Heatpumps, when in heating mode, work best when the thermostat is left at a fixed temperature. The reason for this is typically a difference between the actual temperature in the house and the thermostat setpoint of a few degrees will trigger the auxiliary heat (electrical resistance strips and they use power at about 3x the rate of the compressor). This is what will happen if you move the thermostat up and down. In other words, if you never change the thermostat setting the auxiliary heat will probably never come on. If you don't care about cost, then feel free to move the thermostat up and down (although presumably the only reason to do that is to try to save costs). We leave the heat setting at 70F in the winter months.
On some thermostats, you can set an auxiliary heat lockout temperature. This will prevent the auxiliary heat from coming on and only the compressor will be used regardless of the difference between the actual temperature in the house the thermostat setpoint. This will save costs.The problem with this approach is that heatpumps put out less heat than a gas furnace so it takes longer to increase the temperature of the house. They work most efficiently when asked to maintain a fixed temperature.
Heatpumps are fundamentally different than a gas furnace. The amount of heat produced by a gas furnace is independent of the outside temperature. The amount of heat produced by a heatpump is a function of the outside temperature. The reason for this is because heatpumps don't generate heat directly (except for when the auxiliary heating strips are activated). They extract heat from the outside air and move it inside. This is essentially the reverse operation of air conditioning where heat is extracted from the inside air and moved outside. The amount of heat that can be extracted from the outside air drops as the outside temperature drops.
Heatpumps are incredibly efficient in our temperature zone if you just set and forget.
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Originally Posted by VApeople
Which areas in The Villages have gas heat?
We have always had gas heat in our home. We turn the thermostat pretty far down at night. In the morning, we turn on the heat, and the house gets comfortably warm very quickly.
We have heard this method would not work well with a heat pump, where you are not supposed to change the thermostat setting very often. Based on your experience, is that true?
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