Heat Pump cycle in cold

[JeffB]

I live in Florida and the last few night sthe temp has been about 30 degrees. Our heat pump has been cycling on and off very frequently. As an example it might run for a minute, turn off for 10 second, run for 3 second, turn off for 10 seconds, run for 30 seconds, turn off for 15 seconds, etc for about 15-30 minute every hour. It must cycle on and off over 500 times between 6PM and 6AM. The tech that came out to check the system tells me that this is normal for heat pumps at these low temps. Perhaps it is, but it doesn't seem right to me. My neighbors heat pump is located about 25 feet from mine and I don't hear it doing anything similar. We also have a warranty and service agreement with the company this tech works for, so I am just looking for confirmation that what this tech is teling me is true and not simply somthing to avoid free work under the service agreement.

Thanks,
Jeff B

[JeffB]

He did not see it happening. During the day when he came out, the temp was about 50 degrees and the heat pump seemed to be running normally. I explaind that it would turn on an off a few times a minute. He said it was normal and part of the defrost cycle. I thought the defrost cycle meant it ran backwards and maybe the heat strips turned on. Also that defrost only happenes every 20, 30, 60 or 90 minutes depending on the *