Electric furnace or heat pump: advice for newcomer.

Hi there,

I recently bought a home on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, PA. When purchased, the home had an electric furnace installed in '08, along with propane heat and oil heat. I got rid of the oil and propane, and I'm left with just the electric furnace.

The house currently doesn't have gas run to it, and from my understanding the gas line is located a good distance from the home, so this may not be an option.

I'm worried running strictly off of my electric furnace is going to cost me an arm and leg, and my dad keeps throwing the idea of running a heat pump. The house is 1084 square feet, so it's not too much to heat. 2 bedroom, 1 bath, living room, kitchen/dining room upstairs. Unfinished basement, but still need to hold a steady temp. in the basement for the water lines.

Are there any suggestions out there to help school me on heat pumps a bit? It would be greatly appreciated!

 

Your right, heating your home with just an electric furnace will cost you big money. An electric furnace matched with a heat pump is your best bet.

 

Welcome to the forums.

I'm a big fan of natural gas. How far is "a good distance from the home?"

The heat pump will replace the A/C system if you have one so if you do have one... how old is it ?

 

There's no AC currently. I just got to turn the furnace on for the first time this afternoon, keeping it at 50 degrees to keep pipes from freezing for the time being while work is being complete. I'm not sure exactly how far the nearest gas line is, someone is supposed to come from the gas company next week to let me know how far. I'm hoping by chance it's under 150 feet, but I have a bad feeling it's going to be a lot more, and after 150 feet, the gas company charges 30-60 per foot...