Recently we have heard from a couple of concerned clients. Some say their new ductless heat pump systems are “running all the time” and are worried that that means high heating bills are soon to follow.
A mini split heat pump puts out much cooler air than a gas or oil furnace that most customers are used to. Furnaces tend to put out about 130 to 140 degree air, while a heat pump runs at about 85 – 92 degrees. Unlike a furnace that puts out a lot of heat for short periods of time, a heat pump is designed to put out less heat for longer periods of time.
This is the way heat pumps are designed to operate. Even though they don’t put high bursts of heat into the house and they run for longer periods of time, they are still at least 30% more efficient than other types of heating systems.
If your ductless heat pump never shuts off in heating mode, it could also just be that it is running for longer periods of time than you might expect. It may just seem like it is “running all the time”. Or it may indeed be running a lot, but that can be normal too. In extremely cold weather, a properly working heat pump will run almost continuously.
However if the weather is not extremely cold and your heat pump is indeed running constantly, there might be a problem. Give us a call and we can check it out for you.