Note that there are some programmable thermostats that "understand"
heat pumps. --
Chris Lewis,

Thanks for that Chris. This unit has the Carrier Infinity Control
thermostat. This thermostat know's what components are attached to it
and it monitors and controls the system. Their implementation
apparently thinks it's more efficient to have the backup heat kick in
if the temp needs to be raise beyond a certain number of degrees. I'm
told that's 3 degrees. I've decided to only drop the temps overnight a
couple degrees and see what the impact is on my electric bill next
month. Of course as soon as I did that the temps rose to the 60's and
70's so the HP won't run anyway. ;-)

Rich B
www.beachtradingco.com