Could somebody school me on heat pump

[dustwebbs]

Just as the title states. I would like somebody to give me advice. when to turn off heat and switch to emergency heat on my trane heat pump. I live in Central Ohio. I have all electric . Sorry for the long post. Sorry if it's in the wrong section

 

[jonjon1]

Depends on a lot of things when to change over, your installer should have did the math for you.

you need to look at the cost of your electricity and the cost of your heat (per btu after losses) and where your hp unit starts to cost more money to run than your fueled heat source.

What happens in most systems is your HP stops making enough energy to satisfy the load so you need to switch anyway. can be anywhere, most are 19 degrees to 30. I tell customers that dont opt for an automatic thermostat to switch to solid fuel when they notice they see frost outside in the morning, the amount you will waste switching between the two on and off once you initially switch is more than you will save. Leaving a boiler battery full of hot water because the outdoor temp rose to 35 when the sun came out to run a heat pump,, makes no sense...

 

[UnionMan]

Just for some clarity are you referring going from normal heat pump mode to using the electric emergency strip heaters on your air handler or are you referring going from a heat pump to a back oil/propane/natural gas back up furnace in a dual fuel system?

UnionMan

 

[pseudorealityx]

If you're emergency heat is electric, you should not flip it on until the heat pump can no longer satisfy the temperature. Even if it runs 24 hours a day, it's more efficient than the strip heater cycling on and off.

 

[theoldwizard1]

IMHO, your "emergency" heat should NOT use the same power source (electricity) as your primary heat. What happens in a bad ice storm where the electricity is out for a couple of days. Yes, you could move to a motel, but your pipe would freeze and you would have a bigger problem.

I would use propane for "emergency" heat. Propane fired "logs" would be perfect. A direct vet heater would be good also. Propane is a more efficient heat source for water heating, cooking and drying clothes.

Outdoor temps below the rated operating temperature of your heat pump are NOT and emergency. Typical heat pumps DO require some kind of "backup" (typical a resistance heat strip). Resistance heat is usually the LEAST COST EFFECTIVE way of heating anything (see my previous comment). Any contractor building a house in OH with only resistance heat for backup should be shot ! Cheap to install, but the homeowner pays for it every year !!

 

[dreasoner]

The terminology can be confusing if you're not familiar with it. The current buzzword used by some manufactures is hybrid heat. Ten years or so ago the buzzword used was dual fuel. This typically refers to a gas secondary heat source either natural or propane. Emergency heat terminology dates back to the earliest heat pump systems from the late 60's to the 70's. The early systems were not as efficient or dependable as the current systems. I am sure that statement is subject for debate. As has been stated, electric heat is the least efficient type of heat. All electric houses should run the heatpump with electric heat cycling as needed for comfort. Dual fuel systems are usually running the heatpump until the theoretical balance point is reached. In normal practice the comfort level of the user dictates when the system switches. My personal heating setup uses a 14 SEER heatpump with a 2 stage 80% natural gas furnace. In essence, I have 3 stages of heat which means I could cruise around my house in shorts on even below zero outside temps in comfort. I slightly oversized my gas furnace and rarely use the second stage gas furnace. I have a Carrier stat with an outdoor sensor for switching of stages. The stat also controls my humidifier with an outdoor reset to keep condensation in check during frigid temps.

 

[mik386]

You probably have a multistage thermostat. If the heat pump cannot keep up to the demand then the second stage ( electric heat strip ) will be energized. Both the heat pump and the electric heat will operate simultaneously. When the indoor temp rises above the second stage set point the electric heat strips will shut off. When you switch to emergency heat you are locking out the outdoor unit and only using the electric heating strips in the indoor air handler.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

Just as the title states. I would like somebody to give me advice. when to turn off heat and switch to emergency heat on my trane heat pump. I live in Central Ohio. I have all electric . Sorry for the long post. Sorry if it's in the wrong section

It depends on the seer rating of your heat pump and how low of an outdoor temp it will run down to.

 

[dustwebbs]

How do I find out what my seer rating is I'm new to the whole heat pump thing

 

[UnionMan]

How do I find out what my seer rating is I'm new to the whole heat pump thing

Should be a label on your units. Will also tell you what tonnage you have as well. If you could upload a picture of the outside unit label.

UnionMan

 

[sz0k30]

I live in SE Michigan and have a Carrier Air to Air Heat Pump. My house is 100% electric forced air (no wood, gas or propane). I don't understand why you are switching manually. I set my thermostat and never touch it. It determines when the heating coils need to come on or not.

 

[Falcon67]

As above - should not have to manually switch anything. The electric strip is there should the heat pump not be able to hold temp indoors or it's below whatever threshold the outdoor unit requires to produce heat.

 

[bonneyman]

Some HP installations have a manual by-pass to prevent electric back-up heat from energizing unnecessarily. Most are outdoor thermostat controlled, some are thermostat set-point controlled.
But a few customers wail about being socked with a big electric bill, so, we wire up a manual override switch so the heat strips can't come on unless the homeowner allows it - regardless of outdoor temp.

 

[bazar01]

Some thermostats have a parameter to be able to choose between comfort and economy setting. In comfort setting, a one degree difference between set point and actual, will turn on the electric heat strip. In economy, it is somewhere around 3-4 degrees before the electric heat strip turns on.
I installed a manual override switch beside the thermostat on mine so the HP runs without electric strip. Big electric savings until outside temps go below 40F and I turn the electric strip back on.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

You probably have a multistage thermostat. If the heat pump cannot keep up to the demand then the second stage ( electric heat strip ) will be energized. Both the heat pump and the electric heat will operate simultaneously. When the indoor temp rises above the second stage set point the electric heat strips will shut off. When you switch to emergency heat you are locking out the outdoor unit and only using the electric heating strips in the indoor air handler.

As above - should not have to manually switch anything. The electric strip is there should the heat pump not be able to hold temp indoors or it's below whatever threshold the outdoor unit requires to produce heat.

Some HP installations have a manual by-pass to prevent electric back-up heat from energizing unnecessarily. Most are outdoor thermostat controlled, some are thermostat set-point controlled.
But a few customers wail about being socked with a big electric bill, so, we wire up a manual override switch so the heat strips can't come on unless the homeowner allows it - regardless of outdoor temp.

Some thermostats have a parameter to be able to choose between comfort and economy setting. In comfort setting, a one degree difference between set point and actual, will turn on the electric heat strip. In economy, it is somewhere around 3-4 degrees before the electric heat strip turns on.
I installed a manual override switch beside the thermostat on mine so the HP runs without electric strip. Big electric savings until outside temps go below 40F and I turn the electric strip back on.

Answer: "D. All of the above"

Tommy