In HVAC, we rarely need to have a deep understanding of electrical design. But there are a few cases where a little understanding can go a long way in identifying issues before they cause trouble, and that is the intent of this short article.
In this troubleshooting situation, the equipment is an air source heat pump and the customer’s complaint is that even though the thermostat is set at 70° F, the temperature in the conditioned space remains near 65°.
One common customer complaint about their central HVAC systems is that the a/c system is running but not providing any cool air to the controlled space. One of the most common reasons for this situation is that the a/c condenser or evaporator coil has frozen over. This term or phrase literally means that ice has formed on the heat exchanger, preventing the transfer of heat since the ice is acting as an insulator.
In this troubleshooting situation we have a customer who reports that when they turned on their nine-year-old electric furnace at the beginning of the heating season, they considered that the run cycles may have been excessive.
This month’s troubleshooting situation involves a Rheem RRMA-A048JK10X gas pack. The customer called for service because, instead of warm air being delivered from the supply registers, all they are feeling is cold air.
Bob and Tim are at a job where a technician from another company could not figure out the electrical, so he just put the panel back on the electrical compartment and left the job. It is a heat pump and the compressor wiring is all loose. They need to figure out how to wire it back and find out the problem.
In this troubleshooting situation, the customer has called to report a “no heat” problem. The equipment is a 5-ton, 230 VAC single-stage gas/electric package unit that employs an integrated furnace control and a constant torque blower motor.
Bob and Tim are at a job where a customer has damaged a refrigerant line on a heat pump. When they arrive, the line is still blowing a slight amount of vapor from the split in the line.
First, a bit of history… This facility, a small office complex, was built a little more than a decade ago, and the required carbon monoxide safety monitor in the equipment room was disabled at the beginning of the first heating season because there was an ongoing problem with it being activated from time to time.