Reducing CPH (Cycles Per Hour) will make the unit run longer, and have fewer on/off cycles. This is better for efficiency, and possibly unit longevity. This may increase the temperature swing, but I doubt you will notice the difference with the following settings. You can start by using 2 for 220, and 2 for 230. Leave the other CPH settings alone. Less Aggressive should help reduce aux engagement. See how this works as far as the effect on run times in various stages.

The fan setting should be easy to activate and deactivate (probably through the regular menus.) Try it and see if you like it. It should be set to either continuous on, or automatic. From what I understand, the circulate setting may be bad for the blower (fan) due to all the extra start/stop cycles.

Someone else will need to answer your condensation question.

Whenever possible, don't manually change the thermostat setting. Doing so may engage aux heat sooner. Better to program temperature changes and use the Adaptive Intelligent Recovery setting (already enabled on your thermostat.)

I changed the settings on the tstat as suggested.  I also turned the fan on.  Fortunately and unfortunately, it is a warmer day here in the dayton Ohio area.  My unit has not been working much if at all today.  The back of my house faces south with huge windows and now I have the green house effect going on.  I will capture the run times tonight and see how these new settings work.  Any thoughts on the version of Honeywell thermostat I currently have? 

We kept the tstat on permanent hold at 69.  Now with our electric bills, I have it set to 68.

condensation issues? - What is causing that?

My geo runs every five minutes on stage 1 and stage 2 all day long before switching to aux

Guess I didn't understand that from your initial posts... from what I read it seemed like your system was cycling from 1->2->aux every 30 mins or so.

If they are coming out again you should have them give you all the numbers.

1) Where you live
2) Heat loss/gain calculations for your home
3) Brand, size (model) and type of heat pump
4) Type of loop field (open/closed/vertical/horizontal) size and design parameters
5) Average cost/Kwh of electricity and consumption
6) Entering and leaving air temperatures (EAT, LAT) measured immediately upstream and downstream of the heat pump
7) Entering and leaving water temperatures (EWT, LWT) measured at the heat pump(s). (get the pressure drop across the ports as well)
8) Percent of load to be covered by geo and balance point
9) Installers assessment of your systems operation.
10) Projected operating costs, actual operating cost and previous heating and cooling costs

Posted By OhioBuckeye on 27 Feb 2011 12:27 PM
  I will give my builder a call as well asking for detailed information on my loop size.  I am hoping this is not an issue where the lines are undersized for my house.

Thanks!

Have you given us the EWT (temperature of the loop coming in to the heat pump) yet?

What ever issues you are having with the unit cycling and using aux heat are most likely not tied to the length of your loop.

I have not.  I will print out all the questions and make sure to have the technician give me all the answers the next time he is out.  As I stated, I made the changes to the tstat.  The first stage cycled on at 6:05 and ran for 5 minutes before stage 2 cycled on.  It is warm here in Dayton, 58 degrees and the house is sitting at 68.  The auxiliary power never cycled on which is a good thing and stage 2 ran for 2 to 3 minutes. 

I am assuming this is better, but shouldn't stage one be able to keep and not have to cycle on to stage 2?  It seems like the system is never allowing stage 1 to run more than 5 minutes.  What is controlling this as I am beginning it is not the tstat?  Am i incorrect?

Thanks

I know you have a Honeywell TrueZone, but would you please post the model number?

HZ432 Within the configuration the manual states stage 2 timer and stage 3 timer. Both timers can be for between 5 and 60 minutes. I didn't see anything for the stage 1 timer on the true zone.

http://www.forwardthinking.honeywell.com/related_links/zoning/truezone/install/69_2070_01.pdf

I agree, you've got timer.

Stage 1 starts when the thermostat calls. Stage 2 is set to engage at 5 minutes.

Thank you guys for all your input!  The Honeywell truezone then needs to be configured so the timing is set to off?  This way stage two only cycles on when the tstat calls for it?  Am I on the right path?

Again, thanks! 

Matt

I'm not sure which is best with a true zoned system and your equipment.

I have a 2 zone system with Honeywell VisionPro 8000s and the same True Zone panel that you have. I checked my settings on the TrueZone. Stage 2 and Stage 3 are set to "TSTAT" control, not TIMER, %ZONES, or OFF (the other 3 choices).

By setting th fan to run constant you are quite possibly disabling the zone system. whether or not that is a good thing.......
If you permit a timer (vs temp) contol system, you will not achieve best efficiency.
J

Using the TSTAT control that was suggested should allow the Less Aggressive setting in the thermostat to be used instead of the timer (which is still overriding the tstat at this point.) I assume the less aggressive setting and the CPH settings would need to be changed on all of your thermostats. Speak to you installer about these changes before making them to make sure he/she is ok with them.

I spoke to the installation company today and they were waiting for my phone call per the service manager.  I gave my builder a call and he called them early on Monday.  Must have been very early as i called at 8:15.  I gave them all the information you guys helped me with in regards to the Honeywell True Zone panel actually overriding the tstat. 

I am still not happy the technician didn't take the time to listen to my words as I explanined to him my auxiliary was running for 80% of the time.  His mind was made up when he identified my second zone to the upstairs was off and he decided that's what was causing my high energy usage. 

The service manager is involved and now they are going to get the product manager involved as well.  It appears, they are having the same problem with many of the homes they have installed this unit in.  Again, with all of your help I think we figured it out. 

I'll be anxious for them to come over to confirm the truezone is set to timer.  I might go through the settings myself to determine if that is the case.  I just don't want to accidentally change a setting and cause harm to my geo system.

I will make sure I cover the tstat changes you guys recommended and see how they feel about those.  I also sent them the list of items that need to be documented like the EAT, LAT, EWT and LWT.  I can't wait to get this system working as I have read on many accounts they are very very efficient.

Posted By OhioBuckeye on 28 Feb 2011 02:06 PM
It appears, they are having the same problem with many of the homes they have installed this unit in.

I'll be anxious for them to come over to confirm the truezone is set to timer.  I might go through the settings myself to determine if that is the case.

I'm not surprised.  Someone is either setting these up incorrectly, or maybe this is a default setting.  I would wait for them and not go into the settings.

Based on your many observations, I don't think there is any doubt that the 5 minute timer is enabled.  Before they go to the unit, you can demonstrate this to them with the system running.  There is little chance that the when they see 2nd stage engage at exactly 5 minutes, and aux heat engaging exactly 5 minutes later that they will doubt you.

I wonder if you should videotape (or take pictures of) the thermostat (with the date and time in the camera display) to document this problem (before they get there.)  Hopefully the installer is reputable, and they will make their error right by you in some mutually agreeable fashion.  It sure seems as if you spent more than you should have with aux running unnecessarily.

Has there been any resolution to this? Inquiriing minds want to know!

I want to start by thanking everyone on this forum that assisted me with my problem. I have been busy working outside cutting down trees and getting our yard ready to plant grass seed. I am tired of living in mud.
I confirmed that my Honeywell Truezone panel was set to %timer and not tstat. Again, thank you all for your help!
Well the company that installed and configured the system has yet to assist me. I spoke to the Sales Rep on Monday, February 28th and explained to him my situation and what the issue was. He stated to me that he was going to involve the Sales, Product and Service Manager and that he would promptly give me a call back. I wanted for 3 days until on Thursday he called me back without any information. He stated he was going to email all this information pertaining to my Geo system but he failed to do so.
After waiting several days until the point my blood started to boil, I called the company and asked the company operator to speak to the highest level manager or even the owner to explain to them my situation. She transferred me to Darryll the Service Manager. I proceeded to explain to him in great detail my issue with my system, how the service rep did not resolve the problem, and how I spoke to the Sales Rep. I ended by stating I that I figured he was already aware of my issue and he explained to me that he wasn’t and that the Sales Rep never called.
Darryll immediately knew what the issue was and stated the panel was set to %timer and not tstat. Based on my unhappiness with the service technician he was unwilling to send him back out to resolve the issue, since they had already been out four other times. Thankfully, I kept my composure while articulating to him my dissatisfaction without making it personal, just stating the facts.
They are sending out a technician from Climate Master and he will be here tomorrow. I’ve just had to wait for him for over 3 weeks. Since they could not figure out the issue the Service Manager suggested he dispatch the Climate Master rep. They also suggested my Honeywell tstat may not be compatible with my system and may need to switch it out with one that has the IAQ technology.
Needless to say I am very dissatisfied with this company. They have not displayed the professionalism I would expect from a company. I am going to speak to them about paying for half of my electric bill since it was due to their configuration for causing me such high electric bills. Any suggestions on what is the best approach to use in getting them to agree in paying for half would be much appreciated. Once my situation is resolved, I plan on calling the BBB and reporting them. I know there isn’t much I can do but I have had the opportunity to speak to people that plan on building homes and explain to them why they should not use this company.

Butch1f

Check to see if the truezone panel is set to %timer. If your stages are cycling on for between 5 to 60 mintues at a time then yes that may be your issue. As I stated, I confirmed my panel was set to %timer and not tstat.
For the sake of my electricity bills, I changed my settings for a few days to tstat and voila, my auxillary power never engaged. My system ran on stage 1 and then when it needed to on colder nights it called for stage 2. Stage 2 would only run for a few minutes then it would cycle to stage 1.

I installed climatemaster tranquility 27 horizontal ground system this past fall in Mn with the intent to cut my energy costs. However, I have also experienced excessive electric bills ... $600 per month this winter.
I have a climatemaster tstat (ATP32UO3). Early in the winter I had a water too cold fault, and my contractor had to clip some resistor on the unit to allow the unit to run with colder input water. The water temp coming in was 35.5 and going out to the field was 30.4 when the originally tested.

Is my loop undersized? or is this a setting issue on my tstat for why my electric bills are so excessive..