Before you call for Heat-Pump help:

 

Are your filters clean?

                       

PS: ALL HEATING & COOLING SYSTEMS NEED CLEAN FILTERS

Most filters are located in "filter grills" inside your house. They should be kept clean to avoid a multitude of A/C and heating problems. They should be changed about once a month

  
      Another thing to check is the breaker or fuses in your outside A/C power disconnect device located outside on the wall of your house near your A/C condensing unit.  

                       
                                

If you have a breaker that has tripped it may just need to be re-set to "ON".
Sometimes they need to be turned "OFF" first (even though they are already "ON") then back "ON".

Note: if the breaker itself is bad then it will need to be replaced by an electrician.

      Do you have a blown fuse?

If you have fuses instead of a breaker in that box outside near your outdoor unit then one of them may have been blown, it may simply need to be replaced. If this is the case then you can try to resolve your problem by yourself by replacing both of them (unless you can have them tested to know which one is bad).  That way you will have replaced the bad one even though you didnt know which one it was and you will also end up having a "spare" fuse.

                               

Another thing to look for is ice forming on the condensing unit outside..
If the fan is turning on the top (when it is running) then it normally means that your system is either undercharged or is failing to "defrost"

These "before & after" pictures illustrate a frozen Heat-Pump condensing unit on the right compared to a "normal" Heat-Pump condensing unit on the left. This particular unit needed a defrost board.

Note: All Heat-Pumps will create "frost", and they may also have ice form on the outdoor unit on cold & rainy days, thats why they have a defrost cycle, but they should be able to get rid of it by themselves.

Heat-Pump Thermostats are quite different than Gas Furnace Thermostats, they have several extra features.
One unique thing that they do is is controlling the auxillary heat or "heat strips".     
This means that if your outside unit is frozen, just wasting electricity, there is a way that you can automatically disable it and, at the same time, get some heat another way.
Simply select EMERGENCY HEAT on your thermostat and it will use it's heat strips instead of the heat-pump. A red indicator light may light up to inform you that you're using your heat-strips to heat.
Please remember that your heat strips will not heat your home 100% when it's really cold outside and that they should only be used in "emergency" or "Auxillary" mode when necessary because heat strips use more electricity to heat with than your outside heat pump unit does. They should not be thought of as an option unless they are your last resort. They are there to help when it is cold outside and to get you by when there is a problem with your main unit, sort of like one of those smaller emergency parachutes used by skydivers when their main parachute fails.

  

                                            


 NOTE: Your system also uses your heat strips to assist your Heat-Pump. When it's colder ouside they will kick in from time to time to help because then there is less heat for it to obtain from the air outside and at the same time your heat loss from your home is greater. So at some point your Heat-Pump simply can't do it all by itself.
Depending on your thermostat type & wiring you may see a blue light indicator (or that red light) during those times.

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