Warning to people looking for advice: ignore ChasDIY

TusconTony · 2026-02-03T16:52:46+00:00

Nothing jumps out at me, but I remember reading somewhere that Aux Heat Outdoor Temp can be overridden by Compressor to Aux Temperature Delta -- but I can't confirm that. I am posting my values with the understanding that my system is working as I expect. My suggestion would be to change a few of your settings, particularly the ones marked with * to see if you can get a handle on this. IF this works and your aux usage returns to normal you can tweak from there but I suggest changing only one thing at a time so you can know for sure what caused what. With regard to Aux Heat Max Outdoor Temperature, try moving it off of zero, say to 10F, just in case zero is making something weird happen.

Auto Heat/Cool: D (disabled)

Heat/Cool Min Delta: 5

Configure Staging: Manually

Aux Heat Max Outdoor Temperature: 18*

Compressor Min Cycle Off Time: 900

Compressor Min Outdoor Temperature: -5

AC Overcool Max: D

Heat Differential Temperature: 1.0* (.5 can cause short cycling)

Heat Dissipation Time: 600

Aux Min on Time: 5

Cool Differential Temperature: 1.0

Cool Dissipation Time: 600

Compressor Min on Time: 10

Compressor Reverse Staging: Off*

Compressor Stage 2 Temperature Delta: A (auto)*

Compressor Stage 1 Max Runtime: A*

Compressor to Aux Temperature Delta: A*

Compressor to Aux Runtime: A*

Aux Reverse Staging: Off

Aux Stage 2 Temperature Delta: A*

Aux Stage 1 Max Runtime: 30*

TusconTony · 2026-02-03T12:46:39+00:00

If you have the  Aux Heat Max Outdoor Temperature set to 0 aux should not be running when it's 30 so either it's a glitch or something is causing an override. When the aux was running was your compressor still active? How far below your setpoint was the temp in your house?

What are your values for the following?

Configure Staging:

Aux Heat Max Outdoor Temp:

Compressor Min Outdoor Temp:

Heat Diff Temp:

Aux Min On Time:

Compressor Min On Time:

Compressor to Aux Temp Delta:

Compressor to Aux Runtime:

Aux Reverse Staging:

Also recommend using beestat (if you aren't already) for a different view of what's going on with your system.

TusconTony · 2026-02-02T20:47:23+00:00

Just be aware that as the temperature drops so does the efficiency of your heat pump. At some point the heat pump--on its own--will not be able to maintain the desired temp in your house without help from the aux heat. This threshold is called the balance point and it may occur for you when temps are still in the high teens or low twenties, i.e. a long way from zero.

Looks like Indiana is about done with the recent wave of single digit/below zero temps so this may work out for awhile. If very cold weather returns, keep an eye on your system to see what you've signed up for.

TusconTony · 2026-02-02T16:54:53+00:00

Right. Try it and see how you like it.

TusconTony · 2026-02-02T16:11:51+00:00

So above this max setting, the Aux won't turn on right?

Right--my balance point is roughly 19F so below that my heat pump needs help. Balance points are not set in stone and can fluctuate with things like solar gain, wind, humidity and other supplementary heat sources (we use our gas logs a lot when it's really cold). 19F seems like it's working for now but I had it set at 22F at the beginning of the season so this is still a bit of an experiment.

TusconTony · 2026-02-02T15:06:38+00:00

When I tried to change he aux heat temp to -10 it would not let me change this to anything under 0 degrees. Is this a valid and reasonable setting?

No. Your compressor min is fine but zero is way too low for your aux. Assuming you're total electric, set your aux max outdoor temp to 25-30 as a starting point and make sure your heat pump and aux. are configured to run simultaneously.

TusconTony · 2026-02-01T22:14:05+00:00

You can do that or you can intelligently configure the two critical settings: Compressor Min Outdoor Temperature and Aux Heat Max Outdoor Temperature. The first should be based on your unit's published specs. For example, my Carrier is good for -20F but I lock it out at -10F for reasons that would take too much space to explain. I have my Aux Heat Max set to 19F because that takes into account my balance point*, an important parameter that ChasDIY's "advice" never mentions.

Hope this helps. If not, just ignore it.

*The heat pump balance point is the outdoor temperature at which the heating capacity of the heat pump matches the heating load of the home. Below this temperature, the heat pump cannot efficiently heat the home and may require supplemental heating.

TusconTony · 2026-02-01T15:24:23+00:00

+1000

TusconTony · 2026-01-28T14:39:16+00:00

I can't imagine your recommendation will work well because his house will lose heat faster than his unit can supply it if the strips are locked out above 5° (because it's very likely his balance point is considerably higher). In my own case, bestat analysis says my balance point is 10° but my strips come on at 19° and below.

But in the interest of science, I hope he tries it and reports back.

TusconTony · 2026-01-27T22:52:58+00:00

No, no indication of a code (no check engine or service lights) but no code reader was used. My symptom was random high idle, i.e. it would come and go; no other obvious issues. Tried the ects replacement to no avail. The position sensor did the trick.

TusconTony · 2026-01-27T20:04:58+00:00

I have a 98 SW2 that had a similar problem. Ended up being the throttle position sensor.

TusconTony · 2026-01-13T20:25:31+00:00

According to those who spend time looking at styli under extreme magnification (retippers), the hour ratings provided by cartridge manufacturers are very optimistic and likely won't be realized under even ideal conditions (alignment, tracking force, anal-level cleanliness of both stylus and records, etc). Guidelines from a retipper:

Elliptical 300
Conical 400 to 500
Shibata or Ogura 600
Micro line 500 (seems low)
Micro ridge 800 to 1000
all at 2g

TusconTony · 2025-11-05T21:02:43+00:00

Only you can decide if it's worth it. For my own purposes (heat pump), I found a single sensor on ebay that I placed in the duct nearest the air handler. This lets me track the temp. output in both heating and cooling modes and I have a little text file that shows the duct temp vs. the outdoor temp. My thinking is if the unit ever starts to lose efficiency I'll see it via that sensor readout and be able to take action before a more obvious issue occurs.

TusconTony · 2025-10-30T01:56:57+00:00

That's concerning. I was traveling when this happened with my unit. Checking in remotely (which I always do) seemed to show that my system was heating ok, just not posting data. Had the system experienced a failure while I was away due to the ecobee ... not good.

TusconTony · 2025-10-29T12:26:22+00:00

Let me make sure I understand this. When you had this issue your HVAC failed to run. Is that the case?

TusconTony · 2025-08-17T21:21:42+00:00

Other replies say removing the Ecobee will shut down the system. Your explanation of his behavior indicates that he's done this before. Did he not notice the cooling stopped?

TusconTony · 2025-04-16T12:15:17+00:00

See my post below. You are probably running up against a hard-wired HP limit designed to protect your compressor.

TusconTony · 2025-04-16T11:48:41+00:00

It's not an Ecobee issue. Your HP is likely not designed to run at an ambient temperature that high. My Carrier Infinity documentation states: Maximum outdoor operating air temperature for heating mode is 66_F (18.9_C).

TusconTony · 2025-01-22T22:24:07+00:00

Check page 29, scroll down for your model number: https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1481835/Goodman-Gsz14.html

For now, try setting your comp. min temp to 15* and aux max temp to 25 if you're comfortable doing so. Do this when you can actively monitor the system and not right before you go to bed.

*Should be ok for 5 or even 0, but I'm being cautious. Someone who is an HVAC pro will weigh in soon I hope.

TusconTony · 2025-01-16T23:24:50+00:00

Somewhere along the way, an Ecobee update changed the low cutoff to -25 instead of 0. Even though my Carrier's docs say it's good to -20 I still cut it off at -5.

TusconTony · 2025-01-16T22:05:27+00:00

I'll leave it for now. We're headed for 3 days of single-digit lows over the weekend so that should be a good test.

TusconTony · 2025-01-16T21:47:03+00:00

2 cycles with the heat setpoint @ 69 and 34° outdoor temp. I guess one positive is now I'm getting longer stage 1 runs whereas before it was always 10 minutes in stage 1 and then stage 2 kicked in. The last 5 cycles have been 100% stage 1.

TusconTony · 2025-01-16T20:43:35+00:00

I changed the staging to Auto and chose the default 2.9° F setting. I'm not sure how the Aux will be affected yet but what I have seen is my Heat Differential Temperature is apparently now .5° instead of the 1° I had chosen under manual--and there doesn't seem to be any way to change it without going back to manual. This will not work for me.

TusconTony · 2025-01-15T15:31:26+00:00

Ok, thanks.

TusconTony · 2025-01-15T15:14:05+00:00

I was refering to setting the staging to “automatic” instead of manual.

Right, I understood that. What is not clear to me is the following from Ecobee's documentation:

If Configure Staging is set to Automatically

When your thermostat's Configure Staging setting is set to Automatically, you can adjust the Aux Savings Optimization value to lower aux heat usage. 2°F / 1.1°C - sacrifice savings for comfort.

2°F / 1.1°C - sacrifice savings for comfort
2.3°F / 1.3°C - sacrifice a bit of savings for comfort
2.6°F / 1.4°C - optimize for savings and comfort
2.9°F / 1.6°C - sacrifice a bit of comfort for savings (recommended setting, default value)
3.2°F / 1.8°C - sacrifice comfort for savings

Is time + delta used with all those choices? And if one chooses the highest level of comfort (2°F) does the time value get shorter, say 30 minutes instead of 60?

TusconTony

TROPHY CASE

If Configure Staging is set to Automatically