A short podcast episode (Derek Cole with Simmons) advising homeowners about heat pumps and thermostats during below-freezing weather. The speaker explains that heat pumps can still extract heat at sub-freezing temperatures, describes normal defrost-cycle behavior (loud noise and visible steam), and cautions homeowners not to switch thermostats to emergency heat/heat strips solely because it is below freezing—reserving emergency heat for actual heat-pump failure or when the outdoor unit is covered in snow because electric backup heat is very costly.
Chapters
Hey, what's going on? Derek Cole here with Simmons, and it's going to get cold. We're going to have freezing temperatures, below freezing temperatures the next few nights into next week. Do not. I've. I've heard this from homeowners, and I just want to make sure you don't do this. If you have a heat pump, you do not need to turn your thermostat to emergency heat. When it's below freezing outside, the heat pump can still get heat out of there. Actually, there's heat in there until like, what, zero degrees? So the heat pump can still function, but the heat pump going into defrost cycle, making that loud noise, you see steam when it defrosts and gets rid of some of the frost and the. And the stuff on the outdoor unit, that activity is normal. So don't believe or don't think that the unit is working too hard and you want to switch it to emergency heat so you can, you know, stop it from working. If you do that, if you switch it to emergency heat and you have heat strips, your electric bill will be out of sight, because that is the most expensive way you can heat is to turn off the heat pump, turn on the heat strips or backup heat emergency, and only heat the home that way. So you don't need to do that. The only time I would ever suggest you switch over to emergency heat is if something is wrong with the heat pump or snow's covering the heat pump. But you never switch your thermostat right over to emergency heat just because it's below freezing outside.