If you’re noticing a smell from your heat pump, it’s trying to tell you that something is wrong. We’ve put together a list of the most popular six heat pump smells, what causes them and how you can correct them.
- Heat pump smells musty
- Heat pump smells like fish
- Heat pump smells like sulfur
- Heat pump smells like sewer
- Heat pump smells like burning
- Heat pump defrost cycle smells
1. Heat Pump Smells Musty
If your heat pump smells musty, there’s likely mold growing on damp evaporator coils or in the ductwork. This heat pump odor is often known as dirty sock syndrome. You can avoid this by scheduling frequent heat pump maintenance and air duct cleaning.
2. Heat Pump Smells Like Fish
If your heat pump smells like fish, there could be several things wrong:
- Motor is too hot
- Wiring issue
- Plastic components or coating is melting
- Other mechanical difficulties
Electrical problems are unsafe, so turn your heat pump system off immediately at the breaker box and contact us at for heat pump repair.
3. Heat Pump Smells Like Sulfur
Normally when you have a rotten egg smell, you’re dealing with a gas leak. But your heat pump doesn’t use natural gas. If your heat pump smells like sulfur, a little animal may have gotten inside it for warmth and died. One of our HCE Systems experts can get rid of the smell by cleaning your heat pump.
4. Heat Pump Smells Like Sewer
As we discussed above, your heat pump is electric, so any rotten egg smells are tied to a gas leak somewhere else. If your heat pump smells like sewer, you might be dealing with a backed-up or broken sewer line. We advise contacting a company that does sewer line repair.
5. Heat Pump Smells Like Burning
You might have an electrical problem if your heat pump smells like burning, burning plastic or burning rubber. This burning smell can be the result of melting plastic on electrical wires. Electrical troubles in HVAC systems are serious and could cause a fire. If you notice this smell, shut off your heat pump at the breaker and get a hold of us at .
6. Heat Pump Defrost Cycle Smells
Like we discussed previously, a dirty socks smell can happen when your evaporator coils need to be cleaned. You might encounter this smell when your heat pump goes into defrost mode.
It’s ordinary for your heat pump to have to use defrost mode during heating season. When the air is much colder, frost can form fast on the coils from condensation and restrict heating. During defrost mode, your heat pump temporarily switches to ac to remove the frost.
Having a HCE Systems HVAC technician clean the coils will help get rid of the smell.
Trust Us with Your Heat Pump Repair Needs
It can be difficult to troubleshoot your heat pump by yourself. Your comfort matters to us at HCE Systems, so you can count on our experts to support you when you need us. When you need heat pump repair in that you can rely on, call us at .