My First Heat Pump
It was 2020, April. We were not going anywhere anytime soon and the hot smoky summer was about to begin. We had no air conditioning, and lost our favorite shade tree the year before. It was looking to be a hot and uncomfortable summer, windows closed and high 80s inside. Cooling the house off in evenings with wide open windows drove my seasonal allergies to near blindness at times and the wildfire smoke was unbearable. Timing with our 22 year old furnace needing repair every year, a government stimmy and a new heat pump looked promising to help improve our comfort in many ways.
I arranged to have five contractors visit and provide heat pump quotes. Of those, one didn’t show up. One preferred a virtual walkthrough on video. Two tried to sell me a gas furnace, and talked poorly about heat pumps. Finally, one contractor said that’s all they did. That contractor was just one of two Mitsubishi Diamond Elite installers in the Denver Metro area. It was also the only contractor willing to give me a heat pump bid. The price seemed fair. In retrospect, it was low.
The contractor company owner was friendly, confident and competent. Unfortunate for me and my family, the install team he sent included his cousin and nephew, who while chain smoking, installed our multi-zone heat pump system in just 6 hours. But, the air conditioning was cold, and we were happy!
Poor Ductwork and A Cold Winter
Then winter came, the first test was a cold stretch in the low single digits. Set at 67 F, we woke up to 63 F. The next morning, 58 F, and the next 53 F. Finally, it warmed up. I called our installer, but found a message they were no longer in business due to the pandemic. That turned out to be a poor excuse, because in reality their business failed due to their poor quality work, lack of service and total disregard for their customers safety.
Later that winter, I explored under my home, in military crawl fashion identifying problems with the ducts. Specifically, there was a 2″ gap hidden below the new heat pump air handler laying sideways and the return duct opening. That big hole just pulls in cold dirty air all day and night. A
When the outdoor temperature drops, the unconditioned crawlspace temperature was too cold for the heat pump to heat for comfort as it pumped dirty cold air into my home. I sealed it up. However, we only saw a minor improvement in heating, with indoor temperatures still sitting well below the thermostat set point. We supplemented with two space heaters, moving them around where needed.
Lazy Installer = Black Mold
Then summer arrived. We went on a trip and asked my mother to watch our home and animals a dog, cats and chickens. She called to tell us she turned off the air conditioning because it smelled bad. When we returned, I again crawled into the crawlspace and found black mold all over. I learned first hand how important it is to route condensate out of your home.
The installers had run a short pipe right into my crawlspace, putting our health in danger. I called them again, just to be sure, and yes they were still out of business. I spent two days removing the mold and soaking the crawlspace in concentrated vinegar to treat it. Then I installed a proper condensate pump and long run of tubing to the garden. We lived with the lovely aroma of salad dressing in our home that week.
Before next winter I replaced all my supply ducts with insulated flex duct. I saw zero improvement, still dipping into the low 50s F in very cold weather. Every year was an experiment, learn by doing indeed.
No Help For A Broken Heat Pump
The following summer, the system failed, and could only blow around warm summer air with zero cooling ability. I needed help. This had gone too far. I started calling friends and searching for contractors to find a service technician.
The first recommendation was through our friend, a builder, who gave me a cell number to call. He sent his technician out that week. He checked the airflow for restrictions, connected his refrigerant gauges to the heat pump and said it looked ok. I didn’t question him until he needed my help to decipher the blinking LED error codes with their intended messages. I’ll never forget his comment that “These heat pumps lie all the time.” He left and said he would call Mitsubishi and get back to me. I tried for two weeks to get him on the phone, but he just ghosted me.
The next approach for help fixing my heat pump was to call all the top rated service and install companies. I called about 20 that day. But most will only service their own installations, and typically avoid other bad installs.
One company, which I recommended to a neighbor with mixed results, had one heat pump technician and a 5 week backlog of service visits. Thinking back, that seems like a lot of heat pump repairs for a single technician heat pump service company. All but the largest service companies were unwilling to service any heat pump that they did not install. They had no responsibility or help to offer me.
The Mitsubishi website was my next stop, but yielded zero help or direction except to contact the very same out of business and terrible installer we had used. I was getting desperate, hearing my family’s too hot complaints all day long.
Two of my friends’ HVAC technician’s had in the mean time come over, took a quick look, repeating the same routine, left and never heard from again. Luckily, one of the large service companies had called me back and scheduled a visit, even though they didn’t do the install. Yay, there was hope!
Heat Pump Repairs Cost What?!
By this time, I had been educating myself on the issue in the typical millennial way, on YouTube (and the manual!). I was amazed at how much HVAC folks like to post videos to help educate their peers and show their work to colleagues, and sometimes even criticize poor work they find in the field. I had also gotten a too high bid for a ductless mini-split install and was considering doing that install myself.
The large corporate service company technician showed up and took out a clip board, put a pinch of chaw in his cheek and introduced himself with an impressive handshake. We walked over to the outdoor unit as I described the issue, and my preliminary assessment. While spitting at our feet, he said he could fix it, but it would cost $4,500. But he had no time because he had seven house calls to make that day.
He gave me a phone number of a friend who just left the company for some reason and might help. But I kept asking questions. I’m curious to a fault. Based on my studies of troubleshooting heat pumps, I asked if the approach and diagnoses I would do made sense. He said yes. I quickly added up the tools needed ($3,000), costs for the EPA test and certification to buy and handle refrigerants (EPA608) and compared that to his repair estimate. That was it! I was going to fix this problem myself.
To get access to high end HVAC tools, refrigerants, appliances, support and discounts, an HVAC business is prerequisite. I thought, “I’ll only work on heat pumps!” But mechanical licensing in Colorado Cities requires understanding of ICC building codes for fuel gas appliances, gas piping, and more in addition to heat pumps.
Physicist Turns to HVAC
I had worked with pyrophoric materials for over a decade, which are acutely toxic, lethal and self igniting gasses under pressure, and have extensive understanding of gas and vacuum systems as well as complex electronic equipment after working and then managing semiconductor fab labs for research, having traversed a 20 year long scientific career path to Experimental Physicist.
Now, physicists often feel overconfident in their ability to solve any technical problem, to which I can attest. But I was fueled by anger and frustration. How can contractors do this to people, just leave them in the cold like this? HVAC is a life support, an important service, and they were treating it as a money grab and their customers as not very important. I believed in heart that I could do WAY better in every aspect.
I read through the EPA refrigeration guide, took the test and passed easily. There were some interesting points in there that few people know. For example, how chlorinated refrigerants deplete ozone (an autocatalytic mechanism), and how the current refrigerants are thousands of times more warming than carbon dioxide.
I thought to myself: “HVAC work is noble, important and requires a combination of mindfulness and technical skills to do well.” I was hooked. Plus, I love tools, and this is a tool heavy profession.
I then found the small leak in the refrigerant connection, repaired that, flushed and filled the system. Voila! My house was cool.
Mechanical Permits and City Inspections Please
At this time, our home addition was in full swing and the electrician had some bad news. Our heat pump was wired in a way that could start a fire, and certainly not up to code. They would rewire it correctly for $900. Of course it was a fire hazard too!
I rolled my eyes again at the “elite” installer again while approving the safety improvement costs. Later, I found out that our heat pump installer left a trail of tears across the Denver area, and were stopped by Mitsubishi from using their brand in Florida.
Many homeowners choose to trust their installer to avoid permitting fees, much as I did with my home and my family’s safety. That was my mistake, and cost us dearly.
At Just Heat Pumps we file for permits and inspections. It’s baked into our process at a deep level and helps to build up our trade and our community trust.
The Road Ahead
HVAC is important and noble work, directly responsible for home comfort, peace of mind and in no small way, happiness. As homeowners, we’re asked to spearhead massive electrification efforts in home heating and cooling. As contractors, we need to approach electrification with care for the heating system design and responsibility to you, the customer.
As we grow at Just Heat Pumps we will keep focus on our values to help our community reduce pollution, our vision to provide the highest quality heat pump installations in Colorado, and our mission to revolutionize heating and cooling technology deployment. It feels amazing to do the best work we can!
Got questions? Please contact us and we will be happy to help.
