Heat Pump Defects List & Home Inspection Education
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Heat pump inspection points and defects list
Lists of important defects for residential buildings
What does a home inspector need to know? Home inspection training and education curriculum recommendations

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This article lists significant heat pump system defects, definitions, and home inspection education topics. This article series, beginning at BUILDING DEFECTS LISTS, provides lists of common building defects and basic defect knowledge that also outline recommended curriculum content for home inspector education. The building defects and inspection points listed in these articles also guide homeowners and home buyers to building areas that merit careful attention and often point areas of safety concern or important maintenance and repair tasks.

Readers should see AIR CONDITIONING & HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS for our complete list of articles on this topic. Also see HOME & BUILDING INSPECTORS & INSPECTION METHODS. Use the Search Box at the top or bottom of these pages to find in-depth information about building, energy savings, and indoor environment inspection, diagnosis and repair at this website. Watch out: these inspection lists do not list all possible defects for the systems discussed, and not all home or building inspectors will examine all of the items listed here. CONTACT us to suggest corrections or additions to articles at this website.

Also see HEAT PUMP SUBSYS DEFECTS LIST and see CONDENSATE HANDLING, A/C and DUCT SYSTEM & DUCT DEFECTS and see these heat pump article groups:
HEAT PUMPS
  BACKUP HEAT for HEAT PUMPS
  HEAT PUMPS, GROUNDWATER
  HEAT PUMP STRATEGY - Indoors?
  HEAT PUMP Thermostats - Outdoors
HEATING SMALL LOADS

These curriculae and building defect lists are based on smilar curriculum documents first prepared by Joe Scaduto, an ASHI member who prepared course material for Northeastern University's Building Inspection Certificate program in 1988, subsequently by DF, InspectApedia's editor, for New York University ca 1988 and later, with others, recommended to ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors. ASHI did not adopt this material though currently that association as well as others offer extensive HOME INSPECTOR EDUCATION material. The curriculum and lists of defects are informed by additional analysis of the process of home inspection that was developed beginning Calgary, AB for Canadian and U.S. home inspector education and certification examinations in 1997. Other early contributors to home inspection education in the U.S. and Canada include Dr. Jess Aronstein, Alan Carson, Mike Casey, Mark Cramer, John Cox, Dwight Barnett, Douglas Hansen, Rick Heyl, Larry Hoytt, Bill Merrill, Kevin O'Malley, Dennis Robitalille, Keith Peddie, Pat Porzio, Roger Robinson.

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Home Inspection Education Curriculum - Heat Pumps

5.2 Heat Pump Inspection Points, Defects, Knowledge Base Requirements

5.2.1 Knowledge Base Recommended for Heat Pump Inspections

1. Describe the function of a residential heat pump system.

2. Describe these types of heat pumps: air-to-air, air-to-water, air-to-ground. Include an operating cycle description.

3. Describe the principles of operation of heat pumps including terms such as Co-efficient of Performance (COP), balance point and auxiliary heat.

4. List the materials and components of a typical air-to-air heat pump including compressor, the outdoor coil, the indoor coil, the outdoor fan, the indoor fan, refrigerant lines, reversing valve, expansion devices, thermostat, auxiliary heat, indoor fan, outdoor fan, condensate tray and condensate lines, duct system, duct insulation, air filter.

5. Describe the features of adequate installation and repair technique for heat pumps.

6. Define the following terms as they relate to residential heat pumps:

latent heat vaporization, back-up heat, defrost cycle, timed defrost, demand defrost, water source heat pumps, ground source heat pumps, heating load, cooling load, two stage compressors, heat sink, heat source, outdoor temperature sensor, two stage thermostats, triple split systems, accumulator, compression ratio, time and temperature defrost, seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER), heating seasonal performance factor (HSPF).

7. Outline the typical life expectancy of residential heat pumps.

8. Identify the codes or standards which apply to residential heat pumps in your area.

5.2.2 Inspection skills for heat pump inspections

1. Describe the inspection procedure for heat pumps, including how to differentiate between heat pumps and air conditioning systems.

2. Identify the common defects listed on the next page.

3. Describe the implications of each defect.

4. Identify safety issues for the inspector and occupant of the home (same as air conditioning).

2. Communicate findings to client verbally and in writing, recommending corrective actions where needed.

HEAT PUMP TYPICAL DEFECTS, Lists

Heat Pump CAPACITY OUTDOOR COILS - Condensing Coils

• Oversized for cooling • Clothes dryer or water heater exhaust too close

• Undersized for heating • Corrosion

• Damaged

Heat Pump COMPRESSORS • Dirty

• Iced up

• Electric wires too small • Poor location

• Excess electric current draw

• Excess noise or vibration INDOOR COILS - Evaporator Coils

• Inadequate cooling

• Inoperative in heating or cooling mode • Corrosion

• Missing electrical shutoff • Damage

• Out of level • Dirty

• Running continuously • Frost

• Short cycling • No access to coil

• Wrong fuse or breaker size • Temperature split too low

• Temperature split too high

• Top of coil dry in cooling mode

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Additional technical contributors & reference sources for this article are listed below.

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Carson, Dunlop & Associates Ltd., 120 Carlton Street Suite 407, Toronto ON M5A 4K2. (416) 964-9415 1-800-268-7070 info@carsondunlop.com. Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, for permission to use illustrations from their publication, The Illustrated Home which illustrates construction details and building components. Carson Dunlop provides home inspection education including the ASHI-adopted Home Inspection Training Program (home study course), publications such as the Home Reference Book, report writing materials including the Horizon report writer, and home inspection services. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors.
Mark Cramer Inspection Services Mark Cramer, Tampa Florida, Mr. Cramer is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors and is a Florida home inspector and home inspection educator. Contact Mark Cramer at: 727-595-4211 mark@BestTampaInspector.com 11/06
Roger Hankey is principal of Hankey and Brown home inspectors, Eden Prairie, MN. Mr. Hankey is a past chairman of the ASHI Standards Committee. Mr. Hankey has served in other ASHI professional and leadership roles. Contact Roger Hankey at: 952 829-0044 - rhankey@hankeyandbrown.com. Mr. Hankey is a frequent contributor to InspectAPedia.com.
Arlene Puentes, an ASHI member and a licensed home inspector in Kingston, NY, and has served on ASHI national committees as well as HVASHI Chapter President. Ms. Puentes can be contacted at ap@octoberhome.com
Wikipedia provided background information about some topics discussed at this website provided this citation is also found in the same article along with a " retrieved on" date. NOTE: because Wikipedia entries are fluid and can be amended in real time, we cite the retrieval date of Wikipedia citations and we do not assert that the information found there is necessarily authoritative.

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.

The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 2010, $69.00 U.S., is available from Carson Dunlop. The Home Reference Book is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. InspectAPedia.com ^® author/editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume.

ASHI Certification Links
Home Inspection Reports - a Critique narrative vs. checklist type home inspection reports
ASHI Standards of Practice - Jan 2000 and ASHI Standards History - links to older and alternative versions of Home Inspection Standards
ASHI Code of Ethics 1993, and ASHI Ethics History - links to older versions; Note: newer may be found at ASHI
ASHI in 1996 ASHI History - association description from 1996
American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) Official Website
Basement Moisture Control, U.S. Department of Energy
Building Pathology, Deterioration, Diagnostics, and Intervention, Samuel Y. Harris, P.E., AIA, Esq., ISBN 0-471-33172-4, John Wiley & Sons, 2001 [General building science-DF] ISBN-10: 0471331724 ISBN-13: 978-0471331728
Building Pathology: Principles and Practice, David Watt, Wiley-Blackwell; 2 edition (March 7, 2008) ISBN-10: 1405161035 ISBN-13: 978-1405161039
Building inspection education & report writing systems from Carson, Dunlop & Associates Ltd
Crawl Space Moisture Control, U.S. Department of Energy
Historic Preservation Technology: A Primer, Robert A. Young, Wiley (March 21, 2008) ISBN-10: 0471788368 ISBN-13: 978-0471788362
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Home Inspection Education Curriculum - Heat Pumps

5.2 Heat Pump Inspection Points, Defects, Knowledge Base Requirements

5.2.1 Knowledge Base Recommended for Heat Pump Inspections

5.2.2 Inspection skills for heat pump inspections

HEAT PUMP TYPICAL DEFECTS, Lists

Questions & Answers regarding this article

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Technical Reviewers & References

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair