Friday, December 23, 2016

Heating Problems and Repair Solutions For Heat Pumps and Furnaces For North Tempe Homes



Homes in the 85281 zip code are historic Tempe homes, built in the 1950’s and 1960’s.  These Tempe homes are mostly ranch style homes with long roof lines and a heat pump package unit on the roof with a metal elbow.  Some Tempe homes have or used to have dedicated closets for furnace heaters or air handlers with the return grille under the door.  The main ductwork is a metal trunk that runs down the middle of the hallway with 7 foot ceilings and registers located above the bedroom doors.  In these Tempe homes the heating systems go bad not because the units are old, but because the components around the heating system are bad.  The components that deliver the air, the ductwork is very important to how the heating system works.  Think of driving a Prius with a hole in the gas tank… that’s what is happening to homes all over Tempe when heating and cooling systems are installed on a home with leaky ductwork, low insulation and ductwork sized for a smaller unit. 

If heating and cooling contractors would only take a whole home approach to installing heating and air conditioning systems, their units would operate 10 times better.  How do we know? We have measured and seen the effects of addressing the whole home on a heating and air conditioning system… the electrical usages (amps) DECREASES, the airflow (CFM50) INCREASES, and the utility bills go DOWN.  Addressing home performance issues should be done by every heating and air conditioning company during heating repairs, service and installation.  No heating company in Tempe should be talking about HVAC without addressing a complete home performance picture.

Do you know it’s rare for a heating contractor in Tempe to go into the attic at all during a maintenance inspection, heater tune up or a heating service call?  Heating contractors need to focus more on the whole-home and less on the bells and whistles of heating systems like UV lights and washable filters (the scams of the HVAC industry).  If the ductwork was sealed like it should be, homes wouldn’t be half as dusty and the need for a UV light would go away. 

Symptoms of a Broken Heater in Tempe

Have you experienced these common symptoms this winter?

1.       Your heater is blowing cold air
2.       Your heater or fan never shuts off and runs constantly
3.       The heater never turns on
4.       The heater runs for 5 seconds then shuts off
5.       The thermostat doesn’t turn on

All these heating problems are likely caused not from the age of the system or its components but something outside the unit itself.

What causes heater problems around Tempe homes in the 85281 zip code




Common heater problems in Tempe around the 85281 zip code are listed below:
  1. Ductwork leaks.  A return duct leaking 15% of its air in the middle of the summer will cause a 5 ton heating and cooling system to operate as a 2.5 ton system.  The #1 reason why air conditioning components fail is because the system is overworked during the hot Arizona summers and it’s not because the heating and cooling systems are undersized.  In Tempe homes, there was no code for ductwork sealing when the homes were built and after 20 hot summers, any tape that was used around the ducts has lost its effectiveness. Leaky ductwork wastes our hard earned money because every time the heater or air conditioner turn on, 15% of that is lost into the attic through ductwork leaks.  If you could gain an extra 15% of airflow into your home, it would be noticeable, and it starts by sealing up the ductwork.  SRP estimates homeowners can save $200 a year by sealing leaky ductwork.
  2. Undersized ductwork.  Have you ever seen a child try to breathe through one straw?  They get starved for air pretty quickly and that’s exactly what’s happening to your heating and air conditioning system when the ductwork is undersized.  In Tempe homes were built with round rigid ductwork has was too small for the existing HVAC system.  Next time your heater turns on, listen to see if your return sounds very loud, it’s likely from an undersized return.
  3. Low insulation. 
    Insulation on a heating and air conditioning repair post?  Yes, your home’s insulation is very important in keeping the warm air in the winter time and cool conditioned air in during the hot Arizona summers.  If your attic has too little, you’re heating and cooling system will be constantly running and short cycling on and off, overworking your system.  In Arizona, the DOE Energy Star recommends R38 level of insulation in the attic.  Most homes have been under insulated unless you were a part of the City of Tempe noise reduction program.  To add insult to injury, most Tempe homes in 85281 zip code are grossly under insulated (insulation code was less than 6” in 1960).
  4. Capacitors that go bad, overworked fan motors and bad mechanical components.  All these home performance defects cause the heating and cooling system to constantly overwork itself, putting stress on the mechanical components.  The first components to go out are the capacitors and fan motors and then overtime, the compressor.  Gain a few more years on your heating and air conditioning system by fixing the home performance defects and you’ll have a comfortable, energy efficient and long lasting heating and cooling system for many years.

Check our list of common problems for heaters if you notice the heater is not working.

What causes the most heating problems in Tempe homes? 

The answer is not the heating units themselves, it’s the other components of the home that cause the heating system to work much harder than it should.  Fix those, and you’ll have a system that operates much more efficiently, quietly and less troublesome during the heating season.

If you are looking for air conditioning repair contractors in the Tempe area chances are you need fast service to get your air conditioner working again.  For fast, reliable service call Green ID 24/7 at 602-926-1650.  Our technicians are trained to never over-sell repairs, in most cases a quick repair is all that’s required to get it back in working condition. 

Common Heater Repairs for Heat Pumps and Furnaces

Your heating system should keep you warm and comfortable throughout the winter season. The excessive summer of your HVAC system may cause fatigue of the heating components and whether you are proactively tackling heating maintenance or find yourself coming home to a broken heating system, here are some early warning signs and symptoms you can look out for to keep your heater running smoothly and save money on your utility bills.

Common Symptoms of a Broken Heater 

Furnaces and heat pumps are fairly complex machines of electrical and mechanical parts and heating systems can have one independent component fail or multiple shut downs at once. Diagnosing a broken heating system starts by listening to its initial symptoms. Whether you have a gas powered furnace or gas pack or an all-electric heat pump heater, here are the common symptoms you might find if you suddenly experience your heater not working.


  1. Your heater is blowing cold air 
  2. Your heater or fan never shuts off and runs constantly 
  3. The heater never turns on 
  4. The heater runs for 5 seconds then shuts off 
  5. The thermostat doesn’t turn on
Common Symptoms the Heater Has A Slower Chronic Problem That Can Be Proactively Addressed 

Often our technician’s catch emerging problems before they cause bigger and more expensive problems, some of the symptoms of an overworked heating system are below.

  1. Your heating bill is increasing with no lifestyle changes on your part
  2. You experience unpleasant smells
  3. You experience inconsistent temperatures from room to room
  4. You hear weird sounds coming from the unit
  5. The system is loud when it turns on

Air Conditioners and Heaters In Arizona Can Have These Problems If You Notice The Heater Is Not Working 

Heating and air conditioning repairs in Arizona homes stem from several common problems. 
  1. Clogged filter. I hate to list this one, but sometimes it’s as easy as turning your system off and changing your filter to get your heater working properly again. Before you make a heating repair call, check your filters if possible and change them out if needed. Speaking of clogged filters, read why other restrictions could also cause your heater to stop working and actually blow cold air out of your vents in the winter. 
  2. Bad fan motor. A bad fan motor can cause the heater not to work and can be caused by a bad fan relay, where the contacts inside the relay get stuck open and go bad. Having to replace a fan relay is much less expensive than the fan motor and a good heating and cooling technician will be able to tell the difference and not turn a potentially easy fix into a complicated on. A bad capacitor can also cause the fan motor from running and providing the home with heat. Fan motors in general can also just go bad due to the motor burning up or the bearings seizing. 
  3. Bad capacitor. Capacitors store energy for the compressor and fan to run and is made up of dielectric plates with an oil in-between the plates. Over time, the capacitors deteriorate and their rated capacity diminishes. Once the capacitor goes bad, your heater will not work because the fan motor will not run. 
  4. Bad reversing valve. Reversing values are only found in heat pumps and reverse the flow of refrigerant depending if you are heating or cooling the home. A bad reversing value in the heating season can often be confused with a compressor failure. Again, a costly mistake on the heating and cooling technicians’ part. A reversing value may be stuck in the heating or cooling position due to a bad solenoid which would cause your heater to not blow hot air in the winter. 
  5. Burnt or faulty electrical wiring. Bad thermostats, poor splice connections or loose wires can also be the culprit in your heater’s problems. A line by line electrical check can diagnosis if any wires have gone bad in the heating and cooling system. 
  6. Bad pressure switches, pressure sensors, limit switches, or flame sensors on gas furnaces. On furnaces good technicians will be able to diagnose these problems by simply reading the blink code through the panel sight glass. This saves time to diagnosis the heater problems and cuts much of the trouble shooting time exponentially lower. 
  7. Low Freon charge on heat pumps. A refrigerant leak will cause your thermostat to never satisfy and your home will never reach it’s set-point. If you set the house temperature to 72 degrees in the winter, but it only reaches 68, and the unit keeps running, you may have a refrigerant leak. Refrigerant leaks can occur slowly over time but once the refrigerant gets low enough that you start having comfort problems, the size of the hole has increased also and rate of loss also increases. When refrigerant leaks occur, it’s best to have a technician perform a pressurized leak test to find the source and seal it up to avoid damaging the compressor in the future.
If you are looking for heating and air conditioning repair contractors in the Phoenix area chances are you need fast service to get your system working again. For fast, reliable service call Green ID 24/7 at 602-​926-1650. Our technicians are trained to never over-sell repairs, in most cases a quick repair is all that’s required to get the system back in working condition. Mention this blog for a 10% discount off any repairs and call (602) 926-1650 today.