Contractors often install mega smart thermostats with "dumb" zone controls. Among the reasons I'm not a fan of zone warm air systems is the zone controls are often less intelligent than the thermostats and heat pumps. While you might think you are improving your performance, you might limit it.
As GF said, while the wiring is not rocket science, it is not an average DIY job. Easiest thing is to turn off the breaker(s).
Hopefully Hwell helped with your other setting questions.
Joe

Thanks - I'm not keen on keeping both (now that I know "Air Handler" 30A is really 5 kW strip) breakers off til it gets cold, turning the 30A breaker on, then when it gets really cold turning it off and the 50A breaker "Aux Heat" (10kW) on, then when it gets sub-zero turning the 30A breaker on again, when it warms up a little turning the 30A breaker off, when it warms up more turning the 50A breaker off and the 30A breaker back on, and then finally turning them both off in the spring. That would be harder than turning the stat from Heat to Cool and back again twice a day like we've been doing each spring and fall! We just had installer change the stats to Auto changeover so we didn't have to do that, we figured the HP and the IAQ should be able to control the use of and staging of Aux Heat so it only calls for what's absolutely needed to maintain our set temp.

Here are the settings on my zone controller:

I checked the DIPS, 1+2 are off (OK), 3 is ON (OK), 4-6 are ON (?), 7 is off (correct for 2-stage compressor but 0176 on stat is now set to 2 - should it be 1 for 1 stage Aux heat if we have 2-stage compressor?)

8 is ON (opposite of what you recommended, what is this?)

9 +10 are ON

I also checked W1/E and W3 Aux. They are jumpered together, nothing on W2. Installer told me last week" W1 and W3 are the same and W2 doesn't do anything." Talking to your coworker on the phone this AM he said W1 Em Heat should be wired to 10kW heat strip (I don't know how it's wired) and W2 should be jumpered to W3 Aux Heat (which should be wired to 5kW strip). What's it going to do jumpered the way it is now? Do I have to check wiring for you?

And here is HW's reply (zoning people, not stat people installer was calling)

Switching the 8 switch to off will bring on the fan in heat mode. If the fan comes on with a call for heat or emergency heat, then there is a relay in the application that brings the fan on in heat and it is ok to leave the switch set to on.0176 should be set to 1 for your application, but having it set to 2 would not harm anything.



When W1/E and W3 are jumped it means you are using the same set of heat strips for stage 3 heat and emergency heat. This is very common.

My question back to them (and perhaps someone here can weigh in?)

I set 0176 to E yesterday (not that we're running Aux Heat right now, breakers are turned off, but I wanted to be sure I remembered to change it from "2" before heating season).

Now, in terms of energy efficiency, would it be better to have W1 not jumpered to W3 so Em Heat and Aux Heat are different (5 kW on Aux Heat, 10kW on Em Heat if I can get the strips wired correctly)? My installer said something was strange in the wiring such that the 30A breaker labeled "Air Handler" on subpanel was actually a 5kW "last stage" (Em Heat?) and the 50A breaker labeled "Aux Heat" on subpanel was wired to two 5kW strips that were supposed to be my 1st stage of Aux Heat.

Between the electrician's apprentice and the HVAC contractor, I'm not sure what was wired/jumpered to what! Lack of communication I guess. I just want to stop running 5kW when I really only need GSHP, and run 5-10kW when it's really cold out instead of 15kW, if I can do that w/o having to spend all winter flipping breakers! Thanks.

Your Climatemaster stages the coil use for you, but again by time not temp. The reason you have two breakers for your aux coil is because 2 smaller circuits are cheaper than one big one, but they do not run independently of one another.
A 15 K is actually a piggy backed 5 and 10 K. What order they come on is controlled by dip switches in your heat pump. Set-up was done by your installer (or not). Check your manual for settings (particularly the book that came with the AGL15 coil).
j