Northern PA heat pump lockout for my setup

[madspeed]

Hey folks. I'm looking for some help figuring the best setting for my setup. I am located in north central pa just outside Williamsport. I have a 2006 American Standard Heritage 13, model number 2A6H3018 Heat Pump with a 2006 Freedom 90 single stage LP gas backup. Thermostat is a Honeywell Vision Pro 8000. Home is approximately 3500 square foot 2 story. Very well insulated but lots of large windows for viewing as we live in a remote wooded area.

Contractor that installed the system had the thermostat setting 0350 at 40 degrees. LP gas killed me last year so I've been doing some research to help with this. From what I've been reading, the heat pump should be set much lower, but with the LP gas furnace efficiency of 90%, where does the best setting seem to be?

Does it make sense to have the thermostat setting 0650 to leave the fan run for 90 seconds after heat pump shuts off or should that be set to 0?

Never even knew the thermostat was programmable until doing this recent research. Is it recommended to use this function as opposed to manually changing to a cooler setting at bedtime?

Any other recommended settings you think fits my system?


THANK YOU!

[madspeed]

ALSO, why is there this white jumper wire on the thermostat connections??

[dougfamous]

1. I wouldn't set it below 40. Will a heat pump produce heat at 35 degrees? 32? Sure. Will you be comfortable? No.
2. Without being technical, that jumper is there so that if you switch the stat to Emergency Heat (EMER) the furnace will operate. Please don't tinker with the wiring. You really probably shouldn't be in the installer setup either.

[catmanacman]

id lower the change over temp to 20-25 then raise it if it does not keep up, although a 1.5 ton is not going to even come close to heating a 3500 sq ft house unless you have a second unit

[buford]

As catman said, lower the setting until you get to where the heat pump pretty much runs all the time to keep setpoint temp. What happens during the defrost does the furnace come on?

[madspeed]

I wasn't planning on touching the wiring, I just thought the jumper looked odd.

I'm paying .129 per kWh and a 28.00 per month facility charge. LP gas was 2.29 per gallon last time I called. I use LP for hot water as well as cooking, so tough to measure what my actual usage is for heating purposes. My heat pump has an SEER rating of 14, and the furnace is a 90% efficient model. Does this help figure where the best setting is?

[catmanacman]

you should not need to touch the wiring ,you change the switch over temp in the installer setup of the thermostat have your service tech show you how

[madspeed]

Sorry if it came across in any way that I was touching any wiring. I certainly am not. I only mentioned the wiring because of the jumper wire. Dis-regard that, it's been pointed out the reason for the jumper and I'll leave it at that. I do know how to get into the installer setup, and I understand what the settings are and how to change them. They are as set by the installer. My questions only pertain to what heat pump lockout temp would be best suited for my system.

[dougfamous]

Are you confortable now? If so LEAVE IT ALONE. Once you start fidgeting with the settings you're opening a can of worms. 40 is fine.

[beenthere]

The jumper is needed so that you have both aux or emergency heat when you need it.

I would set the heat pump lock out to 30, and see if it can handle the heat loss. 40 is often done to prevent the heat pump from having to go into defrost. But if your aux is oil or LP. It cost a lot of extra money to have it set at 40 in our state.