{"id":1097,"date":"2017-03-20T11:00:03","date_gmt":"2017-03-20T15:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/?p=1097"},"modified":"2023-04-12T13:15:58","modified_gmt":"2023-04-12T17:15:58","slug":"taking-care-heat-pump-blizzard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/taking-care-heat-pump-blizzard\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking Care of Your Heat Pump After the Blizzard"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ice-pattern-on-glass\"<\/a>A major storm swept through most the Northeast last week, and we weren\u2019t spared. Storm Stella dropped heavy levels of snow on Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Ontario, and our own Vermont and New York region, with an average of two feet of snowfall. Schools shut down, flights were cancelled, and states of emergency were declared in some areas.<\/p>\n

We hope you and your family weathered Stella\u2019s assault in safety and that your home\u2019s heating system worked steadily during the storm. Now that the weather has settled, it\u2019s time to take stock of the situation and see if there are repairs necessary to restore you home and see that it\u2019s ready in case of another March surprise.<\/p>\n

Taking Care of a Heat Pump<\/h2>\n

If you use a heat pump to provide warmth to your house, you need to take a few extra steps with it in the wake of a major blizzard. This is because, unlike a furnace or boiler, a heat pump uses outdoor<\/em> components as well as indoor components to operate. In order to provide heated air to a house, a heat pump must draw heat from the outside air using refrigerant, and then transport it indoors. Heavy snowfall can affect the outdoor unit of the heat pump, putting it at risk of inefficient operation and malfunctions. And since a heat pump also acts as a home\u2019s air conditioning system, it needs to be cared for all through the year, even if there\u2019s zero chance of more cold weather arriving before the summer.<\/p>\n

The most important step to take to protect your heat pump after a storm is to clear the snow from around it. Remove any snow from on top of the unit and make sure that all snow within a foot is shoveled away. If snow blocks the grill of the unit, it will restrict the heat pump\u2019s ability to draw thermal energy and make it harder for the system to deliver heat or work efficiently.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s an additional and more insidious danger as well from the snow around a heat pump: corrosion. If snow enters the cabinet, it can trigger rust in various components\u2014and that includes the refrigerant coil. Corrosion is the surest way to significantly shorten a heat pump\u2019s service life.<\/p>\n

After you\u2019ve cleaned off the heat pump, the next step is one that\u2019s easy. It doesn\u2019t even involve going outside! Contact our technicians and arrange for maintenance for your heat pump. A heat pump needs maintenance two times a year because it operates both as a heater and an air conditioner. But this year it\u2019s particularly urgent to have a heat pump maintained because the blizzard might have caused damage to the system you won\u2019t see. Our team will make sure that your heat pump is restored to top shape so it\u2019s ready for any further cold\u2014and for the summer heat ahead. (Yes, we\u2019re looking forward to those days as well!)<\/p>\n

If you need assistance with your heating in Plattsburgh, NY<\/a> or in the Burlington, VT area, all you need to do is contact us. Our heating professionals are ready to assist you<\/a> with whatever you need for comfort as well as preparations for future weather swings, both cold and hot.<\/p>\n

Red Rock Mechanical LLC: Serving Northwest Vermont and Plattsburgh NY area for over 23 years.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you use a heat pump to provide warmth to your house, you need to take a few extra steps with it in the wake of a major blizzard. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[75],"tags":[87,94,91],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1097"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1097"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1097\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1910,"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1097\/revisions\/1910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}