Winter Emergency Heating Services Enterprise

All winter long, using emergency heat is not recommended, as it is almost exclusively a backup heating option for short-term use. Emergency heat relies on electric resistance heating, which is less energy-efficient and more expensive than the standard operation of a heat pump. Prolonged use can lead to significantly higher electricity bills and increased wear on your heating system. The type of heat we usually call "backup" is just not a good way to heat a space without racking up some serious bills.

At a minimum, HVAC systems need to be serviced two times a year. Common practice is to service them in the spring and fall, to ensure that the system is running efficiently and that any potential problems are addressed before they become major issues.

The costs associated with HVAC systems typically do not see a downward trend during the winter months. On the contrary, these prices may see an upward shift owing to the substantial number of individuals who seek out heating services and repairs during the winter when they are most dependent on their systems. You might think it would be better to tough it out until spring and summer to schedule your HVAC maintenance, but there are benefits to getting your forced air furnace checked out in the middle of winter—especially if you can somehow manage to only meet up with your technician on a day that’s not quite as frigid as the others.

Preparation of your HVAC system for winter encompasses several critical tasks. First and foremost is the necessary scheduling of a professional maintenance check. The next step is to review your thermostat settings. Make sure the thermostat is working and consider upgrading to a more efficient, programmable model if your current setup allows for it. The next item on the agenda is the inspection of air vents and ductwork.Check your outdoor unit. No matter how well the furnace inside your house is working, a well-functioning heat pump needs an unobstructed outdoor unit to operate properly. After inspecting exterior parts, you can turn your attention to ensuring efficient operation of the indoor unit. Make sure it's free of any obstructions and that airflow to the unit is unobstructed. After that, test the heat pump. If you have one, test the furnace, too. Finally, make sure your house is airtight. Sealing any leaks in your home will reduce the workload on your HVAC system and keep your house warm while making your energy bills much more manageable.

Using your furnace's emergency heat setting is not bad, but it should be used cautiously and mainly in specific situations. Emergency heat is just that—an emergency backup when it's extremely cold and your heat pump can't pull heat from the outside air efficiently, or when there's an actual problem with the heat pump system. It uses resistance heating (think of how well an electric stovetop works), which is very standard for the electric furnace and is much less efficient than the heat your heat pump should be making. Using it for any length of time will drive up your power bills.

Emergency heat—commonly known as EM heat—is more pricey than regular heating methods, primarily because it doesn't use the heat pump feature of a system. This means it doesn't heat your house efficiently. Instead, it heats using only electric resistance heating, which is far less efficient and uses a lot more energy. In fact, using EM heat could lead to an uptick in your electricity consumption, and thus your electric bill, sometimes costing you two to three times more than your standard operation electric bill would be.

How long you can safely operate emergency heat overnight comes down to several different elements. These include the heating system itself, the fuel it uses, the temperatures you're dealing with outside, and the type of insulation you have. Most heating systems, especially modern ones, can handle an all-nighter as long as you ensure good ventilation, keep an eye on the operating performance of the system, and make sure you have enough fuel. When in doubt, though, check with the instructions that came with your system or your heating contractor to be sure that your emergency scenario is safe for both you and the equipment.

You are correct that relying on emergency heat can make your electric bill soar. That's because emergency heat doesn't run like your standard heat pump. It runs on electric resistance, which costs a lot more to operate. Your emergency heat is intended for short-term use, but if you use it for long stretches of time, your bills are going to reflect that.

The main disadvantage of using emergency heat is that it is not nearly as efficient as our normal heating methods, and the cost associated with it can be fairly high. This is because, in this mode, the system is not relying on natural gas or propane but is instead using electric resistance to create heat. And electric resistance is about the most inefficient way to create heat that we know of.

When the temperature outside dips below 30°F, you might want to think about having your heat pump switch over to emergency heat. At this point, the heat pump could be having some trouble working as efficiently as it should and is likely to be working a whole lot harder to stay warm. The "emergency heat" setting is just what it says: using heat that still works, without any backup plan or hope of the heat pump getting a second wind any time soon.