Heat Pump vs. Furnace

Which home heating option is best for your family this winter?

Are you considering updating your home’s heating equipment? At JW Pierson, we understand and appreciate that a new heating system is a considerable investment. Not only is this equipment fairly pricey, but it has a huge impact on your quality of life and home budget. Choose the wrong heating option for your home, and you won’t have the level of wintertime comfort you deserve. And considering that roughly 29% of the average U.S. home’s energy consumption involves space heating, you could end up spending way too much each year on fuel or electricity.

JW Pierson has been taking care of the heating needs of families in Bloomfield, Maplewood, Clifton and other northern New Jersey communities for over a century. We install tried-and-tested furnaces as well as today’s state-of-the-art heat pump systems. In this article, we’ll discuss how these two heating options compare — and which might be right for your home.

The Difference Between Furnaces and Heat Pumps

There are several differences between furnaces and heat pumps. Furnaces heat up air — generally using gas or heating oil — and distribute it throughout your home via ductwork and vents. Heat pumps are 100% electric and can come in either ducted or ductless models.

Perhaps the biggest difference between furnaces and heat pumps is how they heat homes. Furnaces generate heat, and heat pumps move heat between the inside and outside of your house. In the winter, a heat pump system draws in heat from outside and transfers it to your home.

Let’s compare heat pump and furnace performance using a series of metrics.

Upfront Costs and Installation Process

As a rule, if you’re replacing a system with the same type of equipment, the cost and disruption to your daily life should be lower.

For example, heat pump equipment tends to cost more than a new gas or oil furnace. But, if you need to install ductwork for an all-new furnace system, that will inflate the costs.

A ductless heat pump system is also fairly quick to install, often taking a day or less. However, if you already have a forced-air furnace system in place, replacing the furnace will take about a day as well.

Energy Efficiency

Both furnaces and heat pumps can have extremely high efficiencies, but each kind of system has energy-saving features to recommend it. Here are some factors to consider:

1. Heat pumps have both heating and cooling features so that you can cool your home in the summer with the same equipment.
2. Heat pumps tend to be zoned systems, so you can adjust air handling “heads” in individual rooms instead of keeping the whole home at the same temperature.
3. You cannot make as many efficiency temperature adjustments with heat pumps in the winter because these systems run more or less continuously.
4. Heat pumps often become much less efficient in freezing conditions.

Home Comfort

Because heat pumps can struggle to maintain indoor warmth in periods of sustained freezing temperatures, many households keep their oil or gas-fired heating equipment as a backup. Heat pumps tend to top out below the human body temperature. Conversely, furnaces can heat air well above 100 degrees.

At JW Pierson, we advise Garden State homeowners on the best, most efficient home heating. Reach out to us today to discuss your options and receive a FREE estimate.