Will little use of the HVAC hurt the system?

[dmccarty]

We have a heat pump HVAC system that gets used about three months of the year. This past heating season I think it ran less then five times since we heat primarily with wood. We will likely start using it this month or next and then the AC will run until sometime in September.

Will running it this little hurt or help the system?

Later,
Dan

 

[Birdhunter1]

Talking about running it only a fw months of the year, no this will not hurt it. But if you turn the power off to it when not using it for several months, then turn the power on and fire it up you coudl have problems becuase the compressor actually heats itself to keep the refrigerant and oil from collecting in the compressor. Leave the power on to it all year and when you want to run it then run it. Like all HVBAc machines make sure and wash the outside coils out before cooling season and whenever it is needed during cooling season, keep your indoor air filters clean and change them regularly. If you can inspect the indoor coil make sure it is clean, poor a little bit of bleach in the evaporator drain and make sure it isn't plugged up and you're system will last along time.

Whenever you check teh indoor coil also check your fan blower motor to make sure it isn't full of dust/dirt, if it is it isn't hard to pull it out and clean it up.

 

[dmccarty]

Birdhunter1,

I don't turn the power off to the system we just don't turn it on.

I have been buying expensive two expensive filters and I know I replaced them after the cooling season but we sure have not used them since. One of my To Dos has been to get into the attic and pour some bleach down the drain line to make sure its clear. Last time I checked there was no sign that the system had backed up into the drain pan.

Thanks,
Dan

 

[Bird]

Dan, a friend of mine had his condensation drain stop up and he didn't know it until water started dripping through the ceiling, and by that time, there was massive damage. So now I just make a habit of pouring a little bleach in mine the first of each month.

 

[midlf]

If the power is turned off to a AC compressor or heat pump the unit should not be run until the power has been on for 24 hours. This is per my AC units owners manual.

If I had a heat pump I would leave the power on all year. For my AC I kill the power after the cooling season is over. The heater uses about 25W.

 

[dmccarty]

I was hoping to get to July before turning on the AC but my power bill records says I'm about to use the HVAC.

Checked the weather forecast and its going to 95 degrees this week. We stay comfortable in the house if the outside temps got 87 maybe 90 which puts the indoor temps at 80-82 in the late afternoon. By sundown the temps drop and we open the house back up and the inside temps get to 80 or below for the evening.

Not sure that is going to work at 95 degrees!

Our drip line from the AC is on the side of the house we see constantly. I check the line and make sure its dripping everyday. If not, its run to the attic time.

Later,
Dan

 

[Birdhunter1]

You should have an auxillary drain underneath your unit in the attic. Your auxillary drain should have a separate drain line run to somewhere that you notice when all of a sudden thre is water there. Often we ran them so that it would drop water by the entrance door from garage to house or right on top of that bueatiful BMW in the garage. In other words you want the homeowner to notice that there is water where there shouldn't be water.
If your unit does not have an auxillary drain I wouLD have someone put one in.

 

[Bird]

My unit does have a large drain pan under it. The primary drain goes into the same sewer drain as the washing machine. The auxilliary or backup drain comes out of the eaves between the garage door and the front door. I'm not sure how long it would be before we noticed it if it were dripping, and so far I've not checked to make sure it isn't stopped up.

 

[dmccarty]

Birdhunter1,

I am pretty sure the drain pan uses the same PVC pipe that drains the system. But I'll check to be sure!

I know when I was in the attic last fall I looked at the pan and there had been no water in it. It was full of dust and water would have cleaned up around the drain pipe.

Our old house had the drain pipe that went under the slab and then outside. That thing clogged up twice after we had been there a couple of year. In made the carpet wet. I had to drill a hole in the drain pipe to get a snake in to clean it out. Once I did that the second time we never had a problem. Of course making the carpet wet is a whole lot better than a busted ceiling! 8-(

Thanks,
Dan

 

[kenmac]

You could always install a float switch in the pan. If the pan drain stops up & the water rises,the float on the switch & trips a switch which turns the a/c unit off when wired in correctly .Any back up system you can install on a unit in the attic to prevent damage is always a plus in my opinion .