For many years, furnaces have remained the heating system of choice for homes in Greensboro and elsewhere in the US. Indeed, according to data from the last census, 48% of American homes rely on gas furnaces for heat. However, the days when gas furnaces continue to hold that top spot may be coming to an end. That’s because more homeowners each day opt for heat pumps as a more efficient heating alternative. Since the team here at Aurora Pro Services Heating, Air, Plumbing, Electrical, & Roofing has expertise with both types of heating systems, we’ve prepared this guide to help homeowners choose between the two.
The Benefits of Gas Furnaces
The fact that gas furnaces remain so popular around the country isn’t an accident. It’s the result of the many advantages homeowners gain by using one. Those advantages begin with rock-solid reliability. Since gas furnaces rely on mature and well-understood technology, homeowners can count on them to deliver reliable heat year after year. And, since they’re fairly mechanically simple, it doesn’t take much regular maintenance to keep them running well.
Gas furnaces also offer an efficient heating option, with the most efficient models boasting AFUE ratings of 98.7. That means 98.7% of the gas burned in such a furnace turns into usable heat for your home. When paired with the relatively low cost of natural gas, that makes for an economical heating choice for any homeowner.
Furnaces also offer some of the best heating performance you can get. They operate at high temperatures, which means they can raise the temperature in a cold home very quickly. That means you’ll never find yourself shivering in the cold while waiting for your furnace to get your home to your desired temperature.
The Drawbacks of Gas Furnaces
Although gas furnaces come with plenty of advantages, they’re not perfect machines. There are also a variety of disadvantages to using one as your home’s primary heat source. The most serious of those is the fact that gas furnaces always emit some carbon monoxide even when operating as intended. Each year, carbon monoxide poisoning sends an average of 20,000 Americans to the hospital, with 400 succumbing to the gas and dying. And each year, leaking furnaces and boilers are the number one cause of such incidents.
Gas furnaces are also quite difficult to install. If your home doesn’t have an existing gas furnace, installing one requires running gas lines to the installation location, which is no easy task. And, even if your home has the necessary infrastructure, it will require ongoing maintenance to make sure it remains safe. Gas leaks, although uncommon, can cause air quality issues and even explosions if they go undetected for too long.
The Benefits of Heat Pumps
Heat pumps offer a newer, cleaner heating option for homeowners here in Greensboro. And, it’s an option that’s especially well-suited to the climate here. That’s a big reason that they’re gaining popularity among homeowners here. However, the biggest reason they’re so popular is their efficiency. An air-source heat pump can operate at efficiency rates as high as 500% in ideal conditions. That means they produce five units of heat for every unit of electricity they consume. It also makes them as much as five times as efficient as even the best gas furnace on the market today.
It’s also true that heat pumps are far safer than gas furnaces. Since there’s no combustion process involved, there’s no chance of air quality issues or harmful leaks. Depending on the form factor you choose, heat pumps also tend to take up far less space than gas furnaces. In the case of mini-split heat pumps, you can install one in the smallest of homes.
The most important advantage of heat pumps, though, is that they don’t only provide heat. They can operate in cooling mode, too. That means you can replace your home’s gas furnace and its AC system with a heat pump, which does the work of both. And although heat pumps aren’t as efficient in cooling mode, they’re still among the most efficient cooling options on the market today.
The Drawbacks of Heat Pumps
The primary drawback of heat pumps is their price. The average heat pump can, in some cases, cost more than a gas furnace to purchase and install. That’s especially true if your home already has the gas lines it needs already in place. However, the cost of heat pumps continues to decline as more companies begin to manufacture them in larger quantities.
Heat pumps also have a reputation for struggling in cold weather. That’s because they don’t produce heat but rather capture heat energy from the outside air to heat your home. Therefore, it’s natural that their performance could suffer when the temperature drops too far outside. Fortunately, that’s not too much of an issue here in Greensboro since the average temperatures here don’t drop far below freezing, even in the middle of winter.
Lastly, heat pumps rely on electricity to operate, which means your home would lose heat in the event of a power outage. And although you could say the same for a gas furnace, it is possible to operate one of those using a battery backup system. A heat pump, however, draws so much electricity that you’d need a standby generator to keep one working in the event of a blackout.
Choosing the Right Option
Now that you know the advantages and drawbacks associated with gas furnaces and heat pumps, you should be capable of making a smart decision on which to install in your Greensboro home. The choice, in most cases, comes down to a few key considerations. If your home already has a gas furnace installed, it’s often cheaper upfront to install a new one rather than replace it with a heat pump. However, if long-term operating cost savings is most important to you, the unbeatable efficiency of a heat pump should prove irresistible to you.
Whichever you choose, however, you’ll need a trustworthy HVAC company to install it for you. That’s where we come in. At Aurora Pro Services Heating, Air, Plumbing, Electrical, & Roofing, we offer comprehensive home services to all of the residents of Greensboro and beyond. We handle HVAC installation, repair, and maintenance, and that’s not all. We also offer roofing, plumbing, and electrical service, too. So, if the only thing holding you back from choosing a heat pump is the fear of losing heat in a power outage, we can install a standby generator for you to eliminate the problem. Plus, we believe in total satisfaction for every customer. That means we won’t rest until you’re happy with your new heating system, whether it’s a gas furnace or a heat pump!
So, when the time comes for a new heating system for your home in Greensboro, contact the experts here at Aurora Pro Services Heating, Air, Plumbing, Electrical, & Roofing, and we will help you select and install the option that’s perfect for you!
