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jchambers28
Premium Member
join:2007-05-12
Peculiar, MO

jchambers28 to Jack_in_VA

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to Jack_in_VA

[HVAC] Re: When to switch heat pumps to emergency heat

he told me to switch it to emergency heat when it no longer heats the house. Are heat pumps suppose to switch automatically he has been using emergency heat a lot. It's been in the 20s.

Jack_in_VA
Premium Member
join:2007-11-26
North, VA

Jack_in_VA

Premium Member

What is the emergency heat source?

Sly
Premium Member
join:2004-02-20
Tennessee

Sly to jchambers28

Premium Member

to jchambers28
There is no need to switch it to emergency heat. If the heat pump is no longer able to keep up, the thermostat will kick on auxiliary heat automatically once the temp drops 2 degrees below the setpoint.

Both emergency heat and auxiliary heat kick on the heating strips. The main difference is that once the temperature rises with auxiliary heat, it will go back to running just off the heat pump, saving electricity. If you run it off emergency heat, the heat pump can not turn on and it will draw a higher electric usage all the time.

Aux heat is automatic and is cheaper. Simply put, if you leave it alone the thermostat will do everything for you. No need to switch back and forth.