. When it gets colder than -20 C (-4 F) it starts making a chugging noise, then the power light starts flashing, then eventually it makes a really long beep and turns itself off. I can usually turn it back on after a few hours using the remote, so long as it's warmed up outside. I'm heading into a week at least of very cold weather and I don't want to lose my heat every night. Is there a way to stop this? (I'm a tenant in my building so I don't have access to the outdoor unit)

Amai
  • 23
  • 3
  • @FreeMan so the automatic defrost in the outside unit is not working? But that's something a technician can fix? My landlord isn't likely to do anything unless I present him both the problem and the potential solution, so I need as much detail as I can get please. – Amai Feb 03 '23 at 18:10
  • Yes. Though, with the cold snap that's crossing the US (making assumptions...) that should be motivation enough. Remind him that dead tenants don't pay rent. ;) On a more serious note, though, "my heat shuts off, call an HVAC guy" should be all the problem/resolution info he needs. Neither of you are HVAC experts, that's why you call one in.' – FreeMan Feb 03 '23 at 18:12
  • If only my landlord was as reasonable as that! Thank you for your help. :) – Amai Feb 03 '23 at 18:16
  • check the fuses and breakers, the automatic defrost might not be working and it has its own breaker/fuse – Traveler Feb 03 '23 at 18:30
  • Post the full model information so we can help looking for the controll board schematic and how to fix the defrost – Traveler Feb 03 '23 at 18:33
  • Who pays your electric bill? If it's the landlord, they have a vested interest in you using the heat pump and not portable space heaters. After all, portable space heaters are notorious for burning buildings down. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Feb 03 '23 at 19:44
  • just talked to my landlord - apparently my heat pump model has a minimum operating temperature. So nothing broken. – Amai Feb 03 '23 at 19:53

1 Answers1

6

It sounds like the outside part of the unit is freezing up and the automatic defrost part isn't working properly. Once the coils have defrosted, you start getting heat again.

Call the landlord now to have him get someone out to fix it before you get cold. As a renter, that's about all you're allowed to do.

FreeMan
  • 47,262
  • 25
  • 88
  • 193
  • 1
    if it's just your unit, you can run AC for a while to defrost the outside coils. That does make it even colder inside, but also allows heat when done. Given the "mechanical advantage" of heat pumps, you can get about 4x more heat than AC on average with this method. – dandavis Feb 03 '23 at 23:05
  • @dandavis doesn’t that “mechanical advantage” cut both ways, both when heating and cooling? – fyrepenguin Feb 04 '23 at 04:53
  • 1
    @fyrepenguin yes, but you tend to be able to run the heat about 80% and the AC 20% as it takes longer to completely frost over than it does to thaw out. – dandavis Feb 04 '23 at 08:19
  • You get more heat making frost (vapor to solid) than you lose melting it off (solid to liquid) too. You gain the latent heat of vaporization - you rent the latent heat of fusion and have to pay it right back. But the latent heat of vaporization is 6.78 times larger than the latent heat of fusion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latent_heat – Ecnerwal Feb 05 '23 at 00:00