I bought a Daikin reversible air conditioner last year and since we got to cold temperatures in November, the heating mode hasn't been working very well. It's just blowing barely warm air. Is there something I should check or is it a compressor problem?
first check if heating mode is actually enabled in the settings - lots of people leave the AC on auto or cooling mode by default. then check the outside unit to see if it's frosted over, that often blocks the airflow when it's cold out. if that looks fine and it's still blowing lukewarm, then yeah that's probably an issue with the compressor or refrigerant charge, so contact Daikin for a diagnosis before it gets worse.
Before you start thinking there's a compressor fault, there are already a few things to check. The outdoor unit builds up frost when it's cold and humid, and that seriously blocks airflow. If you see a white layer on the outdoor heat exchanger, that's probably why you're just getting lukewarm air. Reversible air conditioners have an automatic defrost cycle, but sometimes it just takes manual cleaning or waiting for the cycle to kick in.
Second thing to verify: the filters in the indoor unit. I know it sounds silly but a clogged AC unit really underperforms on heating because air doesn't circulate as well and comes out less hot. Clean or replace the filters if you haven't touched them in a while. Also, check the installation settings - sometimes installers forget to properly configure the heating power or leave a reduced mode enabled by default.
If it's still rubbish after that, then yeah it's worth contacting Daikin for a diagnosis because a compressor problem or insufficient refrigerant charge needs professional work. But 90% of the time it's frost or dirt, especially the first time you use heating after summer.
Don't call customer service right away about a compressor defect 😅 The two points mentioned before are really the number one suspects, but add to that something we often forget: check if your thermostat is actually asking for the temperature you want. Sometimes people set it like 20°C but the AC thinks it's fine because it's 19°C outside and it goes into standby. And one last thing, make sure you didn't accidentally turn on "eco" or "quiet" mode that limits the power - it's silly but it happens pretty regularly.
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