HVAC: What's best for cold climates?

[Campgottagopee]

This only happens with the head upstairs in my house. I have the temp set at 68 on the remote. Last night I got up to use the bathroom. It was 61 inside the house and no heat was coming out of the head unit. I turned the remote off for a few minutes then turned it back on. After a few more minutes the unit started putting out heat. When I got up for the day (4 hrs later) it was blistering hot upstairs! Well over 70. Any thoughts as to why? The filters in the head unit are not dirty as I've checked them.

 

[Harvey]

Setting the thermostat back every night is not gonna work well.

My wife and I will argue over a setting, finally come to agreement, and then set it and forget it. In NJ (we have a heat pump) we set it at 68, and only turn it down to 66 when my wife is hot (IYKYK).

 

[Sbob]

This only happens with the head upstairs in my house. I have the temp set at 68 on the remote. Last night I got up to use the bathroom. It was 61 inside the house and no heat was coming out of the head unit. I turned the remote off for a few minutes then turned it back on. After a few more minutes the unit started putting out heat. When I got up for the day (4 hrs later) it was blistering hot upstairs! Well over 70. Any thoughts as to why? The filters in the head unit are not dirty as I've checked them.

There’s a component called an EEV on multi zone units. Electronic expansion valve , maybe glitching?

 

[Sbob]

Backing up the heat pump with propane instead of the electric furnace is also a good idea. I thought some new heat pump systems are installed with only a gas furnace instead of the electric one.

mm

I like this idea but they have to be wired properly so that the heat pump doesn’t simultaneously run with the gas furnace. The heat pump coil is downstream of the furnace so if the entering air temperature is say 140° with a restriction on the air filter,that translates to 540 psi with a 410a refrigerant. It will run for heat pump defrost cycle but not backup the same as having backup electric heat.

 

[Harvey]

Jank level?

 

[Campgottagopee]

There’s a component called an EEV on multi zone units. Electronic expansion valve , maybe glitching?

Thank you for the lead

 

[tirolski]

I turned the remote off for a few minutes then turned it back on. After a few more minutes the unit started putting out heat. When I got up for the day (4 hrs later) it was blistering hot upstairs! Well over 70. Any thoughts as to why?

There’s a component called an EEV on multi zone units. Electronic expansion valve , maybe glitching?

Kinda like the old fashioned alt-control-delete... reboot... FTW.

At least with a wood fire ya don’t need stinking chips.

 

[gorgonzola]

if you have drywall and paint drying / curing run the heat

 

[Harvey]

they have to be wired properly so that the heat pump doesn’t simultaneously run with the gas furnace.

Please talk to me about this. We are currently running both together, until we get our thermostat figured out.

What is the danger? Do we need to stop? They are basically two completely separate systems.

 

[Sbob]

Please talk to me about this. We are currently running both together, until we get our thermostat figured out.

What is the danger? Do we need to stop? They are basically two completely separate systems.

A two stage thermostat will kick in backup heat with a temperature 2° lower than what it’s set for. If you walk into a cold house and bump up the temperature a conventionally programmed thermostat will automatically turn on backup.
That’s fine for a regular heat pump but bad if you have a gas furnace as the furnace temperature is now entering the heat pump coil at a much higher temperature than returning room air, No Bueno!!!
I prefer the Honeywell Vision Pro 8000 thermostats as they can be programmed for that scenario. They have terminals for an outdoor sensor that can decide which heat you want. Say heat pump above 40° while restricting furnace operation to only heat pump defrost cycle.

In the meantime I would suggest that you run the system using emergency heat setting ( furnace) until you can fix it.