An HVAC expert compares gas furnaces and electric heat pumps for home heating. Gas furnaces run 95-98% efficient, while heat pumps work best above 40-45°F and switch to gas backup in colder weather. The choice depends on your climate and whether you already have gas available.
Questions this episode answers
Once you drop below about 40°F (speaker also references a 40–45°F switching band).
About 95–98% (AFUE).
Described as 100% efficient electrically (but costly to operate at low outdoor temperatures).
Chapters
Gas furnace and heat pump. Now, you do have some electric furnaces. I haven't seen those in many houses outside of mobile homes. And in mobile homes, you have an electric furnace in the closet area and then you have an AC outside that is not efficient. So what we do in that situation is we actually put a heat pump outside, keep the electric furnace in the inside as a backup heat source. So when you talk about furnace, usually gas. So the difference is gas versus electricity. So when you have a gas furnace, you have natural gas, LP gas operating that furnace heat pump is strictly electric. There is no gas involved in it unless you get a dual fuel system. Now we get the phone calls, quite a bit of, hey, the gas is going really skyrocket. I want to change out my gas, I want to go straight electric. And the answer to that is dual fuel. You can do it in a package or split. And basically it is more efficient in this climate or any climate really. Once you drop below 40 degrees, it's more efficient to heat with gas than electricity. The reason being is that electricity, you have to use the backup heat source. When it gets really cold outside, using that backup heat source works, but it is quite expensive. So the best way to have it is heat pump until it gets to about 45, 40 degrees. Switch over to gas using the best of both worlds, and you're getting the most out of each system because, you know, get to 50, 60 degrees if you want to turn the heat on. Electricity is the way to go because it's very simple for it to operate in those temperatures, whereas gas is not as efficient as electricity in that situation. So furnace, you talk about gas and heat pump, you talking about electricity.
What is the difference between a split unit and a packaged unit?
Split and a package, what is the difference in? Let me add to that. Which one is better, which one is better? Hey, look at there. The manufacturer actually gives you a better warranty on a split system than a package system. So that is telling me as a consumer, hey, this is probably a better application and probably lasts longer if they're giving me a better warranty with it. So it kind of tells you a split over package. You see a lot of package units, especially in North Carolina when you have low houses, Package unit is a big box outside. Everything is in that box outside. So it's all in one. These really are popular on commercial applications. We have roof package units and they have taken that application and brought it to the ground. So these low houses, you have a lot of package units and frankly, they're probably popular with how did you say it? It's probably popular with jet lakes, people who don't have a license because it is an easier product to install, easier product to work on because you don't have to go to any other place. It's all outside, it's all contained, it's all one system. Now saying that when you go to split, you have a indoor section and an outdoor section. Go back to the first question. Furnace or heat pump, you have that one piece under the house and in that it could be vertical in the closet or vertical in the, in a mechanical room or a garage. And then you have the condenser outside. So split is. Because it's split, it's two systems. You have a copper line going to the outside unit and that outside unit is then feeding the inside unit. So package all together, split, split up, you have two different pieces.
What is more efficient, gas or electric heat?
Today they make 95, 98% efficient furnaces. I mean it's crazy. So basically what that is saying is for every dollar you spend in heating, you're getting 95 cent of heat in the house. The other 5 cent is going up to flue. Now with combustion you're always going to have some kind of loss. It's never going to be 100% efficient, whereas electricity is 100% efficient because there is no loss. It is efficient that way. The problem becomes when it gets cold outside, whereas you're using the strip heater or the back of emergency heat and that's 100% electricity. And you go out to your panel where your power comes in, you see that little thing that's like spinning like crazy and it's like whoa. Because you're using electric heat and you don't have that gas. I mean if you go to a, to a house, especially older homes with all gas appliances, they have a gas furnace, they have a gas dryer, they have a gas stove, they have a hundred amp panel in the house. That's not a lot of electricity. Whereas you go to a newer home with all electric, like my house, you know, everything is electric. Stove, heat, pump, dryer, everything's electric. We have a 200amp panel. We use more power. So it's kind of a give and take, use more power. But if that's the way you want to go, that's fine. Again, the most efficient way is really dual fuel. I mean if I could, I'll just use me for example, if I could have natural gas at my house that ends, I think it's like four or five Houses down the road. Natural gas is right there. So if they brought that to me, I would take it. I would switch up my unit to a dual fuel, keep my heat pump, put it in a gas furnace, probably a 95% gas furnace and use that natural gas heat because it is more efficient and natural gas is probably the best source you got. I mean if you have a choice between natural and lp, you want to pick natural. LP is a little more corrosive. It's just that in nature it has a little more water into it because it's a man made thing whereas natural gas is natural. So it's not as corrosive. So depends on the climate. I mean if I'm in, if I'm in Florida, you know, I'm using all electricity and I'm probably not using heat that much either. I'm using ac, but if I'm in North Dakota, I'm killing out some boilers and some oil and some gas and you know, it's more efficient to use that up there.
Almost 10 minutes.
I think that's good.
We'll save that other question for next time.
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