Is Is Wise To Replace An Oil Furnace With Heat Pump Or Gas?
Posted on | December 18, 2009 | 5 Comments
I live in VA in a 40 year old 1300 sq ft house with an oil furnace for heat. My furnace is good, 3-4 years old, located in the garage. However the unit outside (used for the central A/C) is as old as the house. I want to replace that with a new larger energy-efficient model, and I would like input on whether I should redo the whole system or just replace the outside unit. I think a heat pump uses the outside unit to exchange heat, so if I went that way I would have to do it when I replaced the unit outside, right? I also don’t like paying a seperate oil bill ($150 every month). Would having an entirely electric system have an effect on my electric bill summer vs. winter? I have an electric tankless water heater. Nothing in the house is gas, so I would have to get it piped in. The oil tank is on a stand in the back yard, right outside my bedroom window, which I’m not too fond of.
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5 Responses to “Is Is Wise To Replace An Oil Furnace With Heat Pump Or Gas?”
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December 18th, 2009 @ 8:07 am
Gas will be cleaner to run ,but cost between oil and gas is not to different. Plus with oil you can chose where to buy it from. Heat Pumps are only good for Florida states and work not too well in severe cold temps(below 32 deg) and are no way better than gas or oil heat ! The electric bill will kill you!`
December 18th, 2009 @ 2:18 pm
If you are going to replace the A/C system, definitely put in a heat pump. The oil furnace can stay and the heat pump can be installed with the existing furnace.
Have the thermostat replaced with a dual fuel thermostat, which is programmable to run the heat pump to a programmed outdoor temperature, then turn the furnace on when it gets really cold and the heat pump becomes less effective to run.
Being that the oil furnace is relatively new, it would probably not make sense to install gas. Unless there is a gas line very close to your house, the gas company is likely to charge a pretty penny to run gas up to the house. Plus you’ll have to have a plumber to run the gas line to your appliance(s). These expenses plus the cost of installing a new gas furnace will probably not make sense as your payback will take several years.
It would probably be preferable to have gas because of the extra maintenance needed for oil furnaces, but if you had a heat pump with the oil, you would be much happier with using less oil.
I did this for my parents some years back. They have a 2500 square foot house and barely use a 275 tank of oil in a heating season and with the high efficiency heat pump, they have been happy with their bills.
December 18th, 2009 @ 7:30 pm
If you have to replace the AC, you should certainly consider a heat pump. The heat pump equipment would be installed in place of the AC unit. Both the outside unit and the coil inside would need to be replaced. Usually the unit can be fitted into your existing air handler (furnace). The cost difference for a heat pump vs AC is minimal vs the benefit. Heat pumps are not efficient as the outside temp drops, but a heat pump can carry the load on cool days for considerably less expense than a traditional furnace. Your furnace will heat on colder days.
If the furnace is that new, it is probably fairly efficient and there is no reason to replace it. People that are used to oil or gas heat usually are not happy with electric as the air is not as hot coming out of the ducts and it just doesn’t feel warm.
Both oil and gas prices will continue to go up, it is hard to predict which will out pace the other. Not sure what the electric regulation situation is where you are, but electric prices may be a bit more stable. Switching would be a gamble at best and you really would not gain much in the way of efficiency.
If you really want to get away from the oil, you may want to consider a geothermal system. It is a sizable investment on the front end, but the cost is usually recovered in 10 years or less. These systems also have a fairly warm output temp, so the perceived warmth is not an issue. There are some places that they simply will not work due to space limitations or soil conditions, but you should at least check with a dealer if you are determined to change your furnace. The geo would handle your cooling needs as well.
February 6th, 2010 @ 1:44 pm
I think the cheapest cost of solar energy for heat
February 24th, 2010 @ 8:44 pm
I believe natural gas is the way to go, it’s clean and does not sit in a tank outside your bedroom window. A heat pump will work fine but it really depends on where you live.