
USE AND CARE INSTRUCTIONS
SPLIT SYSTEM
HEAT PUMPS
Photo shown is a typical
unit and will vary by model
and size.
(602) 943-3426
9828 North 19th Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85021-1992
(520) 292-6858
4065 East Illinois Street
Tucson, AZ 85714-2106
www.ChasRoberts.com

Important Facts You Should
Know About Your Heat Pump
(602) 943-3426 or (520) 292-6858
www.ChasRoberts.com
• During the cooling season, the heat pump operates like a conventional system.
Do Not turn the air conditioning system off. Part-time cooling is poor economy. If
•
the system is left off during the morning, the home will soak up heat and be more
difficult to cool in the afternoon. You can actually save money by letting the
thermostat determine when cooling is needed.
• During the hot, dry seasons, we recommend keeping the air conditioner blower on
continuously. The air conditioning unit cools more evenly when the blower switch is
in the ON position. The blower provides refreshing air movement and even
temperatures throughout the home. The blow er also circulates air through the filter,
which helps remove dust, lint and other pollutants more efficiently.
• Shades, drapes, shutters, or screens should be installed on windows that are
exposed to direct sunlight. Also, plant a tress or put up a canopy to protect your
windows from the direct sun.
During the heating season, the heat pump will deliver warm air , but not hot air
•
like other systems, and will operate for long periods of time. THIS IS NORMAL
Remember, air which is 80 degrees is warm air and will heat the house even though
it may feel cool to a hand, which is 98 degrees.
• During the cold weather , frost w ill accumulateon the outdoor coil. This will cause
the heat pump to go into a defrost cycle
running and you will hear the humming of the compressor and feel cool air coming
from the registers. You may also notice steam or water runoff from the outdoor unit
and hear a “whooshing” sound. THIS IS A NORM AL FUNCTION DURING THE
DEFROST CYCLE. Do not turn off the unit, change the temperature, or adjust the
thermostat during this cycle. The defrost cycle will last from 1-10 minutes depending
on the amount of ice on the coil. Then the unit will return to the heating mode.
• Night setback during the heating season is NOT recommended. The heat pump is
not designed to raise space temperatures quickly.
. During this cycle, the outdoor fan will stop
.
For cooling and heating . . . Leave your thermostat alone. When you have found
•
a temperature that you prefer , it is best to leave the thermostat at that setting.
• Clean or replace the filters frequently. Dirty filters will lower performance and
efficiency of your cooling. The filters are usually located at the return grille or at the
indoor section of your unit.

INTRODUCTION
Your Heat Pump system is a complete heating and cooling system and is
designed to give you many years of comfort. Even so, you must learn to live
with it. Any heating and cooling system has its limitations any any equipment
will function more e ffectively and be better able to give you the comfort you
expect if the family knows and follows the proper procedure.
The purpose of the OWNER’S GUIDE is to acquaint you with your Heat
Pump, with heating and cooling in general, and to suggest some procedures
which, if followed, will allow your system to function more effectively.
A Heat Pump is considered by many people to be the ult imate in efficient,
economical, modern home air condit ioning. Livi ng with a Heat pu mp can be
pleasant and comfortable, but comfort is a subjective thing. Often
misunderstandings develop as to what a Heat Pump system will do.
While reading through this booklet, it is useful to keep in mind that a Hea t
Pump is designed for efficiency of operation as well as to provide comfort. In
many respects the heating operation of a Heat Pump is quite d ifferent than
other systems.
In this booklet we will try to explain the operation of the system with respect
to how it feels to live with and also with respect to how it can be most
effectively used.
THE HEAT PUMP COOLING CYCLE
Many people condemn a home air conditioning system because it doesn’t
keep the rooms as cool and comfortable in hot, muggy weather as they think
it should. This may be unfair. Any residential cooling system has definite
limitations. It is the reverse of the heating system. Family living habits that
help the heating system are arch enemies of a cooling system. The Heat
Pump delivers heat into the room and the extraneous heat that is created
within the house form electric lights, cooking, the TV set , etc., helps to heat
the rooms. Just that much less is required from the Heat Pump in the heating
cycle.
Cooling is just the reverse. The cooling equipm ent removes heat from the
house and any extra heat released in the rooms from these same sources
will make the room air warmer and place an additional burden upon the
equipment. Further, with heating, we are primarily concerned with the
thermometer temperature and relative humidity (the amount of moisture in
the air). Relative humidity is an imp ortant factor in the comfort cooling and
the removal of moisture from the air is essential.
The effect of humidity upon comfort can be illustrated by a familiar outdoor
condition. There are days when the tempe rature is relatively high, yet it is
comfortable because the air feels “balmy”. This is because the relative
humidity is low. There are other days when the temperature is about the
same but there is discomfo rt from a “muggy” feeling and perspiration doe s
not dry on the skin. This is because the humidity is high. The same
condition can exist indoor s. The air must be both cool and relat ively dr y for
comfort.
There is nothing very mysterious about the operatio n of a cooling unit. The
theory in home air conditioning is the same as that used in the electric
refrigerator in your kitchen. Room air is drawn into the cooling unit by a fan,
first passing through a filter that removes most of the dirt, dust and pollen.
It next passes over the surface of a coil that is cooled by a refrigerant
circulating through the inside of the co il. Here the temperature of the air is
reduced and then discharged through ducts and registers into the rooms.
When this air passes through the coil, it also loses some of its moisture which
collects upon the coil surfaces in the form of water and is wasted to the sewer
by a condensate drain. Your unit is designed to remove the maximum
amount of heat and moisture: however , you should never lose sight of the
fact that there are definite limits on its capacity to do either.
Since the purpose of the cooling is to remove heat from the inside of the
house, the first step should be to keep as much heat as possible from
entering the house. Heat enter s the house through wall s heated by outdoor
air and the sun. It comes in through the ceiling from the roof or attic above.
When the temperature outside is 90 degrees, it is ve ry possible fo r your attic
temperature to reach 130 degrees if it i s not properly ve ntilated. You should
have cross ventilation to remove the excessive heat. An attic fan may be
added at one end of the attic to gi ve the ulti mate in at tic ventil ation. The fan
may be thermostatically controlled, or it may be manually controlled by you.
Glass areas exposed to the sun are responsible for a very substantial amount
of the heat that enters a house. The sun no t only heat s the g lass but al so all
the surfaces indoors that it shines upon. The most effective way to eli mina te
this heat is to keep the sun off the glass area and windows. A roof o verhang
of two or three feet on the south side of the house will e ffectively shade the
windows on that side. Exterior awnings and sun shades will offer partial
protection on the east and west sides, and the fewer the window on these two
sides of the house the better. Tall shrubs and plantings, a vine covered trellis
or a garden wall are particula rly effective. Scr een shades, Venetian blinds
and heavy draperies will al so help. A few trees that shade the house ar e of
value.
Some of these protective methods will be difficult to provide on an existing
house, be every one that is practical should be used for comfort and for
operating economy. As a matter of information, even the orientation of the
house on the lot can mean much to the cooling system.
A temperature of seventy-six to seventy-eight degree s is preferred by most
people. You may select a lower temperature setting if you wish and you will
probably have that temperature a good port ion of the time . However, do not
be disappointed if the temperature gets a few degrees warmer during the
very hot afternoon. Most residential systems are designed for a maximum
cooling that will maintain the indoor temperature 30 degrees below the
normal outdoor temperature and they cannot do much better than that.
We have already learned that the fun ctio n of the air condit ioning s ystem is t o
remove both heat and moistur e f ro m the ho m e. When it is extremely ho t and
“muggy” any residential air conditioning system has to work hard to obtain the
differential between indoor and outdoor temperature mentioned in the
paragraph above.
It naturally follows that on hot, “muggy” days, any additional heat and
moisture that is released within the house will place an additional burden on
the cooling system and may even be the accused of inadequate cooling.
This is where you must learn to live with the cooling system and realize its
limitations.
We have outlined in the following parag raphs several recommendations on
how to reduce heat and moisture released within the house.
Families li ving in air conditioned houses have be tter appetites than those in
homes which are not air conditioned. Also, cooking releases a large amount
of heat and moisture. A kitchen range with all burners operating can relea se
more heat into the home than a two or three ton cooling unit can remove if it
did nothing else. A kitchen ventilating fan should always be running while
cooking is in progress. A kitchen window should be slightly open to repla ce
the air the fan moves out. Mopping floors, washing furniture and other
cleaning operations, requiring water, will release mo isture into the air as the
wet surfaces dry. These operations should be done on a cool day or at
during the coolest part of a warm day, when the full cooling capa city of the
equipment is not required.
Laundry, including baby clothes and lingerie, shou ld never be dried indoors
when cooling. The water released from the clothes enters the air and then
must be removed by the cooling equipment.