Date: Sun, 12 Jan 2020 12:05:23 -0500
From: Elliot Cramer
Subject: heatpump usage
>Some people have the idea that one can save money by lowering the temperature at night. This is usually a mistake.unless you have an auxiliary gas furnace. Raising the temperature more than a degree or so will switch to electric strip heating which is very expensive. It is better to leave the temperature fixed or use a thermostat that will slowly raise the temperature so that the heat strips do not come on. With a high efficiency heat pump, the thermostat should be set so that the heat pump runs regardless of the outside temperature and so that the heat strips are blocked until 45 degrees or lower. On my thermostat the instructions for this are not in the customer guide but in the installation guide
This plan can save money if you don’t have an electric hot water heater or if you only use it in off peak hours
https://www.duke-energy.com/business/billing/time-of-use-rate?jur=NC02
Residential Time-of-Use Rate Program – Duke Energy