To: Custom Comfort

February 28, 2022

Your email from Feb 25, 2022 contains inaccuracies.
When the Factory representative was here Feb 24, 2022, he did say a 2-stage system runs longer.
2-stage is nothing new. Our previous heat pump was 2-stage as I recall. Thousands of people have 2-stage heat pumps that work normally.

Our new heat pump worked normally earlier this winter, despite being 2-stage.
It did not run excessively this winter before it broke down Jan 2, 2022.

Here's the problem:
Since the breakdown in Jan 2022, when the outside temperature is below 47°F, the thermostat shows the home is at set point, but the unit keeps running and running, occasionally turning off for 4-6 minutes before turning back on.
The problem is not the thermostat, otherwise the house would keep heating up beyond the set point.
Instead, the house is at the set point, and the house is not getting hotter than the set point, but the outdoor unit just keeps running and running and will not turn off, except occasionally and randomly turns off for 4-5 minutes and turns back on even though home is still at set point.

On Thursday Feb 24, the day after the last service call, it was 40°F all day.
Our heat pump stayed ON 83% of the time and used 75 Kwh in one day.
75 Kwh in one day.
75 Kwh in one day.
The heat pump was running 20 hours out of a 24 hour day.

We have the picture taken from thermostat.
Nobody would accept this level of energy usage from a new heat pump system.
Nobody would believe running 20 hours a day meets factory specification.

This level of energy usage would never meet Federal energy standards for new heat pump systems.

Your email said the Factory Representative claimed our system was working to factory specification.

We disagree, and the energy usage shows why.

This problem has been reported to Custom Comfort 21 times in phone calls, letters, email, and in person.
Yet nobody has been here to observe the problem.

As the Representative was showing us features on the thermostat for about twenty minutes, we pointed out that the heat pump had not turned off the entire time we were talking despite the thermostat being at set point.
He was surprised.
He did NOT say this met factory specification.
Instead, he stopped showing us features and began trying to solve the problem via the thermostat settings.

We don't know the features or how thermostats work, and that's why we had the Representative show us.
We asked him about the offsets and he set it for -2°F.
He explained the feature but we didn't understand it.
The assertion that the offset was set because the customer wanted it is not accurate.

This entire time the heat pump kept running. It was 40°F outside.
A short time later, it turned off and the representative said, 'there, it turned off.'
He did not stay to see the heat pump turn back ON four minutes later.
Instead, he said 'see if that works' and left the home.

Asking us to ‘see if it works’ is not consistent with a system that is working to factory specifications.

Next day, we called Custom Comfort and reported that the heat pump was still running 83% of the time when it's 40°F outside.

We have tested the following:
We know it takes 1-1/2 hours for our home to cool by 2°F when it's 40°F outside.
We know the heat pump can raise temperature inside the home by 2°F in about 17 minutes when it's 40°F outside.
We know the heat pump can reach whatever set point we select. And we agree, this probably meets factory specification.
But the heat pump does NOT function correctly when the temperature reaches set point on the thermostat.

After repeated failures of this heat pump system, and the lack of solution and indifference to the problem, we are again asking this heat pump system be replaced.
The system does not function correctly as it did earlier this winter, and no effort from Custom Comfort or the Factory Representative has been able to fix it.

Gene and Holly Haynes