freezing in VA. Heat pump is working all the time.


  #1  
Old 12-22-00, 04:04 PM
scottkeen
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Unhappy

Hi,

I live in northern Virginia in a condo where we have heat-pumps.

We've had really cold weather lately, in the low teens or even single digits.

My heat pump and blower have been running all the time 24/7, yet the air is barely warm coming out of the registers.

The thermostat is set to 75 degrees. When the weather is not as cold, it gets there no problem. But today is extremely cold and it won't get above 70.

I've moved the thermostat up to 80, and switched on the "Em. Heat" switch and have also put a space-heater in my room. It's slowly getting warmer, mostly thanks to the space-heater.

Yes, I clean my filters religiously every month.

Any ideas or suggestions? Is it just too cold for the heat pump to deal with?

Thanks,

Scott

 
  #2  
Old 12-22-00, 04:59 PM
fjrachel
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Very familiar with the area and weather. Yes it is too cold. Or rather it has stayed very cold for a much longer period of time than normal. Housing in your area was constructed using a +30 degree scale and are insulated and heated using that scale.
 
  #3  
Old 12-23-00, 09:37 AM
S
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Hi,
I live in North VA. also and have the thermostat
set to 68, but temp never gets above 60.
I'm assuming from the previous reply that there
is nothing to do, outside of going to emergency heat.

Ron
 
  #4  
Old 12-23-00, 09:53 AM
scottkeen
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fj -- thanks for the reply. That's kind of what I figured. Glad to know I probably don't need to call in a service tech (yet!).

One thing I noticed that helped a bit was setting the Em. Heat switch on until it got close to the desired temperature, then switch it back to normal heat. Also, even though I clean my filter every month, I went ahead and took it out and cleaned it again. I also pulled the blinds and curtains over all the windows to limit the heat exchange with the windows. All this seemed to improve things a bit. One of my neighbors had a good idea and cut out a plywood sheet to "plug" the front of his fireplace. He made it really nice by painting it and attaching drawer handles on it to put it in and take it out. He says it helps tremendously as hot and cold air flow pretty freely through the chimney and the flue doesn't make much of a seal. Sounds like a good idea.

Cheers,

Scott
 
  #5  
Old 12-23-00, 10:39 AM
fjrachel
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lots of good ideas.
 
 

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