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Home Comfort Accessories - Time Delays

A heat pump or air conditioner compressor is the heart of your system. The compressor pumps refrigerant to build a pressure differential to create the heating or cooling effect that keeps you comfortable. When the compressor cycles off it must stay off for approximately five minutes for the refrigerant pressures to equalize. If the compressor restarts before the five minutes is up it is referred to as “short cycling”.

This condition is very stressful on the internal components of the compressor and could lead to premature failure. A short cycling condition can be caused by anything from the electricity flickering on and off during a thunderstorm, to a brown out during periods of high electric consumption, or even accidentally changing the thermostat setting too quickly. It can happen before you can respond, whether you are home or away, and the damage can be FATAL to your compressor.

To protect and prolong the life of the compressor make sure it is protected with a TIME DELAY. A time delay is a control that can be installed on most residential and light commercial compressors to prevent “short cycling”. Whenever the heat pump or air conditioner turns off for any reason, the time delay will hold the unit off for five minutes. This allows the refrigerant pressures time to equalize and the compressor can start under normal conditions each time. Make sure your compressor is protected before it is too late.