Which is more economical: heating with electric heat pump or a propane($1.50/gal) hotair ffurnace??

Question

Note that electricity in Phila PA area is about 6 cents/kwh--and the new heatpump has EER of 13.
Gas furnace also new and approx 94% efficient.
Both use the same whole house blower system.
Gas furnace kicks in when temp falls below 32 F in Phila area.

Thanks for your thoughtful replies....
jv

Answer 1

Since you have to have the gas furnace anyway, why the heatpump? If the gas furnace doesn't cut in until it's below 32F you're going to be mighty cold until it gets down there. The heat pump is not very efficient at all below about 40F. Besides the system will come on and blow cold air for about five minutes before the heat pump starts providing heat. And then the heat provided by the heat pump is a good 10 to 15 degrees below what the gas furnace provides. I know that from personal experience as I had a heat pump with electric strips as backup for years. When I had to redo my central unit I went to gas heat. My RV presently has a heatpump and gas furnace and the operating conditions are no different than what I previously had in my house. In other words cold air blowing while the heat pump was building up to generate heat and the heat pump runs out of starch below about 40F. Another problem with heat pumps is longevity. Since you use it for AC in the summer and heat in the winter the life expectancy of the compressor is much shorter than a compressor in an AC only system which runs only during hot weather. The heat pump may be a bit cheaper to run, in a moderate climate like here in the Southwestern U.S. I can't believe someone would install one in a climate like Philly has.

Answer 2

A heat pump cannot compete with direct electrical heating, which, in turn cannot compete with propane or natural gas. The advantage of a heat pump is that they are usually built to be reversible, providing air conditioning as well as heating.

Answer 3

gas is cheaper