Emergency Heat/heat pump pipes freezing (apartment, home builder, closing)

[vakinderegg]

Hi!


With this freezing weather here I am wondering when do you switch from a heat pump to emergency heat. I have heard several different answers....below 20 degrees switch and no need to switch at all. We have a new house with 3 zones. I know our heat pump does have a defrost mode on it ...but tonight is going to be bloody cold and I was to be toasty warm!


Do most people let their faucets drip a little bit when the temps are in the single digits? I heard from many to do it and others say that we have a new home and no need to do this....just want to know what every else is doing. We will probably let our faucets drip..better safe than sorry.

[33458]

Older house:
I drip every faucet in this house, basement/garage, first and second floor and the three spigots outside. There is not adequate heating in my finished basement, so it gets amazingly cold down there - even stays cold during the summer without A/C.
Our house has two air handlers (1 original and dying - YIKES - and one modern and efficient). One system has an auxiliary - alternate kicks in if the other is not performing as needed, but I don't know the details - we're figuring this all out as we go along. No manuals came with this home purchase.

My daughter is on the second floor and toasty warm...it some times gets TOO warm up there. Heat rises, all that. As a backup, she has 2 comforters, blankets and rockin' toddler footed PJs...I need to get some of those.

I am on the first floor and sleeping (sleeping?) in a fleece sack and wool socks...and many blankets. Yes, every husband's dream wife.
It's probably around 55 degrees in my kitchen right now...sitting near the large, drafty windows (another issue) which is better than the windy 27 outside. It matters not what the thermostat is set to - I think we're on 67 after the $500.00 utility bill last month...when it gets cold outside, certain areas of this house are frigid.

I did have my local chimney sweep out yesterday to check my stove insert, had not yet used it and wanted to make certain everything was/is as it should be. NOT, of course...as is everything in this house...but now it's clean and I can use it.

[Charles]

Your heating system switches to auxiliary heat (gas or electric) automatically. You should only manually switch to emergency heat if your heat pump breaks (like if a tree falls on it). Just run your system like you always do.

Originally Posted by vakinderegg

I was to be toasty warm!

The best practice is to snuggle up to your snuggly.

For the pipes, I just have my wife wake up every 45 minutes throughout the night and throw hot towels on the pipes outside. The only problem is that she makes so much noise that, in order to get a good night's sleep, I have to wear these icky ear plugs that hurt my ears.

[caution]

yeah ours is brand spankin' new and you can only select the mode (heater or ac) and the temperature

there's no other button to mash

i did notice ice forming on the units outside and figured it was normal when it's this cold.

i know squat about these things as a former, nearly life-long, apartment dweller

i'm gonna leave it alone and set on the normal temp of 69

i will wrap the spigots up outside, with paper and a plastic bag, just to make myself feel all tough and handy

[vakinderegg]

We are having a plumber come over for a warranty issue tomorrow and I asked about the faucets. He said to drip the faucets and open the bottom cabinet doors where the faucets are on the exterior of the house. I was now told by the heating company to run emergency heat when the temps go below 20....this was by one of their service call workers....but he also said our heat and heat pump will work together, but it would be more efficient to just run the electric heat when temps get as cold as it is going to get.

Charles, I will ask my dh to lend you his BOSE headphones if your dw makes too much noise

[southernnaturelover]

I switch to emergency heat when it gets below about 23F, if I don't the heat pump will run nonstop all night long. If your house is very well insulated with thermal windows you might could get my without the emergency mode, I don't have insulated windows.

[autobahn]

I switched mine over to emergency heat so that it will run on natural gas without it having to struggle with the heat pump before figuring it out.

[virginia farm girl]

Originally Posted by Charles

Your heating system switches to auxiliary heat (gas or electric) automatically. You should only manually switch to emergency heat if your heat pump breaks (like if a tree falls on it). Just run your system like you always do.



The best practice is to snuggle up to your snuggly.

For the pipes, I just have my wife wake up every 45 minutes throughout the night and throw hot towels on the pipes outside. The only problem is that she makes so much noise that, in order to get a good night's sleep, I have to wear these icky ear plugs that hurt my ears.

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u16/gregg1971/animated%20gifs/th-1.gif (broken link)

[HB2HSV]

Originally Posted by 33458

I am on the first floor and sleeping (sleeping?) in a fleece sack and wool socks...and many blankets. Yes, every husband's dream wife. .

Sounds very attractive. Please post a pic

I've been reading up on heat pumps. Our house is new and the thermostat has the option to swith to Emergency Heat mode. The Aux. Heat comes on whenever the difference between the set temp. and the actual temp is greater than 3 degrees. I think it also comes on automatically when the outside temps drop and the mechanical heat pump can not provide enough heat to maintain set temperature. We set our upstair temp at 68 deg. F., and last night I got up and check in the middle of night the thermostat says "Aux Heat" ON.

We've been minimizing heat by closing off vents in the rooms that nobody sleeps in, and then supplement heat with a space heater. I think for tonight, the heat pump will be pretty ineffective so I am planning to set in low (like 60 deg. F) and just rely on space heaters (that and my wife snuggling up next to me )

As far as letting the pipe drip (I am referring to H2O pipes in the house ), we received a postcard from our home builder telling us to do exactly that, so we'll plan to do so.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by HB2HSV

then supplement heat with a space heater. I think for tonight, the heat pump will be pretty ineffective so I am planning to set in low (like 60 deg. F) and just rely on space heaters

This actually sounds like the least efficient way to go. I think your household system is more efficient unless, like in extreme cases maybe that you only want to heat one room. I may be wrong, but I always thought portable electric heaters weren't too efficient.

http://www.thefrugallife.com/space_heater.html