Unexpected high electrical bill
Heat pumps when installed properly are a great addition to compliment an existing heating system within the home. Modern constructed, low energy or LEED homes can utilize heat pumps as primary heating sources under the right circumstances. However, lack of maintenance will always be the silent killer to many consumers’ electric bills. On online forums such as Reddit or Facebook groups, time and time again, I see posts about high electric bills. More often than not they’ll be a comment asking, “What’s your primary heat source?” and when “Heat Pumps” comes as the answer, you’ll see “Yup” and no explanation given.
Heat pumps pull air from within the space they’re installed in. Whether you realize it or were told during the installation by the technicians, the fan will continue to spin in order to accurately monitor the room temperature. The fan motor itself doesn’t use much current which in turn uses about .65 amps per hour. Couple that with our incoming power of roughly 243 volts and we get about 158 Watts per hour. But this is also assuming the unit is in clean working order. Plugged or dirty filters, fan wheels and coils strains the fan motor which not only leads to higher current draw, but also prevents the refrigerant from exchanging heat energy properly. This in turn, causes the compressor to work harder to achieve the same temperature thresholds.
Back in 2022 I had my students perform an energy analysis of a 30,000 BTU ductless heat pump in January. On average it added $7.59/day to the electric bill. Our electric rates are all over the place today between CMP, Solar Farms and other providers. It’s not uncommon to see a significant drop in electrical usage after a major cleaning is performed. Periodically cleaning the filters yourself will help keep airflow through the unit suitable to provide proper heat exchanging. Also rinsing down the outdoor coils’ aides in that systems airflow as well. However, the outdoor unit should be serviced by a professional. If you would like an energy analysis done of your heat pump system, shoot us an email and we’d be happy to help.