Heat pumps in Waterdown

A light coat of frost on the outdoor coil is normal in a Waterdown winter. Every so often the heat pump runs a defrost cycle: the fan stops, you may hear a whoosh, and a cloud of steam rises off the unit for a few minutes. That is the system doing its job, not a fault.

A solid block of ice that does not clear, ice climbing up the sides, or a fan that will not turn is different. Check first that snow has not drifted against the unit and that the meltwater underneath has somewhere to go, because a frozen puddle under the base can lock the coil in ice. Change the indoor filter if it is grey. If the ice stays after a defrost cycle, turn the heat pump off at the thermostat, let the furnace or backup heat carry the house, and call us rather than chipping at the coil, which bends the fins and can puncture a refrigerant line.

Air from a heat pump comes out warmer than room temperature but cooler than air from a gas furnace, so a hand over the register can feel cool even when the house is holding temperature. Long, steady run times are also normal: a heat pump is built to run low and slow rather than in short hot bursts. The January normal at the Hamilton RBG station near Waterdown is -4.7 °C, and in a stretch like that a properly sized unit may barely shut off.

It is a fault when the house drifts below the setting, the bills jump, or the backup heat comes on far more than it used to. The usual causes are a low refrigerant charge from a slow leak, a dirty outdoor coil, a failing outdoor fan or a reversing valve stuck partway. A thermostat set up for a plain air conditioner, not for a heat pump, can also call for backup heat at the wrong time. Work is performed by 313A refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics, and we find and repair a leak before adding refrigerant, not just top it up and leave.

It depends on the era of the house. In Waterdown South and Waterdown Bay, most homes already have central air, a high-efficiency gas furnace and an HRV, with ducts sized for cooling. A cold-climate heat pump often slots in where the air conditioner sits now, and these are usually the simplest installs we see.

In the post-war surveys such as Glenlea, Buchan Court and Renwood Park, the original ductwork is often on the small side. A heat pump moves more air at a lower temperature than a furnace, so undersized returns can make it noisy and less effective. We measure the ducts before recommending anything, and sometimes a return-air upgrade is part of the job.

In the older houses of the Griffin Survey and the McMonnies and Stock Survey, many homes still heat with hot-water radiators or converted ductwork. A ductless heat pump with wall or ceiling heads can add heating and cooling without opening walls for new ducts. If your house is a designated heritage property, check with the City of Hamilton before an outdoor unit or new line set goes on the outside of the house. See air conditioning installation if cooling is your main goal.

A hybrid, or dual-fuel, system keeps your gas furnace and adds a heat pump on top of it. The heat pump does the heating through spring, fall and the milder part of winter, and the furnace takes over during the coldest weeks or when the heat pump cannot keep up. One thermostat, set up for both, decides which runs, and we set the changeover point with you based on the house and how you want to balance comfort and running cost.

Because the furnace stays in service, the gas side still matters. Work is performed by TSSA-certified gas technicians. If your furnace is near the end of its life, it can make sense to replace both together; see furnace installation and replacement. Keep a working carbon monoxide alarm next to each sleeping area, as the Ontario Fire Code requires in any home with a fuel-burning appliance.

We start with a heat loss calculation for your house, not the label on the old furnace or air conditioner. Insulation, windows, the age of the house and the ducts all change the answer, and an oversized heat pump short cycles just as an oversized furnace does.

The outdoor unit needs to sit up off the ground. The Hamilton RBG station records a normal of 118.1 cm of snow a year, and a unit at grade can be buried or stand in its own defrost water. We mount it on a raised stand or wall bracket, away from a roof drip line, with a clear path for meltwater and room to clear snow around it. We also think about where the fan noise goes, toward your bedroom window or your neighbour's.

You get the price in writing before any work starts. After the install we walk you through the thermostat, the defrost cycle and what normal looks like, so you are not worried the first time it steams in January. Yearly maintenance keeps the coil clean and the records the manufacturer may ask for if you make a warranty claim.

Heat pump rebates and loan programs in Ontario change often, and some close or reopen with little notice. We check what is open at the time of your quote, not what was open last year, and tell you which ones your house may qualify for.

Some programs need an energy assessment or pre-approval before the heat pump goes in, so the order of steps matters. We sort that out with you first, so you do not lose a rebate by installing too early. For a fuller look at costs and savings, read is a heat pump worth it in an Ontario winter, or ask for a quote.