Should You Run Your Heat Pump 24/7 in Winter? Here’s the Truth for Massachusetts Homeowners

If you grew up with an oil furnace or gas boiler, you’re used to a very simple rhythm: the heat turns on, blasts warm air, reaches the set temperature, shuts off, and repeats. Because of that, many Massachusetts homeowners assume their new heat pump should work the same way.

Traditional boiler furnace or natural gas systems burn fossil fuels in short, intense bursts, so it feels intuitive that every heating appliance should cycle in the same stop-and-go pattern.

But heat pumps play by different rules, especially cold-climate heat pumps designed for New England winters. Whether you own one of today’s ultra-efficient air source heat pumps, a ground source heat pump, or a ductless mini split, the technology is engineered for continuous, low-speed operation that squeezes warmth out of the outdoor air, even when it’s frigid. These source heat pumps are fundamentally different from fuel-burning heaters, and understanding those differences is the first step to maximising your home’s energy efficiency.

As Mass Save explains, cold-climate heat pumps can deliver efficient heating even when the mercury dips to –15 °F and achieve performance levels approaching 400 percent because they move heat rather than create it.

So the big question is: should you run your heat pump 24/7 in winter, or turn it down when you’re not home? For homeowners comparing heating cost options, this decision often feels like a real-time heating cost comparison between electricity and fossil fuels.

The short answer? In most Massachusetts homes, your heat pump should run almost continuously in winter and that’s a good thing. But there are exceptions, and understanding how your system works will help you choose the most comfortable and energy efficient approach, keeping both heating costs and comfort in perfect balance.

As Efficiency Vermont points out, “Heat pumps are remarkably effective as a primary heat source, even in the winter,” operating at roughly three times the efficiency of many legacy heating systems. That underscores why a unit that seems to run constantly is often just delivering heat in the most energy-smart way possible.

Let’s break it down.

Heat Pumps Work Best When They Run Steady, Not in Short Bursts

Traditional heating systems operate like an on/off switch: full blast or nothing. Heat pumps don’t. Instead, they use inverter-driven compressors that constantly adjust their output, sometimes running at 20 to 40 percent of their capacity for long, gentle heating cycles. That’s true whether you have a single outdoor unit feeding multiple indoor units in a ducted system, or several ductless mini splits providing zoned heating and cooling.

This steady approach keeps your home more consistently comfortable, reduces energy waste from frequent stopping and starting, keeps indoor humidity more stable, extends equipment life, and uses less electricity over time. Think of it like driving on the highway versus city traffic. Constant speed is more efficient than constant acceleration and braking, and that translates to lower heating cost and efficient heating all season.

As we at Endless Energy explain in our Best Heat Pump Thermostat Settings for Massachusetts Winters, inverter-driven compressors vary their speed to match your home’s load and “maintain a high coefficient of performance” even when outdoor temperatures dip below –15 °F. That flexibility is what makes long, gentle cycles more economical than repeated full-throttle starts.

So yes, running “all the time” is normal. If your heat pump never shuts off on a cold February day, that doesn’t mean it’s struggling. It usually means it’s doing exactly what it was designed to do. I know that feels counterintuitive if you’re used to a furnace that cycles on and off every twenty minutes, but it’s a completely different technology with a completely different operating profile, designed to protect HVAC components by avoiding harsh start-stop stress.

Should You Lower the Thermostat at Night?

With gas furnaces, lowering the temperature at night saves energy because reheating the home is cheap and fast. The furnace kicks on, blasts heat for fifteen minutes, and you’re back to comfortable. In many cases the heating cost of burning natural gas for a quick recovery seems minor, which is why older heating systems encouraged large setbacks.

With a heat pump, it’s different. Small setbacks are okay. Dropping the temperature 1 to 3 degrees at night may improve comfort for people who like sleeping in a cooler room, and it can save a little energy. But big setbacks are a no-go. If you drop your thermostat 6 to 10 degrees overnight, your heat pump has to work much harder in the morning to bring the temperature back up. And if the system can’t keep up with that demand, it may trigger auxiliary heat, which is less efficient and more expensive to run, quickly increasing your heating costs compared with steady operation.

Here’s a good rule of thumb: if your heat pump has backup electric heat, avoid large thermostat setbacks in winter. The savings you think you’re getting by letting the house cool down overnight get wiped out by the expensive auxiliary heat running in the morning to recover. You’re actually spending more money, not less, and any energy efficiency gain disappears.

Efficiency Maine cautions that “turning heat pumps down when you’re away or asleep may actually use more energy” because the system must work harder to regain lost warmth, often wiping out any perceived savings.

For most households, the best nighttime strategy is to aim for comfort, not constant tinkering.

Maintaining a consistent temperature setting typically lets the equipment stay in its high-efficiency zone; save the larger setbacks for absences of a full day or more.

Should You Turn Your Heat Pump Down When You Leave the House?

Again, it depends on how long you’re gone and how much you’re adjusting the temperature. The right strategy is also influenced by the type heat pump you have, air source, ground source, or ductless mini split, as well as how recently your heat pump installation was completed and whether the system was properly sized by a qualified heat pump installer.

If you’re gone for one to eight hours (like a normal workday) leave it running at your normal temperature, or lower it by just 1 to 2 degrees. The system will maintain comfort more efficiently by running steadily than by shutting down and having to catch up later, keeping your heating cooling costs predictable.

If you’re gone overnight or for a full day, a small reduction is fine, but big drops force the system to play “catch-up” just like nighttime setbacks. You’ll end up running auxiliary heat to recover, which defeats the purpose of turning it down in the first place. Consider this when doing a cost comparison against other heating cooling systems, you may notice that steady heat pump operation still wins on energy efficiency.

If you’re going away for several days like a winter vacation setting the thermostat to a safe minimum around 55 to 60 degrees is reasonable. When you return, be patient. Heat pumps warm slowly and steadily, not with that immediate blast of warmth you get from a furnace. Give it a few hours to bring the house back to comfortable rather than cranking the thermostat up to 75 hoping it’ll heat faster. That doesn’t work with heat pump systems and just triggers the expensive backup heat.

Your Home’s Insulation Makes a Big Difference

In older Massachusetts homes, especially pre-1980 construction, a heat pump may run nearly nonstop during a cold snap. That’s because warm air escapes quickly through poor attic insulation, old or leaky windows, gaps around doors, uninsulated walls, rim joist leakage, and drafty basements. The heat pump isn’t “failing.” Your home is losing heat faster than the system can replace it, which raises overall heating costs.

We see this all the time in Worcester County and MetroWest. Someone gets a beautiful new heat pump installed, and then they’re confused when it runs constantly on cold days. The reality is that the heat pump is doing its job, your house just needs help holding onto the heat it’s producing. Better air sealing, the right R-value insulation, and even upgrading an old electric water heater can all contribute to lower heating cost and improved comfort.

A statewide energy-efficiency program advises that sealing and insulating your home before upgrading your heating system is one of the most cost-effective ways to boost comfort and ensure new equipment runs at peak efficiency.

This is where Mass Save® weatherization upgrades become game-changing. After improving the building envelope with insulation and air sealing, homeowners often report that their heat pumps cycle off more frequently, their energy bills drop, temperatures feel more even throughout the house, they rely less on auxiliary heat, and defrost cycles are shorter. For many homes, a weatherization upgrade is the single best way to reduce winter heat pump runtime without sacrificing comfort. Mass Save’s energy efficiency partnership with installers like

Endless Energy is part of a larger northeast energy efficiency movement focused on transitioning households away from fossil fuels toward cleaner, efficient heating solutions.

When Running 24/7 Is Actually the Most Efficient Option

You’ll get the best comfort and performance if your heat pump runs continuously when outdoor temperatures are below freezing, your home is not well insulated, you have a multi-zone system with several indoor heads, you rely on ductless mini splits for whole-home heating, you want to avoid triggering auxiliary heat, the system is properly sized for long steady operation, and you have a smart thermostat designed specifically for heat pumps. 

By allowing those outdoor units and indoor units to modulate gently, you’re squeezing every bit of heat from the outdoor air while keeping your pump systems in their ideal efficiency zone.

Steady, low-speed operation keeps everything balanced, from temperature to humidity to energy usage. The compressor doesn’t have to work as hard, the system doesn’t experience the wear and tear of constant starting and stopping, and your home stays more comfortable because there aren’t those temperature swings you get with systems that cycle on and off. Over the course of a winter, this approach also proves cost-competitive with fossil fuels. 

When Running 24/7 Could Indicate a Problem

A heat pump running constantly is usually fine and expected. But there are situations where continuous operation signals that something’s wrong. If the system can’t reach the set temperature even after running for hours, if airflow feels weak, if the outdoor unit keeps icing up, if you hear strange noises from the compressor or fan, if you’re seeing extremely high electric bills that don’t match your usage, if you have no auxiliary heat kicking in when it’s extremely cold outside, or if you’re getting long periods of lukewarm or cool air instead of warm air, those are all signs that a technician should take a look. An experienced heat pump installer can diagnose whether the issue is with the refrigerant charge, airflow restrictions in your indoor units, or control settings that need tweaking to protect HVAC longevity.

The difference between “normal continuous operation” and “something’s wrong” usually comes down to whether the system is maintaining comfort. If your heat pump runs all day but keeps your house at 68 degrees like you asked, that’s normal. If it runs all day and your house is stuck at 62 degrees and won’t budge, that’s a problem, and scheduling a professional heat pump installation checkup is the safest way to safeguard energy efficiency and performance.

What About Backup Heat? Does That Change Anything?

If your system includes auxiliary heat, whether that’s electric resistance strips or a fossil-fuel backup, your strategy changes slightly. When it’s very cold outside, running the heat pump continuously at a steady temperature helps avoid big temperature swings that could trigger expensive auxiliary heat. Every time your system has to “catch up” from a big setback, there’s a good chance it’ll need backup heat to do it, eroding the energy efficient benefits you installed the system for.

With hybrid systems, sometimes called dual-fuel systems, the fossil-fuel equipment may take over automatically below certain outdoor temperatures. This is programmed into the system based on the efficiency and cost of each fuel source. If you’re unsure how your system is programmed or whether it’s switching over at the right temperature for your situation, we can check and optimize it.

Mass Save reminds homeowners that “Homes and businesses that opt to keep a pre-existing heating system in place to supplement a new heat pump are required to install an integrated control that automatically switches between the two systems at a pre-set outdoor air temperature. The most cost-optimal switchover point is about 30 °F for oil backups and 5 °F for propane,” providing clear targets for avoiding unnecessary fossil-fuel run time.

Sometimes dual-fuel setups are installed with default switchover settings that don’t reflect current Massachusetts energy prices. A quick adjustment can save you hundreds of dollars over a winter, especially when you consider long-term heating cost comparison data.

So… Should You Run Your Heat Pump 24/7?

Here’s the simple breakdown.

Run it continuously as normal operation if it’s below 35 degrees outside, your home has moderate or poor insulation, you want maximum comfort and consistent warmth, you want to avoid triggering auxiliary heat, or you have a cold-climate system that’s properly sized for steady operation. The most energy efficient approach for many types heat pumps, from air source units to ground source systems, is to let them do what they were engineered to do: maintain a steady indoor temperature at the lowest possible wattage.

Use small thermostat adjustments, we’re talking 1 to 3 degrees, if you prefer it cooler at night, you’re leaving home for a short period, or you have good insulation and the system can recover easily without triggering backup heat. This tactic works for both central ducted heat pump systems and ductless mini systems that heat individual zones.

Use larger setbacks only if you’re leaving for multiple days, you don’t rely on electric auxiliary heat that costs more to run, or you’re okay with a longer warm-up period when you return and you understand it might cost more in auxiliary heat than you save during the setback. If your goal is efficient heating and cooling, balance convenience, comfort, and cost.

The bottom line is this: heat pumps like to run, and running doesn’t mean wasting energy. It means your system is doing exactly what it was designed to do. The sooner you let go of your expectations from furnace and boiler operation, the more comfortable and efficient your heat pump experience will be, no matter which type heat pump you use.

Need Help Optimizing Your Heat Pump? Endless Energy Can Help

From system sizing to thermostat setup to Mass Save® weatherization upgrades, Endless Energy helps homeowners across Marlborough, Framingham, Worcester, Newton, Waltham, and beyond stay warm all winter without breaking the bank.

As a trusted, local, family owned heat pump installer with over 40 years of home service experience, we understand the nuances of heat pump installation, the differences between ductless mini splits and central heating cooling systems, and how to choose heat pump models that meet strict northeast energy efficiency standards.

Whether your heat pump is running nonstop and you want to make sure everything’s working correctly, or it’s struggling to keep up and you need a professional assessment, we can evaluate your setup and improve both comfort and efficiency. We also help compare heating costs with natural gas or other fossil fuels so you can see the real-world cost comparison and long-term savings of going electric. Give us a call at 508-409-5709 or self-schedule a heat pump service or a free consultation for a new heat pump system.

Frequently Asked Questions: How to Run Your Heat Pump

Should I let my heat pump run all winter?
In many Massachusetts homes, running your heat pump continuously during cold weather is normal and efficient because modern units are designed for steady, low-speed operation.

Will running my heat pump 24/7 cost more?
Not usually. Because heat pumps adjust output and avoid repeated starts, steady operation often uses less energy than frequent cycling or large thermostat setbacks that trigger backup heat.

Is it okay to lower the thermostat at night?
Small adjustments (1–3 degrees) can be fine, but large setbacks often force the system to use expensive auxiliary heat to recover, negating any savings.

Should I turn my heat pump off when leaving for work?
For short absences, keep it steady or lower by just a couple of degrees. Large drops for short periods typically cost more in backup heat recovery.

Does insulation affect heat pump operation?
Yes. Poor insulation and air leakage make heat pumps run longer. Improving your building envelope through weatherization helps shorten runtime without losing comfort.