Heat Pump question...

[MossflowerWoods]

OK, I HATE my electric Heat Pump, but I live with 4 ladies and they always think they are FREEZING.

The AC side actually works great, but the Heat side... Good gravy...

It is only 4-5 years old and the finished space is only 1340 square feet. I will need to add a second unit for the attic when I finish it, and the Basement I do open a couple vents in the winter to keep it slightly warmer down there.

Here is my issue. I set the heat to 67 during the day and 62 at night. I need it to be cooler at night so I can sleep.

Every morning for a couple hours the "emergency heat" comes on to warm the house up that measley 5 degrees. We have only gotten down to just barely freezing for a couple hours at night.

Last hunting season, set at 65 degrees, it seemed to run ALL DAY.

Is this normal? Do I call the home warranty company to fix it? What do I tell them is wrong?

MUST I set the thermostat so there is only a 2-3 degree difference?

Also, when I add a unit to the attic I am considering a propane furnace with AC. Can I change out my current Heat Pump "emergency heat" unit for a propane one?

My heating bills are going to be outrageous. almost as high as they were for my 6,000 square foot place in town. There MUST be something I can do...

Thanks in advance,
David

 

[nikdfish]

That doesn't sound like proper operation. The HP at our old place (10+ years old) had no trouble maintaining 67 degrees w/ outside temps at 30 degrees with periodic run times. Our new place with new system maintains 65 inside with outside temps as low as 20 with probably a 60 percent run time.

I'd say you need to get a good HVAC guy to check out the system & see if something needs work. As far as supplemental heat goes, both our heat pump systems used propane for the auxiliary heat source.

Nick

 

[Ford850]

It depends on how well your house is insulated. I have the propane/heat pump furnace in a newer well insulated home. The HP does run quite a bit, but it is more efficient than propane. It runs down to 21 degrees, then the propane takes over. There are some days that it seems to run almost continuously, but they are designed to do that. If there is more than a 2 degree difference in home temp and thermostat setting, propane kicks in. I intentionally requested a setback programmable thermostat when we built, but the HVAC place told me afterwards it is more efficient if I don't set back the temp at night due to the propane use to catch it back up in the morning. Mine stays set at 69 24/7, and it heats 2100 sf, plus a full basement to 65.
I burn wood too, but since the HP is so efficient I don't start burning wood until the winter temps get down and the propane runs. Then the wood heat takes most of the 'edge' off so propane use is minimal.

 

[KTurner]

Every morning for a couple hours the "emergency heat" comes on to warm the house up that measley 5 degrees. We have only gotten down to just barely freezing for a couple hours at night.

From what I know of these things, you can't have that much of a temp difference. If the thermostat sees a certain number of degrees difference, it automatically turns on aux/emerg heat strips and they absolutely kill any savings you'd have got from the heat pump. Get a programmable thermostat and set it so that it increases the temp in smaller increments. Like 62 until 4am, then 65 until 5am then 67 at 7am.

If you can keep the emergency heat strips off, you'll have **MUCH** lower heating costs.

and running all day for 65 doesn't sound right. Are you sure the ladies weren't bumping it up to 75 while you weren't looking?

Keith

 

[kenmac]

Is this normal? Do I call the home warranty company to fix it? What do I tell them is wrong?

Thanks in advance,
David

It's hard to say what's wrong if anything. It will need to be checked. I wouldn't use home warranty if I wanted it right. The people that contract to H W companies make almost nothing. They usually tell the contractor what & how much they will pay for a repair & the contractor has to accept their rates. Like they say ,, You get what you pay for in most cases using HW. I would contact an HVAC contractor in your area & just pay them out of pocket to check it. There's no way I would work for a HW company. I hope you don't take my comments about HW the wrong way. I,ve just gone behind so many when the cust. gets fed up

 

[Larry Caldwell]

If you are going to set back your thermostat, you need to invest in a computerized programmable thermostat that will kick the heat pump on and gradually step up for an hour so the heating strips don't come on. We also like to sleep in a cool room, so just close the dampers on the vents, close the bedroom door and open a window. The rest of the house stays warm all night.

It is possible your heat pump is not working properly. The heat differential is small, which is why heat pumps require a higher air volume, but there should be a 20 degree difference between the return air and the supply air. If you are not getting a 20 degree boost, you need to call for service. You should also inspect your ductwork. Years ago a guy hired me to insulate his ducts, and I discovered that one of the ducts in the crawl space had come disconnected and was blowing hot air under the house. He was thrilled with the cost savings after I repaired and insulated his ductwork.

 

[grsthegreat]

Hmmm, my heatpump is about 4 years old, and i do the same as you. About 62 at night and up to 68 about 4PM to take the chill off before i get home to start the fireplase. I have propane backup heat sorce (so generator can run on power loss). Mine is set to use heat pump down to 25F, then aux heat. Has always worked flawless. Mine doesnt switch the backup heat on UNLESS (1) its below 25 or (2) the system goes into defrost mode.. Other than that, its heat pump heating house. My utility bills are drastically lower that when i had JUST propane heat.

 

[gilbertmsg]

We have a 1750 sf home with about 25 windows on one floor. When it is below 45 degress our HP runs most of the time. I try to keep the thermostat at 65 at night and 68 when I get home from work. I pay $200.00 per month for electric and usually have about a $100.00 credit when the year is over. We heat our hot water with propance and have a fireplace insert that I use when it is really cold. I have found out that the HP works better when it stays at a constant temp and does not have to catch up. I would say it is normal to run most of the time.

Eddie

 

[KYErik]

My heat pump will kick on the emergency heat if the difference between the house temp and the set temp is more than a couple of degrees for 20 minutes or so. Try increasing the thermostat temp one degree at a time in the morning and I bet the emergency heat won't come on. It is really annoying when we lose power for an hour or so. The unit comes back on when the power comes on, but after a few minutes the emergency heat will kick on so it can get up to the set temp quickly.

It does sound like your unit is running way too much for this time of year. You might check all of the ductwork to be sure you aren't accidentally heating an uninsulated crawlspace or attic. A quick check is cracking the front door open an inch on a calm night while the unit is running. If air rushes into or out of the house (use a candle or lighter to check) then you have a pressurized or return duct that is leaking and either blowing into or sucking from and unisulated space.

 

[MossflowerWoods]

If you are going to set back your thermostat, you need to invest in a computerized programmable thermostat that will kick the heat pump on and gradually step up for an hour so the heating strips don't come on. We also like to sleep in a cool room, so just close the dampers on the vents, close the bedroom door and open a window. The rest of the house stays warm all night.

It is possible your heat pump is not working properly. The heat differential is small, which is why heat pumps require a higher air volume, but there should be a 20 degree difference between the return air and the supply air. If you are not getting a 20 degree boost, you need to call for service. You should also inspect your ductwork. Years ago a guy hired me to insulate his ducts, and I discovered that one of the ducts in the crawl space had come disconnected and was blowing hot air under the house. He was thrilled with the cost savings after I repaired and insulated his ductwork.

The thermostat is programmable, but it only has 4 increments Morning, Day, Evening, and Sleep.

I will lower the high, and raise the low... This stinks. What is th point of all this high tech stuff if you just need to set it to a single tempreture and forget it...

I LOVED my Gas furnace, I HATE Heat Pumps...

David