Is Heat pump save heating bills unlike traditional gas furnace

[from PA]

Our home has 2 zones and two units for hvac. We have gas for downstairs and a separate thermostat for the heat pump upstairs. Heat pump is fantastic for summer cooling. In the winter, when the temp goes below a certain temperature, the air upstairs blows cool. Is this when we should switch to em h on the thermostat? I just found this setting. Will this switch to backup? Suppose it is gas because we have it downstairs, or electric? Other than when the bill arrives, how will I know?

[southernnaturelover]

I live in the deep south and I have a normal heat pump (non geothermal). It's does okay down here, but I doubt it would do any good in Indiana. It performs well as long as the temperature doesn't get below about 25 degrees, when it gets below that it constantly goes into defrost mode because frost builds up on the outside unit. The few nights it gets down into the teens I usually use the "emergency" heat strip mode and turn the compressor off because it runs all night long. The emergency mode acts like a traditional electric furnace.

[southernnaturelover]

Originally Posted by from PA

Our home has 2 zones and two units for hvac. We have gas for downstairs and a separate thermostat for the heat pump upstairs. Heat pump is fantastic for summer cooling. In the winter, when the temp goes below a certain temperature, the air upstairs blows cool. Is this when we should switch to em h on the thermostat? I just found this setting. Will this switch to backup? Suppose it is gas because we have it downstairs, or electric? Other than when the bill arrives, how will I know?

Switch it to emergency and then turn it on. You should smell a burning smell if it hasn't been used in awhile, but that's just the dust burning off of the heat strips. And yes, it will use a lot more power. Sometimes if there is a ten degree gap between the set temp and the actual temp the heat strips will automatically kick on. Set it to 90 and you should feel some hot air coming out, if you dont somethings not hooked up right.

[loblolly1]

Not an answer to your question...but another idea ~

We are in the frigid north eastern corner of IN and we switched to all electric heat last fall. It cost about $600 to convert the entire house (1600sf and my husband did it all himself) and we supplement with a wood burning fireplace. Our electric bills are half of what we were paying for propane.

[scott326]

Originally Posted by from PA

In the winter, when the temp goes below a certain temperature, the air upstairs blows cool. Is this when we should switch to em h on the thermostat?

Heat pumps do not heat the air as hot as conventional furnaces, so it only heats it to about 80-90 degrees. This is hot enough to warm your home, but since your body temperature is higher than the air coming out, it does feel like it is blowing cool air. (At least that is what I have heard)

[ShadowCaver]

Originally Posted by from PA

Our home has 2 zones and two units for hvac. We have gas for downstairs and a separate thermostat for the heat pump upstairs. Heat pump is fantastic for summer cooling. In the winter, when the temp goes below a certain temperature, the air upstairs blows cool. Is this when we should switch to em h on the thermostat? I just found this setting. Will this switch to backup? Suppose it is gas because we have it downstairs, or electric? Other than when the bill arrives, how will I know?

lol - yea, you will know for sure when you look at your bill, if you switch to 'em h'! 'em h' stands for 'emergency heat', and that is going to draw a lot of electrons from your provider, who will gladly increase your bill appropriately. IMHO, using that setting is a very extreme ONLY last resort. Other option - ensure that you have all your filters and other parts of your units properly maintained, along w/ insulation of your house, etc.