Heat Pump vs. Furnace + AC in Oregon

Author: Bill Hoelzer / Published: June 2021 / Read Time: Four and a Half Minutes

Should you replace your gas furnace with an electric heat pump or install another furnace?

What if want to cool your home in the summer? Is a heat pump your best bet, or are you better off with central air conditioning?

Here’s our take:

If the upfront cost trumps all of your other priorities – like operating costs, comfort, or your carbon footprint – you should go with a furnace and central air conditioning.

But if you’re open to spending about 20% more for an energy efficient heat pump, you’ll pay less on your energy bills over time while getting consistent heating and cooling throughout your home.

Every situation is a little different. What makes sense for you? Feel free to give us a call at 541.330.8767 or schedule an appointment. You’ll get a breakdown of priorities, costs, cash incentives.

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In this article, we’ll call out common situations that we see and questions that we get from homeowners trying to decide: Should I replace my furnace and AC with a heat pump?

At a glance:

”I just bought a house with a new furnace and want to add cooling.”
“I have an older furnace and want to add cooling.”
“Upstairs, it’s always five to ten degrees hotter or colder.”

“I just bought a house with a new furnace and want to add cooling.”

We often hear from people who just moved in and want to add central air conditioning to a home with a new gas furnace. Sellers often swap out the furnace as part of the home sale.

If you have a brand new furnace, chances are that you have no interest in replacing it with a heat pump. Makes sense, but if you want to add cooling, does that mean you should go with a central air conditioner?

Not exactly.

For only a few hundred dollars more, you could install one of Rheem’s RP series heat pumps, which would save up to 50% or $1,620 over 10 years compared to an older 10 SEER central air conditioning system.

A heat pump would deliver cool air more efficiently in the summer months, and you could use the heat pump as your primary heating source during the winter months. The RP series heat pumps from Rheem come with a moderate price tag because they don’t operate as efficiently during ultra-cold temperatures.

When it gets really cold outside, you’ll want to use your new furnace.

Homeowners who want to replace their furnace should go with a higher end heat pump from Mitsubishi that can operate efficiently all the way down to -13° F (more below).

“I have an older furnace and want to add cooling.”

Let’s start with the numbers.

Gas Furnace + AC: Installing a 96% efficient gas furnace typically ranges between $5K and $6K, with a low efficiency air conditioner adding another $4K.
Heat Pump: A new heat pump, by comparison, typically costs between $10K and $12K.

So if you’re thinking about replacing an aging furnace and adding a cooling system, you could expect to pay about 20% more for a high performance heat pump.

Is the additional 20% worth it? Of course only you can decide. Here’s why most of our clients decide to go with heat pumps - Mitsubishi heat pumps in particular.

It’s really all about the energy savings and consistent heating and cooling. Heat pumps use inverters to run at multiple speeds so that they can match your exact heating and cooling needs at home. You waste less energy and get the temperature just right in each area of your home.

Here’s an analogy for how a furnace and heat pump operate. Imagine that you want to take a shower, and all you have is a five gallon bucket of warm water. You could pour the bucket over your head, or allow the water in the bucket to come out gradually over five minutes.

When you turn on your furnace, you get a blast of hot air, like pouring a bucket of warm water over your head. By contrast, a heat pump allows heated and cooled air to come out at a moderate rate over a longer period of time.

Rather than blasting air and watching the curtains blow, a heat pump matches your heating and cooling needs. It’s called load matching, and it’s how heat pumps make homes so much more comfortable.

“Upstairs, it’s always five to ten degrees hotter or colder.”

We hear about temperature differences between floors more than almost anything else. You’ll find a deep dive in this article: Why is my upstairs so hot (summer) and cold (winter)?

This is what we recommend at a glance:

Why prioritize air sealing and insulation before installing a new heating or cooling system? If you don’t see your air leaks and add insulation, it’s like leaving your jacket wide-open in the winter. Even if you have a great jacket, you’re always going to feel drafts.

We recommend a heat pump to even out the temperatures between floors because heat pumps allow you to direct hot or cold air to specific rooms or floors. Your upstairs would have a dedicated air hander that quietly and efficiently allows you to set the exact temperature on that floor.

By comparison, a furnace or air conditioner responds to the temperature set at the thermostat, which is almost always downstairs. Even though you may get the perfect temperature downstairs, your upper floor will continue to be too hot or cold, even with the best furnace or air conditioner (here’s why).

At the end of the day, a heat pump gives you much more control over the temperatures throughout your home.