I am in a home with a heat pump. When the heat is running the outside unit cuts off and on is this normal?

Question

I am still a little confused. My heat will come on, both inside and outside fans going. Then the outside fan will quit while the inside still blows warm air. Then the outside unit will start again and both will go. Finally both will shut off till the house gets below the temp. on therm. Then will both start up again. Its does not seem to happen every time but most. Is this normal?

Answer 1

yep.

Answer 2

You may be detecting the heat pump in defrost mode.

Heat pump outside units can freeze up at temperatures below 40 degs F (depending on humidity). The control system is designed to know when this happens and goes into defrost mode.

In defrost mode, the heat pump actually reverts to an air conditioner and supplemental heating (usually electric heat strips) come on to provide heat to the house until the outside unit is thawed. During this step the outside cooling fan usually stops but the compressor continues to run.

The thermostat should have an indicator that tells you when the supplemental (sometimes called emergency heat) heat is on. The next time the outside unit seems to be off, check to see if the supplemental heat is on and if the compressor is running but the outside cooling fan off.

Answer 3

The two previous answers are correct as long as the unit has reached it's set point.... if the thermostat is still calling for heat the outside unit should be on continuously until the set point is reached..... just wanted to clarify this.

Answer 4

Yes. When the temperature inside reaches the set-point it shuts down the outdoor section. Usually most people have their thermostat stat also set to shut down the indoor fan but it can be set to run continuously.