Natural Gas Furnace or Heat Pump?

• Posted by: Admin

What do I choose for my Maryland Home?

Heat Pump

As part of the central heating and cooling system, a heat pump uses the outside air to heat and cool your home in winter and summer, respectively. During summer, the heat pump acts as an air conditioner while it acts as a heater during winter. Heat pumps are among the most versatile products, very flexible and efficient. As their name suggests, heat pumps act as transport systems of warm air from one point to another. In the winter, heat pumps will take heat from the outside air and take it into your home. During summertime, heat pumps will extract hot air from inside the house and pump it to the outside; cooling the house in the process.

Natural Gas Furnace

In the context of central heating system, a furnace is a system in which fuel combustion takes place, converting the fuel into heat. This heat is then distributed to the rooms within the house. Every furnace is made up of burners, heat exchangers, blower and flue that is used as an exhaust for the by-products. With efficiency of about 95% a gas furnace is a very good choice for the heating needs of your home. One major concern of the gas furnace is sustainability going into the future especially now that the world is transitioning to renewable energy sources. Overall, in extremely cold areas, gas furnaces are a good choice.

Dual Fuel System

A dual fuel system is a hybrid system. It combines the top features of the furnace with the best features of the heat pump. This system has sensors that ensure that as the outdoor temperature drops, the system automatically switches to furnace to ensure better efficiency and comfort.

Various considerations should be made when considering the type of system to be installed. They include:

Energy Efficiency

Furnaces and heat pumps are both efficient. Natural gas furnace has efficiency of about 95%. On the other hand, heat pumps has the ability to transfer 300% more energy than it consumes. This shows that heat pumps are more energy efficient. However, there are various factors which may affect the efficiency of the heat pump including outdoor temperature, and frequency of system maintenance among other factors.

Installation Cost

The costs incurred during a system installation will mostly be influenced by your home’s compatibility with the new HVAC system, and your current system’s set up. Some neighborhoods have access to natural gas while others do not. This makes it more expensive for home owners in these neighborhoods to install gas furnaces.

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)

Indoor air quality (IAQ) is essential to maintaining healthy life. Both heat pumps and gas furnaces have similar IAQ considerations. Products like whole-home air cleaners or fresh air ventilators are very good options for air quality maximization.

System Effectiveness in Cold Weather Conditions

A gas furnace would be a better choice for freezing temperatures as a heat pump would struggle to provide enough heat in such conditions. There are supplemental systems which can support heat pumps to provide enough heating for your home. The drawback of these supplemental systems is that they use a lot of energy. If used too often, the supplemental systems draw a lot of energy making the energy efficiency of the heat pump to be negligible. A dual fuel system is a good option when it comes to versatility as it can work well in both mild and below-freezing temperatures.

Lifespan and Maintenance

When well maintained, all the three systems can operate at the highest efficiency level for a long time. However, generally natural gas furnaces have a longer lifespan compared to heat pumps. One of the reason for the difference in lifespan could be that a furnace is located indoors while a heat pump is always located outside where it is affected by all types of weather conditions. Generally, a heat pump has a lifespan of about 15 years while the average lifespan of a gas furnace is about 20 years. Another explanation for the lifespan difference is the duration of use. Heat pumps and air conditioners are used throughout the year while the natural gas furnace is used for only a few months. Heat pumps have more mechanical parts than the gas furnace. These mechanical parts break down or malfunction often, meaning the probability of them failing in a heat pump is higher.

Location

Where your home is located could determine the suitability of a certain system. For example, homes in areas where winter temperatures are mild, heat pumps may be the perfect fit. On the other hand, furnaces are best for locations experiencing consistently below freezing temperatures.