Gas Furnaces

Gas furnaces are the most common type of heating equipment in the US. The
benefits of choosing a furnace over a heat pump include:

• Efficient operation at low temperatures – Furnaces convert a combustible
  fuel source into heat for your home. Their performance doesn’t suffer
  when the temperature drops outside, unlike heat pumps that are less energy-efficient
  when temperatures dip below freezing outside.
• No need to defrost – All furnace components are located indoors,
  so they are never exposed to the elements. Heat pumps go into defrost
  mode when ice begins to form on the outdoor condenser, which redirects
  heat that belongs in your home back to the outside. This important function
  keeps the heat pump working well, but it involves temporarily abandoning
  your home. This is not the case with a furnace, which expends all its
  energy heating your home.
• Hot temperatures at all times – If you love resting your toes on
  supply registers to warm them up, a furnace is right for you. It produces
  nice, hot air at all times for quick recovery periods and a warm, cozy
  environment. This is compared to a heat pump that produces a more lukewarm
  temperature to gradually increase the indoor temperatures.

Heat Pumps

While not as common as their furnace counterparts, heat pumps offer some
tremendous benefits over furnaces. These include:

• Year-round comfort – In the winter, heat pumps extract warmth from
  outdoor air and deposit it into your home. They also work in reverse to
  pull heat from your home during the summer and exhaust it outdoors. In
  this way, you only need one piece of HVAC equipment for all four seasons.
• Safer operation – While it’s uncommon for a furnace to ever
  start a fire or leak carbon monoxide into the living space, these dangers
  don’t exist at all with heat pumps. This is because they use electricity
  to heat and cool your home, not a combustible fuel source. With no open
  flames or fumes to vent, heat pumps boast an impressive safety record.
• Unmatched energy efficiency – When the temperature is relatively
  mild outside, heat pumps extract enough heat for your home to run at 300
  to 400 percent efficiency! This is possible because the heat pump only
  consumes one unit of electricity for every three to four units of heat
  it pumps into your home. Efficiency only drops when the temperature dips
  and the backup electric resistance heater comes on to ensure continued
  warmth even with bitter outdoor conditions.

The varying benefits of furnaces and heat pumps make it clear why some
homeowners prefer one over the other. If you’re still deciding which
option is right for you,
contact American Mechanical today for more information!