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Getting the Most from Your Heat Pump
Are you one of the 30,000 Mainers who purchased a highly-efficient heat pump with an Efficiency Maine rebate? If so, now it’s time to maximize your energy savings by learning the most efficient way to use your heat pump. Even the best cold-climate heat pumps perform better when you follow these simple guidelines.
Let your heat pump take the lead
Your cold-climate heat pump is likely your home’s most efficient heating source, even when temperatures drop below freezing. Use it as much as you can—falling back on older heating systems only during periods of extreme cold, typically when temperatures fall below –10°F. One way to ensure your older system operates as a backup is to set its thermostat several degrees below the thermostat setting of your heat pump.
Share the warmth
Make it easier for warmth from your heat pump to reach adjoining rooms by keeping doors open (unless you’re trying to heat just a single room with the unit).
Prioritize and Let it Run
The best thermostat setting for your heat pump is the one that makes you comfortable. (That number may be higher than you’re used to because wall units read temperatures closer to the ceiling, where it’s warmer.)For maximal efficiency, choose a thermostat set point and keep it there around the clock. Heat pumps are designed to maintain a steady temperature; lowering the setting overnight or when you’re gone for the day may not save energy.
“Heat” in winter, “cool” in summer
Avoid the “auto” function for heating and cooling (although it’s fine to use “auto fan” for the fan setting). Manually set the unit on“heat” in winter and “cool” in summer so the heat pump does not start air conditioning on a sunny winter day or heating on a cool summer night.
Maintaining Your Heat Pump
Routine maintenance is simple; make sure your outside unit remains free of snow, ice and leaves; clean the indoor unit’s dust filter when needed, usually every few weeks to months; and replace allergen cartridges—if your heat pump has them—at the recommended intervals. Have a professional inspect and clean the outside unit every year or two (consult the user manual).
Read more Efficiency Maine heat pump user tips at https://www.efficiencymaine.com/heat-pump-user-tips/