American Standard Heat Pump Questions

[DavidMac]

We just bought a house in North Carolina with a 3 year old American Standard Heat Pump. Never owned a heat pump before and I'm not sure if it is working properly.

It is currently 50 degrees outside and when the heat comes on, the fan inside runs and warm air comes out of the vents. The outside unit (the compressor?) does nothing at all - fan not running, no noise of any kind. Is this normal operation?

I can't tell if this unit has heat strips. There is a checkbox on the indoor unit marked electric heat strips "may be field installed". How can I tell if it has heat strips?

I noticed other people referring to the "emergency heat" setting on their thermostat and a light that comes on indicating that the electric heat strips are on. We have a Honeywell digital thermostat and there is no light and I don't see any setting for "emergency heat". Does that mean there is no emergency heat/electric heat strips on this unit?

Sorry for the dumb questions and thanks for any help. This is a really informative forum. Also, if we just need to have an HVAC pro come out and take a look at it, that's fine. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't over reacting before calling someone.

[tigerdunes]

David

It is time for a service call.

From your description and 50 degree outdoor temp, it would appear your heat is coming from your heat strip. This is not normal. Your outside conndenser should be operating if you are certain you actually have a heat pump.

Post back mdl number of outside condenser, inside air handler, and thermostat.

Also you should verify size of heat strip. Probably best to let tech provide that info.

Do you mind sharing your location?

IMO

[DavidMac]

tigerdunes-

Thanks for your help. I'm pretty sure this is a heat pump.

The outside unit is an American Standard Model No. 4A6B3042A1000AA.

The air handler is an American Standard Model No. 4TEE3F49B1000AA.

Thermostat is Honeywell RTH6350/RTH6450 series.

We are in Sapphire, NC about 20 miles west of Brevard.

[tigerdunes]

David

Well the good thing is that model does indicate a HP.

It is an Am STD low end 13 SEER heat pump but not the Heritage series.

Matched with a Var Spd air handler.

Now the question is why the outside condenser is not operating.

You have checked all breakers?

IMO

[DavidMac]

Just checked. Breakers look fine.

So is the heat just coming from some sort of auxiliary electric heating (which I don't even know if it has any)?

David

[tigerdunes]

Just checked. Breakers look fine.

So is the heat just coming from some sort of auxiliary electric heating (which I don't even know if it has any)?

David


From the info provided, it has to be.

And that would be costly heat especially at 50 deg outside temp.

Time to call an HVAC service company.

Luv the area you live!

IMO

[DavidMac]

Thanks tigerdunes! That's exactly what I needed to know.

Is this something any good HVAC tech can handle or should I look for a Trane/American Standard dealer?

Yes, it is very nice here. We just moved here after 20 years in Atlanta and its like a whole new world.

Thanks again for your help.

David

[tigerdunes]

David

You just need a good company with a tech experienced in heat pumps. I would tell the dealer upfront what the symptom is and that you have an AmStd HP system.

Let us know what they find.

Good Luck!
IMO

[tigerdunes]

David

Any update on your problem?

IMO

[DavidMac]

Hi tigerdunes,

It turned out to be the thermostat. My wife (who is much smarter than me) reminded me that we recently installed a programmable thermostat. We replaced a Honeywell FocusPRO TH5000 with an RTH6350. I swapped them back and it works great now.

I assume I set up the new thermostat wrong, but some poking around in these forums and other places seems to indicate the the RTH6350 is a universal thermostat that might not have been the best choice. A FocusPRO TH6000 might have been better. All the more reason that people like me should let professionals like you take care of this sort of thing, even though it seemed pretty straightforward.

I also learned that a programmable thermostat might not be a very good idea for heating with a heat pump since it may activate the auxiliary heating when returning to the warmer temperature and any energy savings from lowering the temperature at night is offset by the cost of the auxiliary heating.

Thanks again for your help. I'm going to have the system serviced anyway. We just bought the house and the filter was pretty clogged so I assume the previous owner never did any maintenance to it. It's probably worth a service call to make sure its in good shape.

David