HVAC guys: Phantom strip heat?

[churchmouse]

I think its programmed weird. I am babysitting window installers and working from the church today.

TOday I didnt bump it from 65 to 67. I bumped it 65 to 66. Compressor only.
It was running stable at 66 so I bumped it to 67. Emergency heat kicked in. So its apparently temperature based, not delta based.

Uh......yeah unless you have a top tier stat which most likely you do not.

 

[jkaetz]

I think its programmed weird. I am babysitting window installers and working from the church today.

TOday I didnt bump it from 65 to 67. I bumped it 65 to 66. Compressor only.
It was running stable at 66 so I bumped it to 67. Emergency heat kicked in. So its apparently temperature based, not delta based.

Could still be delta based. The thermostats may only show whole degrees on the display but they can certainly be more precise than that behind the scenes. Mine can be adjusted in .5 degree increments for staging purposes. What is the thermostat model?

 

[Cameramonkey]

Could still be delta based. The thermostats may only show whole degrees on the display but they can certainly be more precise than that behind the scenes. Mine can be adjusted in .5 degree increments for staging purposes. What is the thermostat model?

Not sure. They're going to be there tomorrow to take a look at it.

 

[churchmouse]

Not sure. They're going to be there tomorrow to take a look at it.

I would be curious what the weather/temps were during that billing cycle. We had a stretch of weather that was cold enough to run the electric banks constantly. If so your bill would be a lot higher than the warmer cycles. It could be as simple as that.
The compressor will only supply heat down to a point as the outdoor temps fall. An older 10 seer pump on R-22 looses ground In the 30s but a newer 13 seer R-410A pump will hold its own into the 20’s. Then the resistance comes into play.
also the efficiency of the unit comes into play here as well. Low charge. Compressor getting weak.

 

[Cameramonkey]

I would be curious what the weather/temps were during that billing cycle. We had a stretch of weather that was cold enough to run the electric banks constantly. If so your bill would be a lot higher than the warmer cycles. It could be as simple as that.
The compressor will only supply heat down to a point as the outdoor temps fall. An older 10 seer pump on R-22 looses ground In the 30s but a newer 13 seer R-410A pump will hold its own into the 20’s. Then the resistance comes into play.
also the efficiency of the unit comes into play here as well. Low charge. Compressor getting weak.

year over year, it was actually warmer than the prior year's range.

And this is a brand new Carrier unit installed in 2019.

 

[churchmouse]

Not sure. They're going to be there tomorrow to take a look at it.

I would be curious what the weather/temps were during that billing cycle. We had a stretch of weather that was cold enough to run the electric banks constantly. If so your bill would be a lot higher than the warmer cycles. It could be as simple as that.
The compressor will only supply heat down to a point as the outdoor temps fall. An older 10 seer pump on R-22 looses ground In the 30s but a newer 13 seer R-410A pump will hold its own into the 20’s. Then the resistance comes into play.

 

[churchmouse]

year over year, it was actually warmer than the prior year's range.

And this is a brand new Carrier unit installed in 2019.

Gotcha. Clears that up. Easy to blame the machine.
I have found this scenario played out a few times.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Gotcha. Clears that up. Easy to blame the machine.
I have found this scenario played out a few times.

And I know it has plenty of gas, because it pumps out a decent amount of heat for a heat pump. Not roasty toasty like the strips, but noticeably warmer than my home unit.

 

[churchmouse]

And I know it has plenty of gas, because it pumps out a decent amount of heat for a heat pump. Not roasty toasty like the strips, but noticeably warmer than my home unit.

OK dont leave us hanging my friend. What was the issue...???

Inquiring minds need to know.

 

[Cameramonkey]

OK dont leave us hanging my friend. What was the issue...???

Inquiring minds need to know.

Still not positive. Nothing obvious, so we wait to see.

They did find a few things like the electric furnace strips werent fully wired, so not all strips were live. He thought it might be lingering too long using too much juice. The last guy in also adjusted the comfort settings on the stats to not use strips to play catch up all the time. He also found a dead element on the water heater, so we think it was running excessively to contribute. Two new water heaters being installed next week. They were from 1999, never flushed. The 2nd is being replaced because when I went to check its elements, I discovered it was leaking slowly. Ugh.

And then unrelated, AES came out today and replaced the transformer. We noticed Sunday the lights would flicker slightly during the service. It was windy, so we assumed something was touching a wire. Last night during choir practice it was much worse. (UPS kicking in) I called it in and they came out since there was no wind. After a gentle friendly scolding for not calling them Sunday, the guy thinks the unit was too small for the church. He doesnt think we called in the 80s to upgrade it when we doubled the size of the building and have been running too small ever since. It was leaking oil so it needed to go anyway. We were running the 2nd largest 2 phase they make (100KW?) and was supposed to drop in a 160, which is the largest 2 phase possible. I'm sure its unrelated to the original issue, but it was just one more thing as everything seems to be breaking at once.

 

[churchmouse]

Still not positive. Nothing obvious, so we wait to see.

They did find a few things like the electric furnace strips werent fully wired, so not all strips were live. He thought it might be lingering too long using too much juice. The last guy in also adjusted the comfort settings on the stats to not use strips to play catch up all the time. He also found a dead element on the water heater, so we think it was running excessively to contribute. Two new water heaters being installed next week. They were from 1999, never flushed. The 2nd is being replaced because when I went to check its elements, I discovered it was leaking slowly. Ugh.

And then unrelated, AES came out today and replaced the transformer. We noticed Sunday the lights would flicker slightly during the service. It was windy, so we assumed something was touching a wire. Last night during choir practice it was much worse. (UPS kicking in) I called it in and they came out since there was no wind. After a gentle friendly scolding for not calling them Sunday, the guy thinks the unit was too small for the church. He doesnt think we called in the 80s to upgrade it when we doubled the size of the building and have been running too small ever since. It was leaking oil so it needed to go anyway. We were running the 2nd largest 2 phase they make (100KW?) and was supposed to drop in a 160, which is the largest 2 phase possible. I'm sure its unrelated to the original issue, but it was just one more thing as everything seems to be breaking at once.

Cascade effect. It all ties into energy usage.
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