01/23/2026
❄️ 🗣️ OK, due to the overwhelming amount of questions we have received regarding heat pumps, here it goes! We do not recommend covering your outdoor unit with anything. Is it going to hurt anything if you choose to? No! In fact, it actually IS a good idea, as long as you have the thermostat switched to emergency heat! AND you don't forget to take the cover back off before you flip it back to "regular" heat! We all know you have to make recommendations (rules) for the ones that would do this! 😂
We do, as we always have, recommend flipping your thermostat to "Emergency Heat" when a weather event such as this arises. There are two reasons for this!
1) a "CONVENTIONAL" heat pump (this does NOT include inverter drive heat pumps) produces very little heat on its own below freezing, thus relying on the backup electric heat, also known as "Emergency Heat"
2) often times the amount of moisture in the air with an event like this does not allow your heat pump to "defrost" completely, thus leaving the risk of ice flying off of the outdoor fan blade when it starts back up and damaging your unit! This is a necessary evil that we have dealt with with heat pumps since the beginning of their existence, and it is not manufacturer specific!
So, where does this leave us? My recommendation that comes from 30+ years of experience, and having two heat pumps in my own home is, when it is going to be below freezing, coupled with sleet, freezing rain & snow for multiple days, save yourself the trouble of having to cover your unit, etc., and simply flip the unit to emergency heat! This deactivates the compressor and the outdoor fan, and will avoid damage to your unit. When the daytime temperatures return to above freezing temperatures, be sure to flip it back to regular "Heat".
Disclosure: "Emergency Heat" does cost more to operate, but this is often offset by not having to have your unit repaired when ice buildup happens! As the old saying goes, "pay a little now or a lot later"!
And hey, being as you were engaged in the content of this post, go like our page! Denney Mechanical, LLC.