Anyone having issues with their heat blowing cold? (place, replacement)

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by goolsbyjazz

You just described what is happening. Is there some way to bypass the cold cycles?

What you are experiencing is normal. The AC auto-reverses to cool mode so that it can put hot refrigerant through the outdoor coil to melt ice that has built up on it. One of the reasons you get the frost and the defrost cycles is from cranking the heat up when you get up in the morning resulting in a long cycle time that builds ice on the outdoor coil. If you keep it more constant, it is not as frequent.

[wase4711]

Originally Posted by observer53

If you have a heat pump, they have a defrost cycle that does blow cold air for periods of time before going back to the warm air. They are WAY less effective on mornings like we've been having than a good old basic gas furnace that can take the edge off quickly and allow you to shut it off until the next morning on days like this.

this is exact;y what is going on in your case..
If you have a digital thermostat, set it to come on a few hours before you get up, so its more comfy once you are up and awake; there is no other way get heat out of a heat pump "faster"..thats why they dont use these much in real cold locations..

[Pink Jazz]

Originally Posted by wase4711

this is exact;y what is going on in your case..
If you have a digital thermostat, set it to come on a few hours before you get up, so its more comfy once you are up and awake; there is no other way get heat out of a heat pump "faster"..thats why they dont use these much in real cold locations..

In some mixed climates heat pumps are usually equipped with an auxiliary heating source, which should energize during these defrost cycles and are often required by code in such areas. Our local codes don't require auxilary heat for heat pump installations, probably because it does not get cold enough for it to be worthwhile.

[wase4711]

yeah, I forgot about that; I know a few friends of mine in illinois had heat pump systems, and they had the aux heating source on their systems...never understood why you would bother with a heat pump in areas that went to -20 in the winter, but to each their own I guess..

[goolsbyjazz]

So it sounds like the only thing I can do is let it go through the defrost cycle? Is there a way to prevent the defrost cycle from happening during the chilly hours?

[wase4711]

nope, thats how a heat pump works; as I said before, get a digital/smart thermostat, and set it up so its at the temperature you want when you want it...

[observer53]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

What you are experiencing is normal. The AC auto-reverses to cool mode so that it can put hot refrigerant through the outdoor coil to melt ice that has built up on it. One of the reasons you get the frost and the defrost cycles is from cranking the heat up when you get up in the morning resulting in a long cycle time that builds ice on the outdoor coil. If you keep it more constant, it is not as frequent.

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I can always count on you for that. I remember one of our AC guys telling us not to turn it up too high in the morning. It did help. The unit was right outside my bedroom window, and that defrost cycle was always really noisy.

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

What you are experiencing is normal. The AC auto-reverses to cool mode so that it can put hot refrigerant through the outdoor coil to melt ice that has built up on it. One of the reasons you get the frost and the defrost cycles is from cranking the heat up when you get up in the morning resulting in a long cycle time that builds ice on the outdoor coil. If you keep it more constant, it is not as frequent.

Great info, Ponderosa . . . I dread mine on cold mornings.

Possibly a name change from Heat Pump to Cold Pump is in order.

[yukon]

Try a space heater in the bedroom and whatever other room you use most in the morning. You can set it on a timer, it will heat up the room you want and be a lot less expensive than the whole house heater.

[goolsbyjazz]

Originally Posted by yukon

Try a space heater in the bedroom and whatever other room you use most in the morning. You can set it on a timer, it will heat up the room you want and be a lot less expensive than the whole house heater.

My wife and I are currently exploring this option. It is probably the best option at this point unless our heating unit suddenly stops wimping out in cooler temps.