Heat pump vs gas furnace, I switched and here's what my energy bill says now

I had to make a call last fall when our old gas furnace finally gave out after 15 winters here in Columbus. The quotes came in at $6,800 for a new gas unit versus $9,200 for a heat pump with the federal rebate applied. I went with the heat pump even though it hurt upfront, mostly because our state offers a $500 credit on top of that. It's been 4 months now and my December bill dropped from $210 to $145 compared to the same time last year. The house does feel different though, the air comes out cooler and takes longer to warm up a room. I'm curious if anyone else made this switch in a colder climate and what their experience was with the defrost cycles kicking on during the really cold nights.

1 comments

1 Comment

rowan7257d ago

The defrost cycles are the part nobody talks about when they push heat pumps. Yeah your electric bill looks better on paper, but that cooler air means your system runs longer to hit the same temp, so you're not really saving as much as the numbers suggest. I'd check your auxiliary heat usage on the coldest nights, that's where the real cost sneaks in.