Heat pumps are no harder to maintain than a standard air conditioning unit, but one thing to be aware of is the effect of ice and snow on a heat pump. The pump’s outdoor fan blades need to run during most cycles, which can be an issue when they are covered in ice or snow. We would recommend switching over to ‘Emergency Heat’, which instructs your HVAC system to only run on your back up source of heat (such as electric, natural gas or propane). Using the emergency heat setting during these kinds of weather events can help you avoid performance issues.