With the arrival of cooler weather, here are some recommended operating tips to help meet your preferred level of thermal comfort and energy usage during the winter.

• Programming your heating setpoint to the lowest comfortable temperature (ideally between 19°C and 21°C) and avoiding frequent manual changes is the best way to conserve energy during the colder seasons.
• Set your thermostat SYSTEM to HEAT instead of AUTO. This will disable your heat pump’s air conditioning feature during the colder part of the year.
• Your system is equipped with a back-up electric (auxiliary) heater, designed to augment your primary heat pump during extreme cold, or to provide emergency heating if your heat pump fails. It is not designed to be the sole source of heat for your home. This auxiliary heat will be activated anytime your thermostat calls for an immediate increase in temperature of more than 1°C. You will know your auxiliary heater is running as the “Aux Heat On” indicator will appear on your thermostat screen.
• Contact us if you notice:
  – auxiliary heat running longer than 30 minutes at a time and/or multiple times per day
  – auxiliary heat is running but the room temperature does not match your thermostat setting
  – auxiliary heat is running but the main heat pump is not
• Proper airflow is critical for efficient heat pump operation. Do NOT close off more than 10% of the vents in your home, block a vent’s airflow or try to deflect its direction.
• Avoid leaving windows and doors open during the colder times of the year and open blinds on sunny days to allow passive solar heating.