Tips · Fall & winter
Our cold snaps are short, but they’re when tired heat pumps quit. Here’s a 20-minute checklist we give our own neighbors in Niceville, Valparaiso, and Crestview, plus the signs it’s time to call.
Pick a mild fall evening, switch the thermostat to Heat, and set it 3–4 degrees above room temperature. Warm air should arrive within a few minutes. A dusty smell for the first run is normal; it burns off quickly. If you get cool air, nothing at all, or a burning-plastic smell that doesn’t fade, it’s better to find out now than on the first 35° night when everyone calls at once.
Summer run time loads filters fast here. A fresh filter is the easiest DIY job in HVAC: match the size printed on the frame, point the airflow arrow toward the unit, and write the date on it. Check monthly through winter. This one you can absolutely do yourself.
“Em Heat” or “Aux” runs electric heat strips instead of the heat pump. It’s a backup, not a boost. Seeing Aux briefly on a cold morning is normal. If your thermostat shows it constantly, or you’ve had to switch to Emergency Heat to stay warm, the heat pump likely needs service, and your power bill will show it.
Keep 2 feet clear around the outdoor unit: pine straw, leaves, and fall yard debris all block airflow. On cold, damp mornings a heat pump may frost up and then run a defrost cycle, sometimes with a little steam. That’s normal. A unit encased in solid ice for hours is not; turn it to Emergency Heat and call us.
Make sure the carbon monoxide detector near bedrooms has working batteries, and that the flue pipe on top of the furnace is intact. If you smell gas, leave the house and call the gas company first. Burner, flame sensor, and heat exchanger checks are part of our fall heating maintenance.
DIY: filters, thermostat batteries and settings, clearing debris, resetting a tripped breaker once.
Call us: a breaker that trips again, the outdoor unit humming but the fan not spinning, constant Aux or Emergency Heat, ice that won’t clear, burning smells, or water around the indoor unit. Those need a tech with the right parts, and our trucks carry the common ones.
A $195 maintenance visit covers coil cleaning, drain flush, refrigerant charge, capacitor and electrical checks, defrost controls, heat strips, and gas safety controls, with a written report. Maintenance plan members get their fall visit included and same-day no-heat response (Plus & Premium).
Talk to a real person at Air Medics, not a call center.