Heat Pump Repair in Lakewood

Homes on Green Mountain and in west Lakewood get stronger gusts than the flatter parts of the city. Wind packs snow into the outdoor coil and can lodge debris in the fan. A unit facing the prevailing wind may frost heavily and spend too much time in defrost.

A simple wind baffle or relocating the unit to the lee side of the house can help. Never wrap a running heat pump in a tarp or cover to protect it; it needs open airflow all winter. If a unit is sitting on the ground in a drift-prone spot, a raised stand keeps the coil and the drain path clear. We'll recommend these changes only when we see the pattern.

Your heat pump should go into defrost for a few minutes at a time, then return to heating. Signs of trouble include ice that builds up for hours, ice on the fan grille, or a unit that won't come out of defrost. Most of those trace to a defrost sensor clipped loose from the coil, a failed control board, a fan motor on its way out or a refrigerant charge that's too low.

We test each of those, rather than starting with the most expensive part. You get a written price before any repair. One more thing to rule out: water dripping from a roof edge or a broken gutter onto the cabinet. That refreezes faster than defrost can clear it, and no part replacement will fix it. In Eiber and other older neighborhoods, where units often sit tight against the house, we check that first.

With roughly half the city built between 1970 and 1999, many Lakewood homes have a gas furnace that predates the heat pump. Those dual fuel setups depend on the thermostat to switch from heat pump to furnace at the right outdoor temperature. A failed outdoor sensor or a thermostat set up for a heat-pump-only system can leave the furnace idle while the heat pump struggles, or run the furnace all winter while the heat pump sits. Our dual fuel guide covers the settings.

Townhomes and apartments make up a big share of Lakewood's housing, and in those buildings outdoor units often sit in rows, close together. Close spacing can recirculate cold discharge air from one unit into the next. Check that each unit has the clearance the manufacturer specifies.

If repair costs approach replacement, we'll price both. The City of Lakewood issues mechanical permits through Planning and Public Works. A cold-climate replacement qualifies for Power Ahead Colorado's $1,500 regional rebate and the state's $1,000 credit. Federal 25C no longer applies.