Why elevation matters more than people expect
A heat pump does not make heat. It moves heat from outside air into the house, and the colder that air gets, the less there is to move. Every heat pump has a balance point — the outdoor temperature below which it can no longer keep up alone and calls on backup heat.
In these mountains that point matters enormously. Cold air drains downhill overnight and pools in the coves, so two houses a mile apart can see very different mornings. A system specified against a regional average, rather than against your site, is how people end up with electric strip heat running all winter and a power bill they cannot explain.
Modern variable-speed and cold-climate heat pumps hold usable capacity well down into the teens, and they are an excellent fit up here — when they are chosen and set up for the actual conditions.
Common heat pump problems we fix
- Auxiliary or emergency heat running constantly — low charge, a failed defrost board, a stuck reversing valve, or a thermostat that is staging badly.
- Ice that will not clear — a normal defrost cycle clears frost in under fifteen minutes. A solid slab of ice is a fault.
- Defrosting far too often — typically a sensor or board problem.
- No heat, or no cooling, but not both — usually the reversing valve.
- Short cycling, hard starts, breaker trips — often capacitors or contactor.
- Water freezing under the unit — a mounting and drainage problem, and one that will eventually damage the coil.
Steam is not smoke
A heat pump in defrost stops the outdoor fan, runs the compressor, and throws off a cloud of water vapour that looks alarming and is completely normal. What is not normal is ice encasing the coil or packed around the fan. If you see that, shut the system off and call — running a heat pump that cannot clear its coil is how compressors die.
Installation done properly
Most heat pump disappointment traces back to the install, not the equipment. What we do differently:
- Size against a real load calculation for your house, orientation, insulation and elevation — not a rule of thumb per square foot. Oversized equipment short-cycles, leaves the house humid in summer, and wears out early.
- Mount it clear of the ground. Heat pumps shed a lot of water during defrost. A unit sitting flat on dirt builds a block of ice under the coil every winter. Ours go on stands.
- Site it away from drip lines and drift, with room to breathe on all sides.
- Set the balance point and aux lockout so the strips come on when they are needed and not before.
- Commission and document — charge verified, airflow measured, staging confirmed, and the numbers written down.
Keeping one healthy
Two visits a year, spring and fall, is what heat pumps want, because they work hard in both seasons. That is what our maintenance plans cover. Between visits, our guide to getting your heat pump ready for a mountain winter walks through the checks you can do yourself, and the thermostat settings that actually lower your bill explains why deep setbacks cost heat pump owners money.
