heat pump question (insulated, installed, insulation, light)

[citydweller]

Well, my heat pump seems to be running and running. It has been running for 3 hours and has only warmed up about one degree. It is very cold right now at 27 degrees so finally I kicked the thermometer up one degree since I realize it needs to be at least a 3 degree gain in order to make the coils kick in. Now the coils have kicked in and I can tell the air is much warmer. My question is at which time (besides 3 degrees hotter) should the coils kick in by themselves? Is there a certain temperature outside that the coils should kick in or how should this work? Thanks in advance.

[Barking Spider]

Heat pumps are very effective down to about 32 degrees. Then the heat strips are needed to help out. When it gets closer to zero degrees, then it's all strips.
The auxilary heat setting (maybe a light comes on at the thermostat) is when the heat pump is working along with the heat strips.
When you go to Emergency heat, the outside unit will shut off, and it will only be using the heat strips.

Put a sweatshirt on - it will help.

[citydweller]

Our temps got down last night to about 22 degrees and I had the heat turned on 70 but all night it would only warm up to 68 in the house and it seemed like only the heat pump was working. The air coming out felt only moderately warm. I was in bed at the time but noticed it continuously ran like this. It would seem to me the strips and the heat pump should have been working together. Unfortunately the new digital thermostat I installed does not have an auxiliary light on it. I know the heat strips work bc when I push the thermometer up a few degree they kick in thus the air is very warm to even hot. I am in a new house but my last one I never had such issues and I also had a heat pump.

[southernnaturelover]

Can you tell if your unit is going through the defrost cycles? I have noticed with mine when the unit gets done defrosting I can feel some really warm air come out temporarily. Another thing to check is the copper pipe that comes into the house from the outside unit. I found out that mine was not even insulated and I was losing plenty of heat off of it.

The only way I know to keep the unit from running all night is to turn it on the "emergency" mode when you go to bed. I occasionally have to do this when it gets really cold.

[K'ledgeBldr]

This maybe a shot in the dark but- you said you installed a new t-stat, was it a t-stat specifically for a heatpump? I know for a fact that a t-stat for a regular force air system will not work properly w/ heatpump. Or maybe you got a wire crossed up.
In any case- the condensor unit shouldn't be running when you get to a temperture point that the backup heat comes on.

[Barking Spider]

Like the other person said, you may have the wrong thermostat.

In "auxilary mode" the outside unit WILL run along with the heat strips. In "emergency mode" the outside unit WILL NOT run, just the heat strips.

BY the way, putting the thermostat up higher does not make the air warmer, it only makes it run longer.

Couple other points to consider. First, it was very cold. If you house is drafty or not insulated well, you will have a lot of heat loss and the unit will keep running trying to get the temps up.
Second, you may be low on the refrigerant, and not getting the full heat pump effect and performance. But since it was 22, you were likely on auxilary mode anyway, because the outside unit would have a hard time producing enough heat.

In regular heat pump mode, the temperature coming out of the registers is only about 90 degrees. While this temp is plenty to warm a house up, it will feel cold to the touch because it is lower than your body temperature.

You may have a thermostat problem.
You may have a refrigerant charge problem.
You may have an insulation and draft problem.
Or it might just be too damn cold for a heat pump to warm up the house to your liking.

One last thing, with a heat pump, do not set the thermostat up and down during the day. It takes too long to bring the house temperature up with 90 degree heat. It is far better to just set the thermostat to the desired temp, and leave it alone.

Hope you get warm soon.

[Kootr]

If your heat pump, including its auxiliary heat strips, worked well during previous cold spells your new thermostat may be the problem.

Your old thermostat could have been set up for 3 stage heat, whereas your new thermostat isn't - meaning it is only a two stage thermostat. If your new thermostat is the wrong kind for your system the new thermostat might only have the capability of energizing one stage (or bank) of heat strips even though your system has two or more stages (or banks) of heat strips. Thus your second bank of strips aren't being used...when they are needed when the temperature drops below x.

[cdelena]

Originally Posted by citydweller

...
The air coming out felt only moderately warm.
...

Body temp is 98.6 so moderatly warm may be well over 100. Many units are not designed to blow extremely hot air. I suggest you have the operation checked by an experienced tech before taking action. It may be operating normally for the conditions.

[M3 Mitch]

Well, what do you want, warm feeling air coming out the vents, or maximum BTUs delivered to your house at minimum cost? If the latter, maybe the heat pump is doing it's thing just fine, as noted, it may be going through defrost cycles as well. There is nothing wrong, in itself, with the heat pump running continuously, just means the house is absorbing all the heat it can eke out given the cold outside temp.

[ricksr]

Quick question for you heat pump knowlegeable guys. Mine will ice up outside the coils in very cold (0 to 20 degrees ) weather. The wife is paranoid about this but its been doing it since new, for 15 years. The ice gets an inch or so thick. Yes, the emergency light will come on then. Is it something I should be concerned with?
Thanks