Which is better, a furnace or a heat pump?

For more than a century, gas furnaces have been a staple of home heating. But they’re a bit like an old gas-guzzler taking space in your garage – reliable, but not exactly modern, right? More and more homeowners are asking, "Is there a better way?" 

The answer, friends, is a resounding YES: Heat Pumps. But before you dive in, it's important to recognize that transitioning to a heat pump isn’t a one-size-fits-all situation. Let’s break down the options when you're thinking of swapping out that furnace for a heat pump.

First, let’s give credit where it’s due—gas furnaces heat homes quickly and have long been the default in cold climates. They rapidly raise indoor temperatures, making them a dependable choice during harsh winters. However, they come with serious downsides. Gas furnaces burn natural gas or propane to generate heat, a process that releases carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. The combustion process also produces nitrogen oxides, which can contribute to air pollution and respiratory issues inside the home. 

Beyond environmental concerns, gas furnaces pose safety risks, including potential carbon monoxide leaks, which can be extremely dangerous if not properly ventilated. 

And from an efficiency standpoint, gas furnaces fall short compared to heat pumps, with efficiencies between 70 and 90% depending on their vintage and specifications. Gas systems are regularly far-oversized for the amount of space they’re heating, to compensate for leaky ductwork or energy efficiency issues - to reduce the amount of contractor labor required to service an under-performing system.

Heat pumps, on the other hand, are changing the game. 

Because you’re here, let’s be clear: we’re talking today about centralized heat pump systems, not mini-split heat pump systems. Mini-split heat pump systems are the kind you may be used to seeing sticking out on a wall. Centralized heat pumps - which can also cool, by the way - tie into a home’s existing ductwork, and blow conditioned air through registers into the home. So no disruption to the look and feel of your living room!

Heat pumps don’t rely on combustion; instead, they transfer heat from the air outside to warm your home in winter and reverse the process to cool it in summer. This makes them incredibly energy-efficient, using electricity to move heat around rather than generating it through burning fuel. This gives them efficiencies - also called Coefficients of Performance - several times greater than the humble gas furnace. We’re talking of 300% or better efficiency improvements. This means three units of heat energy are moved into the house for each unit of electric energy used to move it, leaving gas furnaces totally in the dust.

Even in cold climates, modern heat pumps perform well, though they may need supplemental heating during extreme cold snaps. While the upfront cost of installation can be higher, the long-term savings on energy bills—and the reduced carbon footprint—make them a smart investment for a cleaner, more efficient future.

Harvest takes this efficiency a step further. Instead of solely transferring heat from outdoor air to indoor air, Harvest extracts heat from the air and stores it in a thermal battery using water as the heat storage medium. It distributes that stored clean heat as either hot water or hot air. By leveraging water’s heat retention, it optimizes energy use and reduces peak-time electricity demand. The battery charges when electricity is cheapest—usually in the middle of the day —reducing peak-time electricity consumption, but delivers heat just when you need it. Our system cuts monthly energy bills by up to 30% and emissions by up to 90%, making Harvest a game-changer in home heating.

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As you consider making the switch from a gas furnace to a heat pump system, keep in mind several key factors that will influence your decision. 

• If you have ductwork already installed, transitioning to a ducted central heat pump is likely the way to go.  Otherwise, homes without ductwork can easily adapt to mini-split systems.
• Check your electrical panel (or get your contractor to do this) as switching to a heat pump may require upgrades to accommodate increased electrical loads. 

While gas furnaces have served us well over the years, the future is electric, efficient, and powered by heat pumps…especially heat pumps with a thermal storage attached. Hint, hint.

Get Harvest today HERE.