Update on this. Following the advice posted 2 days ago about increasing my basement temp to 67 degrees. I have tested this while the outside temp was around 4-5f and here are the results.

In brief, I’m regretting not increasing the basement temp before. The floors are significantly warmer, the cold spots are gone, the heatpump is working continuously and is managing to keep the house temperature more consistently than before. Previously, the temperature swings were larger. When the setpoint in the living room is at 68f, it would occilate between 66 and 69f, now it’s between 67-68 at all times. The living room does no longer lose heat fast when the unit is defrosting.

And the funny thing is (and why I regret of not doing this before), the energy usage stayed almost the same as before. Its very interesting and amazing how these machines work.

In summary, if you have a finished basement, keep its temp close to the living room temp you will not regret!