A parent caring for two young children took to Reddit's r/HVACAdvice forum to ask for help restoring heating and air conditioning to their 10-year-old condo.
Unfortunately, high repair costs for years deterred the family from fixing the home's HVAC system, which repeatedly trips the circuit breaker.
Here's what to know
In the HVAC community, the original poster explained that "We can't do another winter with no heat and summer with no AC with a baby and a toddler. We've been going with no heat/AC for a few years now to avoid [the] cost of repairs with our tight budget, but I think we finally have to fix it — we need heat!"
The OP added that "I know we will have to hire someone… but who and what should I ask for and look out for/expect?"
According to the parent, the fan-only setting works at one of the condo's two thermostats, and any call for either heating or cooling trips a circuit breaker within seconds. Fan-only operation was also possible at both thermostats, but changing its setting two or three degrees above or below room temperature also tripped the breaker.
Commenters quickly offered advice and tried to diagnose the issue. One wrote, "Something is causing your system to draw more amps than it should. I've run into faulty capacitors that would blow a disconnect fuse or trip a circuit breaker. Worst case it could be the compressor. Def hire a smaller local contractor who knows how to troubleshoot."
While this commenter described a compressor issue as the worst case possible, several other users identified it as the most likely problem.
The top comment laid out five potential causes for the tripping, including a capacitor, the outdoor fan, a bad breaker, wiring, and the compressor, which the user described as "most common for tripping breakers in heat pumps in my experience."
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Other homeowners have faced the same questions about HVAC repair costs and when to replace a system.
• A first-time homeowner's 15-month-old HVAC failed, leaving a $2,300 repair bill despite warranty coverage.
• A homeowner facing a $10,000 replacement quote for a dead compressor sought cheaper options.
• A homeowner's AC failed in 105-degree heat, prompting a $22,000 replacement quote.
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