How To Reset a Heat Pump – Easy Guide

The heat pump is a piece of handy equipment for cool summers and warm winters. But just like with many other electrical appliances, you might need to reset once in a while or quite often, depending on several factors. But how exactly do you reset a heat pump?

This article explores how you can reset your heat pump for the best functionality and efficiency depending on the result you want, either between cooling in the summer or warming up your house during ice-cold winters.

Read through to the end to learn how to reset a heat pump system easily, often without having to call in a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) expert.

Can You Reset a Heat Pump?

It's always possible to reset a heat pump any time the need arises. Most of the time, you can do the resetting on your own, especially if you are a handy person and can follow instructions carefully to the letter.

To restart your heat pump, you can start with a basic troubleshooting procedure to establish what fault causes the need to reset the equipment. Troubleshooting is a diagnostic process that helps you identify what defect the heat pump has, as well as the possible cause. From a dirty air filter to an issue with temperature or warm air, there could be several things wrong with the heat pump system.

Simple faults such as localized or home power trips can be corrected in just a few steps, while complex defects like refrigeration issues require you to seek the services of an HVAC technician.

The user's manual or instructions come in handy during both troubleshooting and resetting.

If you can't establish the fault and its cause and the reset procedure on your own, it is advisable to seek professional help. Sometimes, there’s a heat pump problem that can’t be solved without a trained expert. Otherwise, you would save yourself a lot of bucks by doing it yourself.

Resetting a heat pump becomes possible because most pumps come with a simple reset button that you can always use.

Instead of the simple reset button, some models have a system selector switch, which requires switching to emergency heat and checking the pump after six hours.

Sometimes the reset procedure is not so straightforward, and you might have to dig a little deeper into your pocket to enlist the help of an HVAC contractor or by doing some research for the correct procedure if you do not want to place a service call.

Some of the heat pump brands you can reset include Lennox, Carrier, Trane, Rheem, Ruud, Goodman, American Standard, Coleman, York, among others. You can check out our review of the best heat pumps that you can buy for your house cooling and warming needs.

How Do You Reset Your Heat Pump?

Resetting a heat pump can be both an easy and challenging task based on what is causing the fault. As seen earlier, you can either do the resetting on your own or seek the help of an HVAC professional. You can also make a service call to the manufacturer of your heat pump.

To reset your heat pump, you can follow the steps discussed below.

1. Check the Thermostat and Turn it Off

For a digital thermostat whose display goes blank, the programmable thermostat setting might be faulty, or power might be the problem. We'll see how you can deal with a power problem in the next step.

For a thermostat with a mercury switch, check to ensure it is level.

If the heat pump doesn't restart or function correctly after checking and taking care of the thermostat, you can switch it off and try the next steps before making a service call.

Be sure to refer to the video below for an overview of how to reset a typical heat pump thermostat.

2. Check the Power Supply and Turn the Power Switch Off

If your heat pump is not working, you can check if it has a proper power supply. Perhaps someone might have flipped off the power switch, cutting the power supply to the heat pump.

Heat pumps come with several different circuit breakers to manage the power supply. There are two breakers - one for the condenser and another for the air handler. The two breakers should be on. If they aren't, turn them on.

A repeated trip after turning the breakers on suggests a deeper underlying issue, most likely a problem with the control power if the thermostat is okay but has a blank display. The fuse might have blown due to a wiring short if your heat pump uses fuses in place of circuit breakers.

You can call for help at this point.

However, if the power supply is okay, you should turn off the power switch and then try the next steps. Note that if your heat pump uses a system selector switch, you should shift to emergency heat and wait for about six hours before shifting back to the normal settings.

3. Turn Off the Two Circuit Breakers

By this time, you have switched off the thermostat and the power switch. Now turn off the circuit breakers on the air handler and the condenser and wait for about five minutes before carrying out the next step.

How to Reset Heat Pump Breaker

As mentioned earlier, most heat pumps have a split system comprising a condenser and an air handler with two different circuits and thus two different circuit breakers or fuses, with breakers being the most common in homes.

You need to check which breaker is tripping by checking the electrical code labeling or the one that is either in the 'off' direction or in-between 'on' and 'off'.

Once you have confirmed which breaker is tripping, just turn it on again. A repeated trip after this step means that the breaker is faulty or there is a dead short in the circuit, and you will need the help of a trained contractor to replace the breaker or correct the wiring.

The video below will help you visualize the process of easily resetting a heat pump breaker.

4. Turn All Components Back On Following a Reverse Order

To complete the reset process for a heat pump whose thermostat, control power, and circuit breakers you have ascertained to be working correctly, turn on the components you switched off but in reverse order this time.

The reverse order ensures the heat pump maintains its 'memory' function.

For this step, start by switching on the two circuit breakers, then the power switch, and finally the thermostat. At this point, your heat pump should resume normal functionality.

(Note that you may have to allow the air handler about 60 seconds and the condenser about ten minutes to power back on.)

And you did it!

When Should I Reset My Heat Pump?

It's necessary to reset your heat pump if you notice some of the following situations:

• The heat pump fails to function properly and cools rather than warms or vice versa, depending on what you want it to do
  
  
• The heat pump keeps running on and off on its own
  
  
• The heat pump is not switching on, in which case you have to check the status of the power supply and restoring it if it is discontinued
  
  
• If the digital thermostat of your heat pump displays blank.
  
  Note that you know it's time to reset your heat pump if it displays a red or yellow light (rather than the green one, which indicates that it is functioning properly).

Tips and Safety Considerations When Resetting a Heat Pump

Since a heat pump is an electrical appliance, you must observe safety when resetting it. The following are some significant safety measures to maintain.

Circuit Breaker Safety Considerations

You should always ensure that your feet and hands are fully dry before flipping a circuit breaker. Flip the breaker using only one hand. Do NOT use metallic objects to flip circuit breakers.

Note that you shouldn't reset a tripped breaker several times. Repeated trips signal an underlying fault in the system that should be corrected first by a trained professional.

Heat Pump Override Switch Safety Considerations

In some models, the reset process may involve manually overriding an internal power switch to test if the thermostat is still good. If you power on the switch and the pump runs once again, the thermostat is faulty.

The override switch usually lies under the cover of the thermostat, and as such, you must ensure that your hands are dry. There should also be no hanging objects or clothing on your hand that may snug on any part of the heat pump.

Enlist the Help of an HVAC Technician

As it happens, you may not be a trained HVAC professional or have enough knowledge in home heating solutions.

Please ensure you call in a service person for your safety and that of others around you if you are unsure how to do the rest process. It will cost you just a few bucks!

Conclusion

Before making a service call, it is possible to troubleshoot your heat pump to know its problem and the likely cause. With this information at hand, you can then perform the reset on yourself using the information you find online or in the user's manual.

However, some heat pump problems may not be easy to troubleshoot or correct by resetting. In such scenarios, you should enlist the help of a certified HVAC technician or your brand's service program.