FAQ — Bella Vista

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Space Heating

The house has two largely independent heating systems: a propane fueled central heater and a heat pump.

Nest thermostat (on dining room wall) for Central Heating system. Automatically controlled. Change momentary heat setting by ***gently*** rubbing on the outer edge with one finger in the direction of the arrows. Preset schedules: **at 6:30 up to 65 deg; at 8:00 up to 68 deg; at 9:30 down to 56 deg; at 17:30 up to 69 deg; at 23:00 down to 63 deg.**

(1) CENTRAL HEATING SYSTEM

This system does not provide A/C. It is propane-fueled, i.e., environmentally not desirable, as it emits CO2 into the air, which is why we prefer using the heat pump). This system is regulated by a remotely controllable NEST Thermostat. When a person is present in the home, the inside temperature is regulated to the schedule in the figure caption. The house is subject to so much passive solar heating that the furnace rarely has to come on to augment heat.

To set to a higher teperature, GENTLY rub with one finger on the outer edge of the thermostat. DO NOT TRY TO ROTATE THE ENTIRE THERMOSTAT; SIMPLY RUB ON ITS OUTER SURFACE. The temperature will automatically re-set to the programmed temperature at the next program time.

The thermostat will automatically re-set to the ECONOMY mode when you depart.

Please keep in mind that, should you use the fireplace, the thermostat "thinks" the entire house is warmer than it actual is, and the bedrooms will end up being cooler.

(2) HEAT PUMP

Remote for heat pump: Confirm that “Mode” is set, as desired, on “Heat” or “Cooling;” then set temperature with up and down buttons to desired temperature (recommend 73 for heating and 78 for cooling; then turn unit on with orange button.

The house has solar collectors that will provide plenty of clean electric energy for the entire annual demand, while not emitting any climate change-causing CO2. This is why we have installed the heat pump and recommend using it, rather than the “dirty” conventional propane-fired central heater.

The “minisplit”-type heat pump is installed over the front door. Use the remote in the corner next to the coat hangers. We recommend setting it to 73 degrees for heating and 78 deg for A/C, using the up and down keys. Use the mode switch to set for “heat” or “cool”. Best do this BEFORE you turn on the unit with the orange button, to avoid switching-caused delays within the unit. It will take about a minute for the heat pump to start heating after turning it on.

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During the unlikely event of a POWER OUTAGE and your strong desire to have space heat even though there is no power, press HERE to learn how you can connect the propane-powered central furnace to run on our back-up battery system. You will then not be able to use the heat pump for space heating.