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Troubleshooting Your Geothermal System

Having your heating or air conditioning lockout can be frustrating, but before you call for service there are a few things every homeowner can do to potentially solve your issue.

Homeowner Service Steps

Almost all geothermal heat pumps have the same safety mechanisms to prevent damage to the unit. If the geothermal unit experiences three of the same faults preventing the unit to properly run, then it will shut down and lock out. These are some steps on how to prevent a lockout, or get your geothermal unit out of a lockout.

1. Cycle Power

The first and most basic step to resetting your geothermal unit is cycle power. Simply flip the breakers that are powering your unit off, wait 10-20 seconds, and flip them back on. This is a basic reset and if your unit is locked out from any system faults, it will clear the faults and should start running again.

2. Check Filters

Your geothermal heat pump has a highly efficient MERV 11 air filter, but if that filter becomes too dirty and clogged your unit will fault, shut down, and lock out. Simply take off the filter rack and pull out the filter to give it a quick look down. If it is dirty you can call Innovative Energy for a new one or order the same size online, and can even wash the dirty filter in a sink to last untill the new filter has arrived. We typically say that the air filter should be replaced every 4 to 6 months.

3. Check Condensate Trap (in cooling season)

During the air conditioning months your geothermal heat pump will efficiently dehumidify the air and pull moisture from your house and deposit into your condensate trap and drain. If you open the top panel door of your geo unit and look under the fan coil you should see a condensate tray. If the condensate trap is clogged this tray will fill, alert the circuit board, and the unit will fault out. Simply check both the tray and trap to make sure water is freely flowing through the PVC into the drain.

4. Water Flow

A geothermal heat pump will only work if it has adequate water flow through the system. In a closed loop system there should always be proper flow because the installer will fill the loops to the designated pressure and close it off preventing any from escaping. An open loop geothermal system on the otherhand requres a modulating valve which will open and close to allow water to flow in from your well. Check to make sure this modulating valve is properly opening to allow water to flow into your system. Innovative Energy will gladly walk you through the steps on how to check your modulating valve over the phone.

5. Call Innovative Energy

If you have tried all of the previous steps and your unit is still faulting out, then it might be time to call Innovative Energy for a service call. Feel free to ask questions about what more you could have done to potentially solve your issue and hopefully solve any issues in the future.

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