What Makes Heat Pumps Trip Their Breakers in Webster, TX?

Your circuit breaker is an essential safety device whose purpose is to protect you and your home from the effects of electrical power surges. It should not get in the way of your heat pump’s ordinary operations. In what follows, we’re going to help homeowners in Webster, TX understand what makes heat pumps trip circuit breakers.

Clogged Air Filters

If you don’t clean your heat pump’s air filters every three months, they may threaten to obstruct airflow through your heat pump. The system may then attempt to compensate for this blockage by eating up more power, which may activate your breaker.

A Malfunctioning Compressor

Whether it happens to be heating or cooling your home, your heat pump needs to push refrigerant through an alternating cycle of evaporation and condensation in order to do its work. The compressor is crucial to this process because it raises the temperature and pressure of the refrigerant and makes it condensable. If the compressor is old or dysfunctional in any way, however, it will struggle to do this and may absorb extreme amounts of power in its quest to perform.

After pulling in so much power, the compressor could trip your breaker. Depending on the severity of the issues affecting the condenser, it may need either repairs or a regular tune-up to fix it.

A Faulty Breaker

Finally, the reason for your trouble may have nothing to do with your heat pump at all. Instead, it’s possible that your breaker is at fault for constantly activating and stopping your heat pump from working. If this is the case, then the breaker should probably have a similar reaction to at least some of the other electrical devices in your home.

Typically, a circuit breaker should last for anywhere between 30 and 40 years. If yours has been around for longer, it may be time to get a new one. This is especially true if your heat pump has only recently begun tripping your breaker.

It will be impossible to stay comfortable in Webster, TX while your heat pump continues tripping your breaker. Call Davis Air Conditioning & Heating, Inc., and request an appointment for our HVAC services.

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