02-24-2024, 02:39 AM
We got 2 heat pumps when we built our house 32 years ago. The backup is resistant heating. The original heat pumps just ran cool all the time--until the resistant heaters came on when the heat pumps couldn't handle the real cold weather (about 20 degrees if I recall). Move forward 15 years and I replaced both with more efficient units. They cost a bit less to run but, again, the air felt cool even though it was at the right temperature. Then about 5 years ago we lost a thermostat to a lightning strike. I bought a new $40 Honeywell thermostat and it was an amazing change. They don't feel cool anymore. I asked the heating and air guy about it and he said they now turn on the resistant heating just a bit to make it feel warmer while the heat pump does most of the work. I figured our bill would skyrocket but it didn't. It must have gone up a bit but it wasn't noticeable to me. We don't use the automatic setback on our units. It's 72 degrees in the winter and 78 degrees in the summer. When we leave I'll turn it down to 60 degrees and leave. Coming back it takes maybe half an hour to warm up--the resistance heaters are on until it gets to about 70 and then they turn off and the heat pump just operates on it's own. I'm really happy with the heat pumps.