Many thermostats have a setting called EM heat, emergency heat or auxiliary heat. You shouldn’t normally rely on it warm your house, but it’s useful when the thermostat’s regular settings aren’t ...

or while you wait for your heat pump to defrost. “When it’s as cold as we’ve seen it get over the last few days, with temperatures near zero, and you’re just turning on the heat on your ...

This would force the heat pump to enter defrost mode, stopping your heating to melt the ice with an electric resistance heater before it can operate again. This feature can be one of the many ...

or while you wait for your heat pump to defrost. “This is way less efficient than your primary heating system, so you should only use it in real emergencies unless you want to pay exorbitant ...