[masraum]

The new-old home that we bought has what I suspect was a very nice HVAC back in 1991/92 when it was made/installed. It's a heat pump and the thermostat has "heat" and then a separate switch for "emergency heat."

The guy that sold us the house said that the emergency heat should be used below ~50º.

I'm trying to figure out the best/correct operation of the system to ensure that it lasts until we are ready to replace it versus having it die at an inopportune time.

I've seen some stuff online that says that heat pump systems will go into emergency heat mode when needed (~35º). But I'm not sure if that means modern systems will do that and whether mine would be considered modern or not. I know my parents used to have problems with their system when they got near or below 40º and their home was probably about the same age.

I'm curious, how cold should I let it get before I select "emergency heat" or if I should select that at all or if there's anything specific that I should do with/for this sort of system.

Our previous home had AC and a gas furnace, so the heat pump thing is new territory for me.




I don't have a photo of our thermostat, but it looks like one of these.