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Heat pump, fan on or auto? Jason 08-20-2007
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Posted by Jason on August 20, 2007, 3:23 pm
Over the years, I've had 2 different HVAC repair men come to my house,
and I've been told contradictory information. Who do I trust???

I mentioned my ridiculously high electric bill to the first repair man
(roughly $400/month for an 1800sq.ft house). He suggested that I
should leave the heat pump fan on ON all the time. His logic was that
it would keep the air ducts dry and cool, so that when the pump comes
on it doesn't have to work as hard to cool the house.

I've done this for several years, and while I didn't notice a change
in my electric bill, I assumed that the heat pump was running more
efficiently and would last longer, anyway.

Recently, the reversing valve went out on my heat pump, and I had to
have a different repair man come out to fix it (the guy that came out
years ago has since retired). He asked why I had my fan on, and I told
him the explanation that the other repair guy gave. He said that that
was entirely incorrect; the fan being on all the time could raise my
electric bill by as much as 25%!

So, who's right? Should I leave the fan on, or put it on auto?

TIA,

Jason


Posted by on August 20, 2007, 5:04 pm
> Over the years, I've had 2 different HVAC repair men come to my house,
> and I've been told contradictory information. Who do I trust???
>
> I mentioned my ridiculously high electric bill to the first repair man
> (roughly $400/month for an 1800sq.ft house). He suggested that I
> should leave the heat pump fan on ON all the time. His logic was that
> it would keep the air ducts dry and cool, so that when the pump comes
> on it doesn't have to work as hard to cool the house.
>
> I've done this for several years, and while I didn't notice a change
> in my electric bill, I assumed that the heat pump was running more
> efficiently and would last longer, anyway.
>
> Recently, the reversing valve went out on my heat pump, and I had to
> have a different repair man come out to fix it (the guy that came out
> years ago has since retired). He asked why I had my fan on, and I told
> him the explanation that the other repair guy gave. He said that that
> was entirely incorrect; the fan being on all the time could raise my
> electric bill by as much as 25%!
>
> So, who's right? Should I leave the fan on, or put it on auto?
>
> TIA,
>
> Jason

This is pretty basic. Running the fan takes energy doesn't it? And
how does leaving it on keep the ducts cool and dry? They should be
dry no matter what. If they run through some space where they can
take on heat, then running air through them constantly is going to
just pick up that heat and move it into your house.


Posted by on August 20, 2007, 5:46 pm

> Over the years, I've had 2 different HVAC repair men come to my house,
> and I've been told contradictory information. Who do I trust???
>
> I mentioned my ridiculously high electric bill to the first repair man
> (roughly $400/month for an 1800sq.ft house). He suggested that I
> should leave the heat pump fan on ON all the time. His logic was that
> it would keep the air ducts dry and cool, so that when the pump comes
> on it doesn't have to work as hard to cool the house.
>
> I've done this for several years, and while I didn't notice a change
> in my electric bill, I assumed that the heat pump was running more
> efficiently and would last longer, anyway.
>
> Recently, the reversing valve went out on my heat pump, and I had to
> have a different repair man come out to fix it (the guy that came out
> years ago has since retired). He asked why I had my fan on, and I told
> him the explanation that the other repair guy gave. He said that that
> was entirely incorrect; the fan being on all the time could raise my
> electric bill by as much as 25%!
>
> So, who's right? Should I leave the fan on, or put it on auto?


Auto, the first guy was an idiot.



Posted by Torrey Hills on August 20, 2007, 9:09 pm
> Over the years, I've had 2 different HVAC repair men come to my house,
> and I've been told contradictory information. Who do I trust???
>
> I mentioned my ridiculously high electric bill to the first repair man
> (roughly $400/month for an 1800sq.ft house). He suggested that I
> should leave the heat pump fan on ON all the time. His logic was that
> it would keep the air ducts dry and cool, so that when the pump comes
> on it doesn't have to work as hard to cool the house.
>
> I've done this for several years, and while I didn't notice a change
> in my electric bill, I assumed that the heat pump was running more
> efficiently and would last longer, anyway.
>
> Recently, the reversing valve went out on my heat pump, and I had to
> have a different repair man come out to fix it (the guy that came out
> years ago has since retired). He asked why I had my fan on, and I told
> him the explanation that the other repair guy gave. He said that that
> was entirely incorrect; the fan being on all the time could raise my
> electric bill by as much as 25%!
>
> So, who's right? Should I leave the fan on, or put it on auto?
>
> TIA,
>
> Jason

The 2nd one was correct.

Ken


Opportunities are never lost. The other fellow takes those you miss.


| Torrey Hills Technologies, LLC |
| www.threerollmill.com |
| www.torreyhillstech.com |



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