A reliable heating system is essential to keep your family safe and comfortable as we head into the cold winter months. If you are upgrading your home’s current system or building a new home, you’ll need to decide on a heating method. Fortunately, you have a few options: heat pump or furnace. Making the right choice for your home will affect your family’s comfort, budget, and environmental impact.
In this post, we’re going to explore each option, heat pump vs. furnace, including the advantages of each, so you can make an informed decision.
What is a heat pump?
A heat pump is a part of a home heating and cooling system. Though heat pumps have been used for many years, they are less prevalent than other types of HVAC systems. However, heat pumps are gaining popularity as an energy-efficient, more sustainable alternative to natural gas furnaces.
Heat pumps essentially transfer heat from one place to another. Air-source heat pumps move heat between the air inside a home and outside a home, while ground-source heat pumps (also known as geothermal heat pumps) transfer heat between the air inside a home and the ground outside a home.
In this article, we’re going to focus on air-source heat pumps. Like an air conditioner, air-source heat pumps use both an outdoor and an indoor unit which work together to control the temperature of your home. During the cooler months, a heat pump extracts heat from the outside air and transfers it inside the home. They are powered by electricity and transfer heat using refrigerant lines to provide year-round comfort.
Heat Pump Advantages
Heat Pumps offer several advantages over their furnace counterparts. Let’s take a look at a few:
- Environmentally Friendly – Many homeowners want to become more sustainable and reduce their carbon footprint. Heat pumps do not burn fossil fuels like natural gas furnaces, making them the more environmentally friendly heating option.
- Energy Bill Savings – Heating your home uses more energy than any other system and contributes to a large percentage of your monthly utility bills. Energy-efficient heating systems like heat pumps can save you money by using less energy. In many cases, heat pumps are the most affordable way to heat a home.
- Year-Round Comfort – Not only do heat pumps heat your home during the cooler months, but they can remove heat from within the home during the warmer months, exchanging it for cooled, conditioned air, offering year-round comfort. By choosing to install a heat pump, you may not need to install separate systems to heat and cool your home.
Heat Pump Disadvantages
- Initial Cost – Heat pumps generally cost more to install initially than a gas furnace. However, some energy grants or rebates may be available to reduce the purchasing cost, depending on your location.
- Less Efficient in Extreme Weather – It is a myth that heat pumps don’t work in cold weather, and it may surprise you that your heat pump can still extract heat from outdoors, even during the winter! Advances in technology have made heat pumps capable of performing efficiently, even up to -30 degrees C. However, your heat pump may become less efficient during extreme weather and may need supplemental systems to work in tandem with during the coldest days.
What is a furnace?
A furnace is probably the type of heating system you’re most familiar with. This type of heating system uses fuel, usually natural gas, to generate heat in your home. Your furnace uses a pilot light or electronic ignition to ignite the gas to create heat in the furnace’s burner. This heat passes through a heat exchanger and the resulting warm air is circulated throughout your living spaces through your home’s ductwork system.
Furnace Advantages
- Effective Heating – Furnaces produce consistent heat that can effectively warm your home even during the most frigid winter days.
- Durability – Between heat pumps and furnaces, furnaces usually have a longer lifespan, especially if your heat pump is dually used for both heat and air conditioning. Regular maintenance can help extend the life of your furnace.
Furnace Disadvantages
- Less Energy-Efficient – Furnaces are much less energy-efficient than heat pumps. In the long run, it may be more expensive to run your gas furnace.
- Higher Carbon Footprint – Gas furnaces burn natural gas, a nonrenewable energy resource. Although natural gas is a relatively clean-burning fossil fuel compared to burning coal or petroleum products, your gas furnace still adds to overall carbon emissions and is less environmentally friendly than a heat pump.
- Only Used in Winter – A gas furnace is only used to heat your home during the cooler months. You will need a separate cooling system, such as central air conditioning, to cool your home in the summer.
Your home’s heating system keeps you and your family safe and warm during the cold winter months. Both heat pumps and furnaces have their own set of advantages and disadvantages and it’s important to choose the right system for your household. For all your heating needs, contact us today at Lynn’s Heating, Cooling, Sewer, and Drain in Winnipeg!
Greetings, I’m Dallas. I’m a small business owner living in Winnipeg, MB, Canada and operate Lynn’s HVAC Winnipeg: Heating Cooling Sewer & Drain.
Lynn’s HVAC Winnipeg plumbing, heating, cooling is a small family owned and operated business since 1980. We pride ourselves on quality work completed by licensed technicians. We believe our outstanding customer service sets us apart from other Winnipeg residential plumbing, heating and cooling companies. Experience the difference and be a part of the Lynn’s family! “We provide comfort at your door!”
Services we provide:
– HVAC repair, – AC repair & install, – Furnace repair & install, – Hot water tanks, – Water heaters, – Clogged drains & sewage, – Plumbing
Areas we serve:
Winnipeg, Oakbank, Beausejour, La Salle, Ile Des Chênes, Stonewall, Niverville, Gimli, Ste. Francois Xavier, Landmark, Selkirk, Steinbach, Stony Mountain, Winnipeg Beach, Lorette & More!
