The heating technician sorts our smelly electric heat pump issue
When my roommate and I leased our first home after campus, we got hit by the worst heating device disaster.
Our electric heat pump was emitting a foul smell.
We couldn’t turn it off because it was cold. We had tried every recommendation we found online, including changing our HEPA filter, which everyone said could be the reason. But we didn’t solve the internal electric heating system issue, and the smell persisted. We gave up and called the heating business and asked them to send an HVAC professional to help us sort out the problem. The air smelt like rotten, and we couldn’t invite our friends over. The heating technician came over two days after our call, and he knew what our problem was immediately after he smelt it. The HVAC serviceman explained that there was probably moisture trapped within the drain pan of the electric heater, similar to how smelly water gets trapped in the refrigerator drain pan. The humidity can be prevented by ensuring we keep up with heater maintenance; otherwise, we’d keep having the same problem, which would probably cost us the entire heater if it got damaged. The HVAC supplier also told us to be keen about other smells like fish, sulfur, or burning because they could mean that our heating unit could be damaged from a dangerous electrical fault. We were not enthusiastic about the new adulthood responsibilities and panicked a little, especially me, who kept thinking that such faults could burn the house down with us trapped inside. The HVAC expert noticed our panic and assured us that it was something we could easily see and take care of on the rare chance it happened. It’s been a year since that incident, and we haven’t smelled anything new. We even added a wireless thermostat when we could afford one just before winter.