Why Installing Heat Pumps or Gas Furnaces is not a Black and White Decision

When heating your home, would you rather use a heat pump or natural gas heating? There is divided opinion on this matter with the proponents of natural gas heating saying the interest in heat pumps is fueled by mere exuberance. Some still say that heat pumps do not offer supplemental heat. This makes the decision to install heat pumps a bit tricky to those who have no deep knowledge on how they work.

To calm the chaos, you need to look at a few things which will give you a basis on which to make your decision. For instance, the climatic zone, the rates chargeable for gas vis-à-vis electricity, the source of your electricity, building enclosure, and modern equipment will determine what your choice should be.

Climate Zone

In places where cooling loads dominate such as Arizona, Phoenix, Georgia or Valdosta require heat pumps and not gas furnaces. Cooling loads simply refer to the cooling requirements of the homes calculated by the area of the spaces. Climatic zones matters a lot however you need to be careful because there is no a one-size-fits-all approach. Even in the same climatic zone such as Maine and Florida, you may have varying cooling needs with Maine having more of heat pumps while Florida more of furnaces.

Electricity and Gas Rates

Even in the same climate zone, putting a gas furnace in one location while installing a heat pump in another may make sense in certain conditions. Natural gas rates have been relatively low for a number of years but still some households are stuck with electric heat pumps. Georgia for instance has enjoyed low gas service charges since the deregulation of the gas industry in the 1990s.

One of the problems with using gas and electricity rates is the difference in billing units. For gas, you pay for the therms you use while electricity is charged in kilowatt hours. You also need to factor the efficiency of the furnace and find out the cents per BTU you pay for gas and electricity. If you want to do a much more comprehensive analysis, you need to bring in the maintenance costs and the lifespan of the different equipment. The numbers will tell you what to go for.

The Source of Electricity

If you are an environment enthusiast, you may want to look at the sources of the various fuel options available. Natural gas has lots of fracking concerns while electricity may be generated by natural gas or burning coal. Depending on where you live, electricity may be generated by hydro power which is considered much cleaner even though it disrupts the aquatic ecosystems. If you want to build a net zero energy home, heat pumps are much more attractive because they come with lots of incentives to help make onsite power production feasible.

High Performance Homes

At low temperatures, heat pumps require supplemental heat. However, this does not make them unacceptable because the modern models are constructed with the supplemental heat aspect in mind. They come with high degree efficiencies, larger capacities and exceptional integrated technology.  Examples of these heat pumps include ground source and mini-splits. It may be argued that furnaces are also upgraded.  However, it is easier and less expensive to install a heat pump which is small enough to suffice the loads of high performance homes than it is to get a matching furnace.

It is therefore important to look at the factors as outlined above and not just fall for either a heat pump or furnace because an expert has made a blanket endorsement for heat pumps.