On Jan 15, 1:24*pm, "Dimitrios Paskoudniakis"
wrote:
"Jan Philips" wrote in message

...

On Sat, 15 Jan 2011 08:30:34 -0500, "Dimitrios Paskoudniakis"
wrote:

Now, that your unit runs for extended periods might mean your unit is
undersized for your home for the temperature you have the thermostat set
to.
What temperature is your thermostat set to ?

It was set to 73.

That seems much too high to me for a heat pump if you want to limit
auxiliary heat. *I wouldn't set it higher than 68 at its warmest, and say 62
overnight and while at work during the day, using a digital programmable
thermostat (not manual changes). *If you don't want to use a programmable
thermostat, keep at 68. *Or lower. *Don't adjust it if you don't have a
digital programmable thermostat.

I'd add that the above is good advice provided it's a smart/
intelligent
thermostat that has adaptive recovery, meaning you set it for the time
and
temp you want and the thermostat figures out when to start the system
to reach the new temp. With a non-intelligent one, even if it's
digital,
when it gets to a new temp/time period, it's just going to do the same
thing as it would if you manually raised the temp setting. The
adaptive
recovery type will figure out how much earlier to start the system up
so
that the heat pump alone can get it to the desired temp, assuming it's
possible, without using backup.



Your heat pump is running all the time because you have the temp set too
high for its capacity. *It is running normally, but if you want 73, you're
going to have to accept it running all the time and occasionally needing
auxiliary heat, and the resultant electric bill.