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It seems like the majority of respondents believe the problem is with the new heat pump and not the new water heater. Is it possible for the heat pump to draw from Auxiliary power but not have the "AUX" light come on the thermostat?
With my heat pump the AUX light ONLY comes on when I set it to strictly use AUX heat. Otherwise, when it switches to AUX usage it shows up on the screen simply as "Aux heat on" rather than "heat on".
That's what mine does too -- the screen says "AUX" when it switches to auxiliary heat. I also hear an audible click when AUX turns on and off.
Although it's been a cold winter, it hasn't been any colder where I live to base the increased usage solely on extra AUX heat. Also, Dec and Jan were just as cold and my bill was normal. This is why I am very confused. Plus, I know for a fact that the heat pumps were not drawing on AUX heat overnight yet my meter shows 200 kWh of consumption for 12 hours (!).
With my heat pump the AUX light ONLY comes on when I set it to strictly use AUX heat. Otherwise, when it switches to AUX usage it shows up on the screen simply as "Aux heat on" rather than "heat on".
This.
Last winter in KY we had some bitter cold weeks - in the minus temperatures and more with wind chill. Our bill was large enough to make me choke - and we kept the house at 68!
If you really want to know how much power you are using at any moment, or if you don't trust your provider's meter, you can install a whole-house and/or per-circuit "electricity monitor". Prices range from under $30 to over $300.
There are basically two designs -- one attaches to the power company meter (detects how fast the disk is spinning or a light is blinking), is just as accurate as the official meter. The other goes inside the breaker panel and works like a clamp ammeter, with CTs that goes over individual wires, allowing for monitoring specific circuits, including hardwired devices where a kill-a-watt isn't an option.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bass101
Although it's been a cold winter, it hasn't been any colder where I live to base the increased usage solely on extra AUX heat. Also, Dec and Jan were just as cold and my bill was normal. This is why I am very confused. .
To truly know how cold it was, you want to get the "Heating Degree Days" for your area. This allows for making accurate comparisons between time periods.
I checked in on the "Heating Degree Days" for my city. It shows that the sum total for January 2015 was the same as February 2015 (900s), yet my electric bill was twice as much for February. Comparing to the previous year, January 2014 was in the 1000s but the bill was normal.
I checked in on the "Heating Degree Days" for my city. It shows that the sum total for January 2015 was the same as February 2015 (900s), yet my electric bill was twice as much for February. Comparing to the previous year, January 2014 was in the 1000s but the bill was normal.
OP,
This is why I think you need your HVAC guy out to check your heat pump. You may have had a slow refrigerant leak that now has hit a critical point - and you are using more AUX heat than usual as a result.
Is it set to only make hot water when you need it or is it always keep the water hot?
Is themosat working correctly?
Did you contact manufacturer. Take amount of water you used, electric bill and call manufacturer and see if in range.
Sometimes they make defective electric water heaters. We had 30 identical electric water heaters installed in my condo development on the same day. We had a problem with one unit. It sucked up electricity and then started leaking. Maybe you got a lemon, maybe manufaturer can send you a new one free of charge
Is it set to only make hot water when you need it or is it always keep the water hot?
Is themosat working correctly?
Did you contact manufacturer. Take amount of water you used, electric bill and call manufacturer and see if in range.
Sometimes they make defective electric water heaters. We had 30 identical electric water heaters installed in my condo development on the same day. We had a problem with one unit. It sucked up electricity and then started leaking. Maybe you got a lemon, maybe manufaturer can send you a new one free of charge
Yes, it is Energy Star.
Yes, the pipes are wrapped in black foam insulation.
Yes, the water heater is in a warm part of the house (basement utility room, same temp as rest of basement which is comfortable).
How do I figure out if the heater is set to only make water when I need it or always keeping the water hot?
How do I determine if the thermostat is working correctly?
I called my plumber who is going to get in touch with the manufacturer.
I used to have an 80 gallon electric water heater, it never drew more than 200kWH per *month*.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bass101
How do I figure out if the heater is set to only make water when I need it or always keeping the water hot?
With a resistive electric tank-type heater, that question is almost always meaningless. Standby losses are minimal, so no reason to use a timer or demand control on these in a residential application.
Quote:
How do I determine if the thermostat is working correctly?
Put a cup measure under a stream of unmixed hot water, it should register something less than 120F. If you turn on the hot water and it doesn't come out as steam, the thermostat isn't broken.
Quote:
yet my meter shows 200 kWh of consumption for 12 hours
That is a lot of power, but it could be consumed elsewhere, nothing but coincidental timing suggests it is going into the water heater. If it were, you'd need to have a leak somewhere or it would have exploded by now.
From the circumstances the only way it can be the water heater is if the water heater is leaking.
I would think if it is leaking into a leak pan you would have noticed by now. So that would leave the pressure relief valve. That generally has a pipe on it leading to somewhere the water can dump. So look and see if it is leaking. It would be obvious as this would not be a small leak.
Do you per chance have a circulating pump? Those can also find strange ways to leak but it is generally into the cold water.
Other than those unlikely possibilities you have eliminated the water heater.
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Monitor your own power
I used to have an 80 gallon electric water heater, it never drew more than 200kWH per *month*.
