Hows your heat working? (house, heat pump, stats)

[shacobo]

Ok, so I've got the standard heat pump-central ac/heat with typical emergency heat.
My question is how many times does your heat pump kick on to re-heat your home?

Everything works as it should. But the heat pump and fan kick on before the temperature has even dropped one degree from the set point, then it blows cool air (not warm at all). It finally blows warm air when the thermostat drops below the set point at least one degree, and/or the auxiliary heat kicks when it should.
By this time it's been running for about 15-20 minutes. So I'm thinking it's blowing cool air which actually drops the temperature in the house and then finally starts the warming process.
I think if auxiliary heat is going to turn on when it's colder out anyway, then I'll just run that and set it to emergency heat so the heat pump isn't running all the time causing cool air to circulate in my house.

So is this normal or is my thermostat possibly malfunctioning? Are thermostats suppose to start the first stage before the temperature even drops one degree from the set point?

[stacylee926]

When you hold your hand up to the vent it will always feel cooler. Your body temp is 98.6 so any temp less than that will feel cooler.

Typically heat pumps are not the best source of heat - oil and gas always make a home feel toasty warm.

You want to try to avoid aux heat. Check into ways to insulate your home better. In this area there are so many older homes (with older windows) that may need a little help. Years ago when we had a heat pump, I used that plastic covering on the windows in the basement and it helped alot. It was about $7-10 a package.

[Erma]

I've had heat pumps for years. I actually prefer them than gas. Heat pumps will run the way you described when the temps drop below 40 deg. F. I installed a digital thermostat last year because the SO complained of it kicking in and the fan running. I also have a portable electric blower in my family room (you've probably seen the commercials) that take the chill out of the room.

[Hinton Bound]

Originally Posted by shacobo

Ok, so I've got the standard heat pump-central ac/heat with typical emergency heat.
My question is how many times does your heat pump kick on to re-heat your home?

Everything works as it should. But the heat pump and fan kick on before the temperature has even dropped one degree from the set point, then it blows cool air (not warm at all). It finally blows warm air when the thermostat drops below the set point at least one degree, and/or the auxiliary heat kicks when it should.
By this time it's been running for about 15-20 minutes. So I'm thinking it's blowing cool air which actually drops the temperature in the house and then finally starts the warming process.
I think if auxiliary heat is going to turn on when it's colder out anyway, then I'll just run that and set it to emergency heat so the heat pump isn't running all the time causing cool air to circulate in my house.

So is this normal or is my thermostat possibly malfunctioning? Are thermostats suppose to start the first stage before the temperature even drops one degree from the set point?

Couple things here: When you say the "heat pump" kicks on, I will assume you mean the compressor and its fan. These are typically your "outside" units when you have a split system. You will have an "air handler" in your attic, or a closet some where. The other option you might have is a "package unit" These units have the "air handler" and the condenser in one unit.
Either way, this is what you'll get: When the thermostat calls for heat, the compressor will start, as will the condenser fan. The fan (not the condenser fan, but the one in your air handler) will begin to blow. All the cold/cool air in the ducts must be blown out before the heated air can get to the vents. That's why you feel cool air when the fan kicks on. If you're using an analog thermostat, you might not see a change in the indicated temp when it calls for heat. if you have a nice programmable digital one, it will anticipate demand, and come on before the temp drops.

A heat pump begins to lose efficiency at 29 degrees Farenheit. it will continue to produce heat down to 18 degrees, but as the temp goes down, the heat delta follows. That's where your aux heat comes in. When the heat pump can no longer meet the demand, the aux heat will kick in. it will be very expensive to run aux heat full time. As the temp doesn't normally go too low here, heat pump are the right choice.

Soooo.... you could have a bad thermostat, most likely, you have a leaking duct. It's pulling cold air in and diluting your warm air. Save yourself some $$ and crawl around where ever your duct are. Next, replace your thermostat. Lastly, call a tech.

~Mark

[shacobo]

Originally Posted by Hinton Bound

Couple things here: When you say the "heat pump" kicks on, I will assume you mean the compressor and its fan. These are typically your "outside" units when you have a split system. You will have an "air handler" in your attic, or a closet some where. The other option you might have is a "package unit" These units have the "air handler" and the condenser in one unit.
Either way, this is what you'll get: When the thermostat calls for heat, the compressor will start, as will the condenser fan. The fan (not the condenser fan, but the one in your air handler) will begin to blow. All the cold/cool air in the ducts must be blown out before the heated air can get to the vents. That's why you feel cool air when the fan kicks on. If you're using an analog thermostat, you might not see a change in the indicated temp when it calls for heat. if you have a nice programmable digital one, it will anticipate demand, and come on before the temp drops.

A heat pump begins to lose efficiency at 29 degrees Farenheit. it will continue to produce heat down to 18 degrees, but as the temp goes down, the heat delta follows. That's where your aux heat comes in. When the heat pump can no longer meet the demand, the aux heat will kick in. it will be very expensive to run aux heat full time. As the temp doesn't normally go too low here, heat pump are the right choice.

Soooo.... you could have a bad thermostat, most likely, you have a leaking duct. It's pulling cold air in and diluting your warm air. Save yourself some $$ and crawl around where ever your duct are. Next, replace your thermostat. Lastly, call a tech.

~Mark

Well, what you have described is how it's working. So I guess it's normal. I do have a good digital thermostat so when it starts up before it even drops is what you called "anticipate demand".
I just wish it would only turn on when the temperature actually dropped below the set point, not anticipate before it does.
I'm sure the insulation in my walls is below par and causing heat loss (they are cool to the touch). The attic insulation is good (about 10 inches thick) because I added some this past spring, and I taped up all the ducting.
I don't have any plans to rip apart my walls to add insilation, perhaps an additional space heater like Erma mentioned.

Thanks folks.

[Trevor92]

It actually sounds to me like your heat pump is working normally. I would also advise against adding a space heater.

A heat pump doesn't produce heat at such high temps as a furnace or boiler, but it is designed to run more often and produce heat at lower temperatures, closer to 100 degrees rather than 125. The "heat" air from a heat pump does feel a little cool, but that's only because of the speed the air is moving. A simple way to explain this is to blow real fast into your hand, and feel how cool the air feels from your lungs. Now take a deep breath, and breathe out normally with your hand in front of your mouth, and feel how warm the air feels from your lungs.

I'm no pro but I did replace my heat pump from the 80's last year, from the way it was described to me, a heat pump is manufactured to produce heat with greater than 100% efficiency compared to the energy used because of its design. Most space heaters are designed with 100% efficiency, usually with a heater coil and fan. Therefore, you get more heat per dollar on your electrical bill by just using a heat pump rather than adding space heaters. The 'Auxilary or Emergency Heat' setting on a heat pump is very inefficient and is only suppose to click on when it's so cold outside that your heat pump just can't get the job done on its own. Nights that cold don't happen frequently in this area. So from a purely 'electrical bill' point of view, just use your heat pump (but not on E Heat), and it sounds to me like it's working exactly as it should.

As for the thermostat, most newer ones don't exactly 'anticipate' that the temperature will drop. But remember that temperature can be measured more accurately than in 1 degree differences. So if you set your heat pump to 72 degrees, your heat pump will probably click on at 71.6 and heat the area to 72.4 degrees. But this range of temperatures are always rounded to 72, which is the only thing your thermostat will say.

It's also a good idea to get it serviced at least once a year to make sure it's working properly, efficiently, and isn't about to break down.