Aside from deliberately causing harm to your heat pump—or worse, forgetting to change the air filter—some of the worst things you could do to your heat pump are in the way that you choose to operate it.

Of course, no homeowner would do these things on purpose if they knew how bad it was. At the same time, they might have had their unit installed by a technician who was less than thorough about operating the device. But hey, that’s what the internet is for!

In this post, we’ll go over a few operational behaviors you should avoid if you want to run your heat pump efficiently. This will help you save money in the long run, as well as to prevent causing unnecessary wear and tear on the system.

You may have heard that heat pumps can flip into an auxiliary heating mode. Essentially, this is a backup heating mode that helps pick up the slack when temperatures get too cold for the heat pump to run efficiently. The mistake, however, is in assuming that this is the same as the emergency heating function.

The emergency heating function turns off the refrigerant-based heating and only uses electrical resistance heating. This is much more expensive and entirely unnecessary.

And thanks to our SoCal climate, you really don’t need to worry about the heat pump dropping into inefficient ranges in the first place.

It seems like using the AUTO function would make the most sense, but this is a mistake. AUTO will essentially switch your heat pump between cooling and heating mode based on the temperature. However, this setting can be fickle and might force the heat pump to be far more active than required.

It’s better to simply let the heat pump operate either in cooling mode or heating mode, based on the season.

You should know that the way a heat pump operates isn’t going to be like that of a furnace. Many new heat pump owners are accustomed to the way their furnaces operated, with the loud sound of rushing air and intense heat from the vents.

With a heat pump, its heating is much more gradual and far more efficient. You might mistake this for “not heating enough” and be tempted to turn up the heat, but we ask you to refrain from doing that and just give it time to work.

Machines require maintenance to keep running properly, and your heat pump is no exception. Neglecting maintenance is one of the worst things you can do for your efficiency and the lifespan of your heat pump!

Maintenance will prevent about 85% of HVAC issues from occurring in the first place. That way, you can spend less time calling for AC repair in Glendale and more time enjoying the cooling and heating power of your heat pump.

Having trouble with your heat pump? Think of installing one but just not sure? Contact Greenleaf Heating & Cooling today to schedule a call with an expert.