Why Is My Electric Bill So High? Heat Pump Problems to Check

What you're seeing

• The bill jumped way more than the weather explains.
• The thermostat shows aux heat or emergency heat a lot.
• The outdoor unit is iced over or not running.
• The system runs almost nonstop and never reaches set temperature.

How to track it down

Work through these in order, or follow along in the video above. Each step rules something out before you spend money on parts.

1. Check the thermostat setting

   Make sure it's on heat, not emergency heat. Emergency heat runs the electric strips only and skips the heat pump entirely.

2. Watch how aux heat is used

   Big setbacks at night make the system use strips to recover in the morning. Smaller setbacks, or a thermostat set up for heat pumps, keep the strips off.

3. Make sure the heat pump is running

   If the outdoor unit isn't running or is iced over, the strips do all the work. See the frozen heat pump video.

4. Check airflow and filters

   A dirty filter or restricted ductwork makes everything work harder and longer.

5. Check the charge and ducts

   Low refrigerant cuts heat pump capacity, and leaky ducts in an attic or crawlspace dump heat outside. Both take a tech to diagnose properly.

If you're a homeowner

Check your thermostat mode and settings, change the filter, and look at the outdoor unit. If it's iced or not running, call a tech. Running on emergency heat keeps you warm, but it's the most expensive way to heat with a heat pump.