Heat pump maintenance in Scarborough, Durham and the GTA
A furnace works four or five months of the year. A heat pump works twelve, because the same compressor and the same coils carry both the heating and the cooling season. That roughly doubles the running hours, and maintenance intervals follow the hours, not the calendar. Metropolitan Heating and Air Conditioning has serviced heat pumps across Scarborough, Durham Region and the GTA since 1979.
Book by calling (416) 283-5698, Monday to Friday 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
Why a heat pump is serviced twice a year, not once
A heat pump has to be verified in both modes, and several of the checks simply cannot be done out of season. Superheat and subcooling read differently in heating than in cooling, so a charge confirmed in July tells you very little about how the system will behave in January. The defrost sequence can only be observed properly when the outdoor coil is actually cold enough to frost.
The usual pattern is a visit in early autumn, before the first sustained cold, and a second in spring before the cooling season. Booking ahead of the season rather than during it means a fault found is a scheduled repair, and parts are easier to get.
What gets done on every visit
- Filter inspected and changed or washed. A restricted filter raises static pressure, cuts airflow across the indoor coil and pushes the system towards freezing in cooling and tripping on high pressure in heating.
- Both coils cleaned. A heat pump lives or dies on heat transfer. Dirt on the outdoor coil is worse here than on a straight air conditioner, because that coil has to work in both directions.
- Refrigerant charge verified against the manufacturer's specification for the mode being run, not simply topped up. Refrigerant is not consumed in normal operation — if it is low, there is a leak, and finding the leak is the actual repair.
- Electrical connections inspected and tightened, with contactors, relays and capacitors tested. Years of thermal cycling loosen terminals, and a loose terminal heats up.
- Fan and blower motors checked for bearing noise, balance and current draw, and lubricated where the design calls for it.
- Condensate pan and drain line cleared. In heating, the outdoor unit also has to shed defrost meltwater, so its base pan and drain are checked too. A blocked base pan is how an outdoor unit ends up frozen into a block of ice.
- Thermostat tested and calibrated, including its staging and how it brings on auxiliary heat.
- Safety controls tested and a full cycle observed in the mode of the season, from call through steady running to shutdown.
The checks that only matter in winter
Two things separate a heat pump service from an air conditioner service, and both are easy to skip.
The first is the defrost cycle. The outdoor coil frosts in heating mode because it runs colder than the outdoor air. The control reverses the system briefly to clear it. We verify that the defrost control initiates and terminates correctly, that the sensor is reading true, and that the reversing valve is shifting cleanly in both directions. A defrost board that has drifted will either ice the unit up or waste energy defrosting a coil that is already clear.
The second is backup heat changeover. Auxiliary and emergency heat are far more expensive to run than the compressor, so the point at which the thermostat brings them on is worth getting right. We check that the staging works and that the system is not quietly leaning on resistance heat in weather the compressor could handle on its own.
Warranty documentation
Most manufacturer warranties require professional installation and documented annual servicing. If your equipment is still inside its warranty term, a gap in the service record can be the reason a claim is refused. Keep the paperwork.
What you can do between visits
Change or wash the filter on the manufacturer's schedule, more often with pets or renovation dust. Keep the outdoor unit clear — no leaves packed against the coil, nothing stacked on top of it, and in winter make sure snow and ice are not building up around the base or blocking the fan discharge. Keep returns and supply registers unobstructed. If the cycle pattern changes or a new noise appears, note when it happens; that detail shortens the next diagnosis considerably.
Related services
- Heat Pump Repair & Service
- Heat Pump Installation & Replacement
- Maintenance plans
- All heat pump services
Book a heat pump service
Call (416) 283-5698 weekdays 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, or request a booking. Licensed and insured, all makes and models, from our shop on Venture Drive in Scarborough since 1979.