The good news is, geothermal heating and cooling systems are famous for their trustworthiness, longevity, and ease of maintenance. The bad news? Well, there likely won’t be any – if you keep your system well maintained! Of course, even the finest of geothermal systems can experience an isolated hiccup or, yes, even break down once in a blue moon. On those rare occasions, it’s good to know the Lancaster experts at Gochnauer at Home are here to help.
Before you call us, though, you probably ought to cast an eye on the following checklist – just to make sure the problem can’t, in fact, be taken care of without us. :-)
Check …
- The Thermostat’s Seasonal Setting. No heat coming through? No cool air to speak of? The problem could be as uncomplicated as having your thermostat set for the wrong season. If so, reset it and see if that doesn’t fix things.
- The Thermostat’s Temperature Setting. A house that’s already arrived at the warmth or coolness of the thermostat setting won’t trigger your geothermal system’s heat pump to start. Try setting the thermostat five degrees higher to get the heating system going again in Winter – or five degrees lower to get the cooling system going again in Summer^get the heating system running again in Winter – or five degrees lower to get the cooling system running again in Summer.
- The Fan. A sufficiently maintained auto setting for the fan makes sure it operates whenever your geothermal heat pump raises or lowers your home’s temperature. This helps improve the energy efficiency of your system on the whole.
- The Circuit Breakers and Power Switch. It proves true more with more regularity than you’d imagine that the cause of a geothermal system breakdown is nothing more than a blown fuse. Or a product of the power switch – indoors or outdoors, as regards the kind of system you have – being for whatever reason shut off!
- The Room Registers. Are your return grilles and supply registers open? If they’re closed, well, then no wonder you’re not getting the warmth or the coolness you want!
- The Filters. Here’s where a program of methodical – and simple – do-it-yourself system maintenance truly proves its merit! If you aren’t replacing disposable air filters every three months, or vacuum-cleaning permanent filters every one to three months, your geothermal heating and cooling system may well be impeded by dust, dirt, and other airborne particulates invading the heat pump. A sufficient buildup will interfere with air circulation, lessen the heating and cooling capability of the system, send your utility costs through the roof, and cut a few years off your heat pump’s lifetime. By any means necessary, maintain your air filters!
Okay. So you’ve gone through the checklist, fixed whatever needed fixing, and your geothermal heating and cooling system’s still conked out? Now would be a good time to call us. The experts at Gochnauer at Home have a flair for fixing whatever might disable a geothermal system – as scads of harried Lancaster homeowners will attest!