Derek Cole explains why heat pumps make loud "wrrr" sounds during defrost cycles and warns that emergency heat costs three times more than normal operation. For mysterious house odors, he walks through checking the crawl space, ductwork, and indoor unit coil before replacing anything.
Hey, on this episode we talk about what is this smell in my house and my unit is making a very loud noise. You ask your comfort and energy questions and they get answered. This is the Ask Derrick Cole Show. All right. Hey, it's Derrick Cole. Welcome to episode 102 of the The Ask Derrick Cole Show, answering your home and energy questions. We're in our lovely studio apartment. Actually, it's my office. Nothing fancy about it. It's just lights, camera, action. What I don't like about this shirt is that I feel like the collar wants to stay open all the time.
I like it a little more What are the loud noises from my heat pump when it's cold?
That would be the defrost cycle, most likely. Um, it makes a very loud noise because when it goes into defrost, it has to go on that cycle. It actually reverses the flow of refrigerant. So instead of being in heat mode, it switches to AC mode, and it turns on those heat strips so you don't get cold in the house. So the reason it makes that loud noise is all that gas and refrigerant is saying, "Wrrr," back the other way. So that is the noise you're hearing. A lot of folks don't know that and probably don't need to know that, but it's actually going into AC mode because it's burning off the frost on the outdoor unit. So it's actually taking the heat that's in the house and blowing it back outside like it was summertime. So that's how you melt that frost. So it does make kind of a loud noise, and especially if it's in the bedroom or wherever the outdoor unit is, it'll probably wake you up, or at least until you get used to it, wake you up. But it's nothing to worry about. And some folks have asked too, you know, when it's really cold outside, should I just turn my unit to emergency heat only? And the answer is no. Do not do that. There's still heat in the air. The heat pump can still function with the emergency heat. If you go straight to emergency heat, that is 3 times more expensive than regular heat. So that is not a good option unless that unit is just packed with snow and ice and you can't get to it and it can't defrost. That's a good reason, but to have the unit work less by not having to go to defrost cycle is actually going to cost you more money. So just a little tidbit there, but the noise is the defrost cycle.
Could the smell in my home be coming from my system under the house? Yes, that's it.
It could be. Uh, let's elaborate. Let's make some content for the show. So if the system is under the house, so you have a split system under the house, the majority of the air you're breathing is coming from under the house, right, into the house. Again, somebody, a lawyer actually questioned me on this and didn't believe my statement of you're breathing what's in the crawl space in your home. "he said, 'I don't believe it.'" I said, "Well, I can't argue the physics of science and the world to you, but think about a cigarette. If you see somebody smoking a cigarette and the cigarette's just sitting right here, which way is it going?" The smoke. Oh, are you asking? It's going up. Oh, okay. Yes, it's going up. So therefore, air is coming from the crawl space. So yes, it could be coming from the duct system under the house. Or it could actually be coming from the crawl space. There is a difference. The duct might be just fine the way it is, but the smell could be a wet, damp, water sitting in the crawl space area. So I wouldn't default to saying yes, it is the duct system without checking the whole crawl space to make sure that's not a problem as well. Because if it's not the duct system and you replace the duct system, You have the same problem because you're going to have the same smell and then you're going to be upset because you spent money to replace something that probably didn't need replacing because the crawl space is the problem. Make sense? So look at, I think I talked a few shows ago and I forgot now, about the unit, the duct system, the house. It's a 3-part system to make you comfortable. So you need to look at all those to make sure to see where that smell is coming from. Is it coming from the crawl space, the house, the duct system, or is it coming from the unit? It could be originating from the unit if there's some kind of growth or algae or fungus on that coil that then blows the air in the house. You could be smelling it from there. So it could be one of those three, but I wouldn't isolate it to just duct system. Until you get everything checked out. Bam! Episode 102, we are done. Make sure you hashtag your questions #AskDerekCole or just do the 2017 format of when you see me, ask.
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