QUICK GUIDE HEAT PUMP OPERATION

  

This sheet has been written to help you get the best out of your new heat

pump. It has been compiled by listening to our customers needs and

using our experience to solve their issues. Please use this sheet in

conjunction with the manufacturer’s instruction manual.

 

 Frequently used Controls

If you are unfamiliar with heat pumps or air conditioners the remote

control can be a little bewildering. Below is a list of the most commonly

used functions on the remote. The timer function has deliberately been

left off because each brand and model has a different method of doing

things and to go through it here would turn this sheet into a novel.

When using the remote please make sure it is pointed at the indoor unit

and that every time a button is pressed, an audible ‘beep’ is heard or a

flashing light is observed. This tells you that the signal has been sent

from the remote and successfully received by the indoor unit. This is not

necessary for those systems that use wired wall controllers.

 

On/Off

This turns the unit on or off. It may take a few minutes for the system to

come on line and start heating or cooling.

 

Mode

This is how you select between heating, cooling, dehumidifying and fan

only (if fitted). There is also an auto changeover selection available with

this button. This feature allows the unit to automatically change between

heating and cooling. While this sounds like a good feature, the reality is

that it makes the unit drafty and it may cause it to briefly blow cold air on

a cold day in an attempt to regulate the temperature. For these reasons

we do not recommend the use of the auto change over function in

domestic applications. It is preferable to keep the unit in the mode you

desire: eg heating on a cold day.

When switching between different modes there will be a delay of several

minutes as the unit changes over.

 

Fan

This allows you to manually select the fan speed or have the unit

automatically set it for you. Our recommendation is to use the automatic

function where possible. This will allow the unit to get the room to

temperature as fast as possible and keep it from fluctuating too much.

Having said that, if you feel the unit is noisy or drafty with the fan in auto

you may wish to manually reduce the fan speed in order to control this.

Some models have a quiet mode as part of their fan control. We do not

recommend that you run your unit in this setting for to long.

 

Vane

The vane function allows you to manually adjust the direction of the air

flow or have the unit automatically set it for you. As with the fan speed

we recommend using the automatic mode. When this is selected the

vanes will point down in heating and straight out in cooling. In terms of

air flow this is the most efficient method of distributing conditioned air

throughout the room.

 

Temperature control

Pressing this button will either increase or reduce the temperature readout

on the controller. An important point to remember is that this number is

the temperature that you are asking the heat pump to achieve in the room;

it is not a direct measurement of actual room temperature!  Our

recommendation is to set between 20 and 22 degrees C on the controller

for both heating and cooling. This can be set as soon as you turn the unit

on. There is no need to set 30 degrees in order to make the room warm

up faster. This will only make you hot and use lots of power!

 

Problems you may encounter

Drafting

Heat pumps, by their nature, have to move air around the room in order to

achieve even heating or cooling. Depending on how sensitive to drafts

you are it is possible to feel this air movement. This is normally

discussed during the quote stage and will have been a contributing factor

in where the unit was located. Having said that, some air movement may

still be felt in the room. Use the louvre control to direct the air away

from you and the fan control to reduce the fan speed. On the smaller

units the lateral or sideways movement of air is controlled by manually

adjusting the vanes on the unit.

 

The unit blows cold during winter

This is generally caused by having the auto change over mode selected.

See the previous section on the mode control.

 

The unit stops heating for short periods on cold days

This is generally caused by the unit going into a defrost cycle. Some other

things you may notice are flashing lights and occasionally

gurgling/slurping noises. All heat pumps will go into defrost when it is

very cold outside although some brands are more sensitive to it than

others.

The defrost cycle is designed to remove ice from the outdoor unit coils.

This can start forming when the outside temperature gets below 5 deg C

but the real danger zone is in the +2 to -2 deg range. This is where the air

is cold but still relatively humid. As the air passes through the outdoor

unit and is cooled even further, the moisture then condenses out and

freezes on the coils. Your heat pump senses this and sends heat back to

the outdoor unit in order to melt the ice.

 

The unit has flashing lights and does not operate

Other than the defrost cycle, this is generally a code indicating the unit

has a fault. The first thing to try is turning off the isolating switch for a

period of ten minutes and then turning it back on again. This can be

successful in clearing some faults. The isolating switch is found on the

wall next to the outdoor unit. If this fails to rectify the fault please give

Air Con Buller West Coast a call and we will send a technician to

investigate the problem further.

 

The unit ‘spits’ water from the fan during cooling operation

This generally happens on a very humid day with the temperature set at

19 degrees or below. Try raising the temperature to 20 -22 deg C on the

remote control.