February is traditionally the second coldest month of the year in HRM, and this year appears to be no exception. This season’s very cold weather has tested home heating systems, making it extremely important to have them performing at their best when it matters the most.
Never mind that Shubenacadie Sam saw her shadow on Groundhog Day, most Nova Scotians would be thrilled if we received a guarantee that winter would end in six more weeks. Many of us have been around long enough not to trust such a promise.
For homeowners that have heat pumps as a primary source of heating, reliable back-up heat can be very important when temperatures dip well below zero. Depending upon the size of the compressors and house layouts, heat pumps can struggle to keep up when it’s very cold outside, leading to temperature drops in the home and a requirement to turn up units even higher to get more heat. When some rooms are further away from ductless head units, they could also get cooler than desired temperatures.
Let’s look at a situation where you would like your home to maintain a temperature of 20⁰. To achieve that, you might normally set your heat pump(s) at 20⁰; however, if it is say, -10⁰ outside, the heat pump may only be able to keep the inside temperature at 18⁰ or even less. That may be remedied by turning the heat pumps up to 22⁰-23⁰, but if it gets even colder at night, you could awake to a chilly house. That’s where a back-up heat system come in.
Heating your home with oil is one of the safest and most efficient ways to keep a house warm and cozy. Given the fact that oil burns very hot and delivers heat quickly, oil heat is an excellent back-up to heat pumps when it’s cold out. So, with the example above, to achieve a desired inside temperature of 20⁰, setting the thermostat to maybe 18.5⁰ will trigger the back-up to cut in if the heat pumps don’t keep up. Having the oil system kick in early can prevent your home from getting too cold and the pipes from freezing.
At Scotia Fuels, we want all our customers to be safe and warm with the peace of mind knowing that we have their backs – and their back-ups. If you have any questions about this article or if you’d like to be a primary or back-up oil heat customer, please contact us by visiting our website at https://scotiafuels.com/contact-us/, or better yet by giving us a call at 902-453-2121.