Tempstar Heat Pump maintenance in Greater Vancouver
A heat pump does not get an off-season. Your neighbour’s gas furnace sits idle from May to October; your outdoor unit runs through August humidity and January defrost cycles alike. Twice the duty, twice the service interval.
Most of what fails on these systems in Metro Vancouver fails predictably. Coils pack with cottonwood fluff and leaf mulch. Capacitors drift out of tolerance and the compressor struggles to start on a cold morning. Condensate lines silt up and back water into a pan. A filter goes eight months instead of three and the indoor coil starts collecting the dust the filter was supposed to catch.
None of that is dramatic. All of it is cheap to prevent and expensive to ignore. Here is what a proper visit covers, in the order a technician actually works through it, and what you can safely handle between visits.
The cooling-season visit, and why it starts indoors
A good technician does not walk straight to the outdoor unit. The cooling visit starts at the thermostat and the indoor air handler, because almost every outdoor symptom has an indoor cause behind it.
First the filter comes out and gets looked at, not just replaced. A filter loaded unevenly tells you about duct leakage. A filter that looks clean after four months tells you air is bypassing it around a poor-fitting frame, which means the indoor coil has been eating that dust instead.
Then static pressure across the air handler gets measured. This is the step most commonly skipped and it is the one that reveals whether the ductwork can actually move the air the equipment needs. High static pressure on a system that seems to work is a slow-motion compressor failure.
The indoor coil is inspected top and bottom for fouling. A dirty evaporator restricts airflow and drops suction pressure, which mimics low refrigerant charge and gets misdiagnosed as such more often than anyone likes to admit.
Blower wheel next. Squirrel-cage blowers accumulate a felt of dust between the blades that quietly removes a chunk of the system’s airflow.
Then the condensate pan, drain and float switch. Only after all of that does the technician go outside with a set of gauges, because now the readings will actually mean something.
The heating-season visit: defrost, staging and backup heat
The autumn visit tests things the summer visit cannot, because heat pump heating mode has failure points that never show up in cooling.
Defrost is the big one. In Vancouver’s damp cold, an outdoor coil frosts routinely and the system must reverse itself, melt the frost, and go back to heating. A technician forces a defrost cycle and watches it: does the reversing valve shift cleanly, does the outdoor fan stop, does the cycle terminate on sensor rather than running to a time-out, and does the coil actually clear? A defrost that terminates on time instead of temperature means a failing sensor, and you will feel it as a unit that ices up all winter.
Backup heat gets verified next. Electric strip heat is tested stage by stage with amperage confirmed on each, because a failed element often goes unnoticed until the coldest night of the year, when the house just cannot get there. Where a gas furnace serves as the backup in a dual-fuel setup, that side needs its own combustion inspection by a TSBC-certified technician, including heat exchanger, venting and flame characteristics.
Changeover logic is checked so the system is not calling for expensive backup heat when the heat pump could carry the load on its own.
And the crankcase heater, where fitted, gets confirmed, because refrigerant migrating into a cold compressor is how compressors get destroyed on start-up.
Filters and airflow: the part that is genuinely yours
Filter changes are the highest-return thing a homeowner does, and the interval that gets quoted on the packaging is usually wrong for real homes.
A standard one-inch pleated filter in a Lower Mainland home with pets, or anywhere near construction, is done well before three months. Without pets, three months is reasonable. Deeper media filters, the four or five inch cabinets, run longer, but they are not a year-and-forget item either. The honest method is to pull it monthly for the first year and learn your own house’s rate, then set a calendar reminder to match.
Airflow direction matters. There is an arrow on the filter frame and it points toward the blower, always. Backwards filters collapse and bypass.
Do not upgrade filter density on impulse. A very high MERV filter dropped into a system that was not designed around it adds resistance, and on marginal ductwork that resistance costs you capacity and equipment life. If you want better filtration, have someone measure static pressure first and size the filter cabinet properly.
Supply and return registers need to stay open, all of them. Closing off vents in unused rooms does not save money on a ducted heat pump, it raises system pressure. Furniture, drapes and area rugs over floor registers do the same thing more quietly.
Check that the return grille itself is not fuzzy with dust.
Outdoor coil care and coastal corrosion
The outdoor coil is a heat exchanger disguised as a place for debris to collect. Keeping it clean is the difference between a system that works efficiently and one that grinds.
What homeowners can do: kill power at the outdoor disconnect, then rinse the coil from the inside out with a garden hose on gentle pressure, letting water push debris back out the way it came. Never a pressure washer. Fins bend at almost nothing and bent fins block the airflow you are trying to restore. Clear leaves, grass clippings and cottonwood fluff from around the base. Keep about a half-metre of clear space around the cabinet and well over a metre above it.
What should be left to a technician: chemical coil cleaners, fin combing, and anything that involves removing the top with the fan attached.
Near the water, in places like Steveston, White Rock or the Tsawwassen shoreline, add a plain-water rinse every few months through the year. Salt deposits are what start the corrosion, and rinsing removes them before they do their work. Look at the fin edges while you are there: white powdery bloom is early corrosion and worth flagging at your next service visit.
Winter matters too. The unit must sit above expected snow accumulation and must not be enclosed by a well-meaning cover that traps moisture against the coil.
Refrigerant charge: measured, not topped up
There is a habit in this trade of adding refrigerant whenever a system underperforms. It is the wrong instinct and it hides real problems.
A heat pump is a sealed system. It does not consume refrigerant. If the charge is low, there is a leak, and adding gas without finding that leak means paying to release refrigerant into the atmosphere on a schedule. It also means the leak keeps growing.
Proper charge verification is a measurement, not a gauge glance. The technician takes suction and liquid pressures, measures line temperatures, calculates superheat or subcooling depending on the metering device, and compares that against the manufacturer’s charging chart for the actual outdoor and indoor conditions on the day. Ambient temperature changes the target numbers completely, which is why a charge “checked” on a mild spring day and a charge checked in August are different conversations.
Crucially, that comparison is only valid once airflow is confirmed good. Low airflow across a dirty coil produces readings that look exactly like undercharge. Charge a system in that state and you overcharge it, raise head pressure, and shorten compressor life.
If a leak is found, the fix is to locate it, repair it, evacuate the system properly and recharge by weight. Ask which of those steps were done. Handling refrigerant requires certification, so this is entirely a technician’s job.
Electrical testing: capacitors, contactors and connections
Most no-heat and no-cool calls we run in the Fraser Valley come down to a part smaller than your fist.
The run capacitor is the usual suspect. It is a storage device that gives the compressor and fan motor the phase shift they need to start and run, and it degrades gradually rather than failing outright. A capacitor that has drifted well below its rated capacitance makes the compressor draw high current at start, heats the windings, and eventually the system either trips or the compressor fails. Testing it takes a technician about a minute with a meter, and it is why a scheduled visit catches things a homeowner never would.
The contactor is next. It is the relay that switches the compressor on. Its contacts pit and burn with every cycle, and burned contacts drop voltage where you want none dropped. Visible pitting and a measurable voltage drop across closed contacts both call for replacement before it welds shut, which leaves the compressor running continuously.
Then the connections themselves. Outdoor terminals corrode in our humidity, wire nuts loosen with thermal cycling, and a loose lug creates heat. A technician torques and inspects, and checks the disconnect and breaker for signs of overheating.
Amperage draws on the compressor and both fan motors get compared against the data plate values. Rising draw over successive years is an early warning long before anything actually breaks.
Drainage, mounting and the things around the equipment
Water is the quiet destroyer. In cooling mode the indoor coil pulls litres of condensate out of the air, and in heating mode the outdoor coil sheds melt water during every defrost. Both need somewhere to go.
Indoors, the drain pan and its trap silt up with a biological slime that grows happily in our climate. A blocked drain either overflows the pan into a ceiling below or trips a float switch and shuts the system down. Service includes clearing the line, confirming a proper trap, and testing the float switch by actually lifting it rather than assuming it works. Homeowners can pour a small amount of plain water down the line periodically to confirm it flows and to hear it exit outside.
Outdoors, defrost water needs to drain away from the base pan and away from the pad. Water that pools and freezes under the unit lifts the pad, tilts the cabinet, and eventually stresses the refrigerant line connections. On the coast, that pooled water accelerates base-pan corrosion.
Check the pad is level. Check the line set insulation has not been shredded by sun, rodents or a weed trimmer, because bare suction line costs real capacity and sweats onto whatever is below it.
In strata buildings, confirm nothing has been stacked against the unit and that any acoustic screen still permits proper airflow. Noise bylaws and airflow have to coexist.
Your maintenance routine, and when to stop and call
Monthly: look at the filter, look at the outdoor unit, listen to the system. That is it. Three minutes.
Seasonally: clear vegetation and debris back from the outdoor cabinet, rinse the coil gently with power off, confirm the condensate line is flowing, and near the water add an extra freshwater rinse. Confirm registers are open and unobstructed. Check that the thermostat schedule still matches how you actually live, because a schedule fighting the equipment wastes energy and adds cycles.
Twice yearly: professional service, before cooling season and before heating season.
Stop and call rather than investigating yourself if you see or hear any of the following. Burning or hot-electrical smell. Repeated breaker trips, which are the breaker doing its job about something real. Ice on the outdoor unit that does not clear after a defrost cycle. Oily residue on refrigerant lines or at the coil, which usually indicates a leak. Water anywhere it should not be. A grinding or screeching noise, which means a bearing. Any situation where the system runs constantly and never satisfies.
And on any dual-fuel or gas-backed setup: if you smell gas or a CO alarm sounds, get everyone out of the home and call the gas utility and a licensed technician from outside. Never reset a safety lockout to keep a system running.
HeatLand has serviced Lower Mainland heat pumps since 1999. Call (604) 330-3812 for a free written no-obligation estimate.
Quick Checklist
- Check the filter monthly and learn your own home’s real replacement interval
- Confirm the filter arrow points toward the blower every time you change it
- Keep about half a metre clear around the outdoor unit and over a metre above it
- Rinse the outdoor coil gently from the inside out, power off, never with a pressure washer
- Add extra freshwater rinses if you live near the shoreline, and watch for white bloom on fin edges
- Pour water down the condensate line seasonally and confirm it exits outside
- Book professional service twice a year, before cooling season and before heating season
- Stop and call for burning smells, repeated breaker trips, persistent ice, oily residue or grinding noises
| Task | How often | Who does it |
|---|---|---|
| Inspect and replace air filter | Monthly check, replace as your home dictates | Homeowner |
| Clear debris and rinse outdoor coil | Seasonally; more often near salt water | Homeowner, power off at disconnect |
| Flush and test condensate drain and float switch | Seasonally, plus every service visit | Homeowner rinse, technician tests |
| Measure static pressure and verify airflow | Each professional visit | Technician |
| Verify refrigerant charge by superheat or subcooling | Each professional visit | Certified technician only |
| Test capacitors, contactors, amp draws and defrost cycle | Twice yearly | Technician |
Frequently Asked Questions
How often does a heat pump need servicing compared with a furnace?
Twice a year rather than once. A furnace rests all summer, but a heat pump runs year-round and heating mode stresses parts that cooling mode never touches, particularly the reversing valve and the defrost control. The spring visit focuses on airflow, coil condition and charge; the autumn visit focuses on defrost operation, backup heat staging and changeover logic. Both visits check the electrical components.
Can I wash the outdoor coil myself?
Yes, carefully. Shut power off at the outdoor disconnect first, then use a garden hose at gentle pressure and rinse from the inside outward so debris exits the way it came in. Never use a pressure washer, because the aluminum fins bend at almost no force and bent fins block the airflow you are trying to restore. Leave chemical cleaners and fin combing to a technician.
My heat pump ices up in winter. Is that normal?
Some frost on the outdoor coil during damp coastal cold is completely normal, and the system should clear it automatically by reversing into a short defrost cycle. What is not normal is ice that stays, thickens, or builds into a solid block over the coil or in the base pan. That usually points at a defrost sensor, the defrost control board, the reversing valve, or restricted airflow. Book a diagnosis.
Does my heat pump need refrigerant topped up regularly?
No. It is a sealed system that does not consume refrigerant, so if the charge is low there is a leak. Repeatedly adding gas without finding and repairing that leak means paying again on a schedule while the leak grows. Ask your technician to locate the leak, repair it, evacuate the system properly, and recharge by weight rather than simply adding refrigerant to the reading.
Will a higher MERV filter help or hurt?
It depends entirely on your ductwork. Denser filters catch more, but they also add resistance, and many older Lower Mainland homes have return ducts that were never sized generously to begin with. Added resistance costs capacity and shortens equipment life. Have someone measure static pressure before upgrading, and consider a properly sized deeper media cabinet rather than forcing a high-MERV one-inch filter into an existing slot.
Reviewed by the HeatLand Heating & Cooling team — licensed, insured, TSBC-certified HVAC contractor serving Metro Vancouver & the Fraser Valley since 1999. Error codes, specifications, pricing and rebate programs vary by model and change over time; confirm details against your unit’s own manual, a written quote, and the manufacturer or CleanBC/FortisBC. If you smell gas or your CO alarm sounds, leave the home and call the gas utility and a licensed technician from outside.