Brrrr . . . it’s really cold outside. In Virginia Beach and the rest of Hampton Roads, when outdoor temperatures drop below 35 degrees, our heat pumps run more. But especially during the rare times when temperature approach 0 degrees, our heat pumps don’t seem to be able to keep up with the loss of heat in the home.
Let’s say you set your thermostat at 70 degrees, but your heat pump doesn’t seem to get above 68 degrees. As long as it’s not dropping many degrees below the thermostat temperature (in this case 70 degrees), the cause is probably the extremely cold weather not your heat pump.
How Extremely Cold Weather Impacts Heat Pump Temperatures
When Virginia Beach gets below 35 degrees, a heat pump loses efficiency and cannot keep up with the heat loss of your home. When the temperature in your home drops approximately 2 degrees below room temperature, supplemental heat comes on to assist the heat pump (usually in the form of electric resistance heaters). When it gets to within 1.5 degrees of room temperature, the back-up heat cycles off and the heat pump continues running. The heat pump is trying to reach temperature, but cannot. This usually happens when the temperature is at it’s coldest – 0 to 30 degrees.
This is however, the way heat pumps are designed to operate. Even though they don’t put out a lot of heat into your home, and they run for long periods of time, they are remain quite efficient.
If your home is home is significantly colder than the thermastat temperature, give HOT BOYS a call at 757-875-1200.
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