I have my heat pump set at 68. Temps outside are 29 degrees and the heat pump is running constantly. Is this normal? We are new to heat pumps and are not use to the cool air it blows and the constant running during cooler weather.
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I have my heat pump set at 68. Temps outside are 29 degrees and the heat pump is running constantly. Is this normal? We are new to heat pumps and are not use to the cool air it blows and the constant running during cooler weather.
Yes most heat pumps will run most of the time when cold but they will usually turn off when it gets to cold for the heat pump to provide heat economically. Then the second stage heat will come on.
Yes, for those temp conditions I would expect long run times on your HP, depending on your HP size and your homes heat loss.
I have the same thing going on with mine. It seems the colder it is outside the longer it runs. Mine will run about 1 hour if the temp. is below 25
Normal
If the reason for the Heat pump is to save money as opposed to the aux heat, why would it continuously run? Wouldn't that defeat the purpose?
There are a lot of areas that shouldn`t even have a heatpump,, not knowing where you live. Heat pumps normally arn`t much good after the temps drop below 32-35 degrees,, but if they are charged right they will still continue to run (according to how they are set up) and they will help your aux. heat to get the job done,, therefore getting the tstat satisfied a little sooner
I live in Northern Ky. My question is more directed toward the length in time ran vs the "help" that it gives. I have a heat pump and it has been consistently below 32 degrees. I tracked my electric meter and I used 5 times as much electricity the 1st day of the cold weather. (I had noticed the heat pump running that night) I since have been searching and reading on hvac systems. I am a new home owner and am searching to a reason for such a drastic change in my system.
Most heat systems are running a lot during these longer cold spells,, you might want to call out the pro`s to come out and check system over,, what kind of backup(aux) heat do you have gas----electric----oil, If I wasn`t happy with heatpump I would just cut it off and run the emerg. Heat,, then watch that elect. Meter turn
Yes, that makes sense. More cold = more heat needed. My question is, at what point is the heat pump just wasting electricity?
My heat pump was running at temps below 20 degrees. I believe I may have an issue here and am inquiring to narrow down possibilities, if any.Quote:
Originally Posted by hvac1000
Does an hour of running with no heat production justify the cost?
Quote:
Originally Posted by charles1963
I have elctric aux heat, and a digital meter so I can't watch the meter turn. I did switch to emer. Heat but have not yet checked the meter for comparisons.
Usually heat pumps are designed to work down to 30 about degrees BUT they will run to a lower temperature as you have found out. Usually the company that does the install and knows the area will pick a drop out temperature. This temperature is based on the seasonal normal customary temperature and the cost of electric in the area.
It is not logical to run a heat pump when it factor is one to one. That is for every doller spent of heat generation by using a heat pump only one doller comes out in heat. At that point all you are doing is putting wear and tear on the heat pump unit without any gain in energy savings.
Energy savings is why a heat pump is installed to start with and no other reason comes to mind since a regular A/C unit will perform in the summer and have less parts to break down with much less additional purchase cost.
Heat pumps in Northern KY work well since that area experiences much of there winter weather between 35 and 70 degrees. The warmer it is outside the better the heat pump will perform and the area you are in has a lot of heat pump style weather.
You need to have a thermostatic cut off installed on your heat pump control circuit outside to shut that heat pump off at 35-40 degrees or whatever is the best design temperature for your area. This cut off can also be accomplished other ways also. Many thermostats have a outdoor sensor that can be made to do the same cut off job but that would be up to you or your contractor to research which system would be the most cost effective.
If you take the above information to heart then your situation will be solved and your heat pump will no longer just spin its wheels during the cold weather.
The future will bring new designs for heat pumps that will actually extract heat over the one to one ratio down to zero degrees. We have been testing some 29 SEER fully variable speed units with two compressors that have worked well down to the zero mark. Only time will tell when these units will be available to the market place since the manufactures fear there is not enough talented service people in place around the country to service such high tech equipment. I have to agree with the manufactures on this one.
I think your best bet would be to call out a pro. Have him check the system over and give you a run down on how this system operates, tips on when to run it and when to shut it down. All heatpumps are different,some will run great to 20 degrees some only to 35.
That is within the realm of normal, but without knowing other specifics about your system (what tonnage and HSPF) and house (size, architecture, heat loss, etc.) its impossible to say.
If you think its running fine then lurk around here and other sites to learn some more about HP operation or post some more specific questions. Otherwise call a pro to have him check out the system and educated you on your own system.
Late response, have similar issue where new heat pump is running nearly continuously when temps outside are about 30 F. Power usage for the compressor is roughly 2kW. The auxiliary heat strips are 10kW.
Running auxiliary heat will raise my temperature by about 2 degrees in 10 minutes. There is no way that the compressor can raise the temperature similarly in 5 times that amount of time. So at a certain temperature the compressor running is a waste.
I had this new unit installed about a year ago and saw a nice jump in heating bills in the winter with a lower setpoint. I don't understand how a 15 SEER unit can produce higher bills than my 15 old unit did with lower setpoints.
Don't confuse SEER for efficiency in heating. SEER is used a units ability to cool.
HSPF is the number that is used to measure heating performance. Higher SEER
(Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) is great for geographical areas that experience a lot of heat, however HSPF (Heating Seasonal Performance Factor) is more crucial for areas that experience more heating degree days than cooling degrees (like us folks in the northwest). So, the 15 SEER is of little consequence in the winter. What you should find out is the HSPF of your unit. I believe the highest available is 9.5 to 10 HSPF. My unit is 14 years old and is a 13 SEER unit with a moderate 7.8 HSPF. I wish I could afford to buy a new unit, but 6.5K is a pretty good chunk of money and the feds didn't help out by killing all the incentives for Air-Source Heat Pumps.
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