Most California homeowners want year-round home comfort. But, outdated and inefficient heating systems often make that comfort difficult (and expensive) to attain. Luckily, electric solutions, such as heat pumps, can help homeowners achieve this comfort efficiently and help the environment at the same time.
Today, we’re digging into the differences between electric heat pumps and more traditional gas furnaces. We’ll discuss which of the two is more efficient, and how your home can benefit from upgrading to a heat pump.
When you’re ready to reap the benefits of energy efficient electrification upgrades for your home, the Clean Energy Connection’s contractor directory can simplify the process.
Heat Pump vs. Gas Furnace Efficiency
Before we dive into which system is more efficient, let’s do a quick overview of how each works:
Gas Furnace
- Provides heat by burning fuel
- Runs on fossil fuels
Heat Pump
- During winter, extracts heat from the outside air and transfers it into your home to increase the temperature
- During summer, transfers heat from the inside of your home to the outside to lower the temperature
- Runs on electricity
Now, let’s talk about efficiency. Furnaces and other gas heating systems have a wide range of fuel efficiency (from 56% to 98.5%), depending on how old the system is and how energy efficient its design is. Heat pumps, under ideal conditions, can transfer up to three times more energy than they consume. In addition to being more efficient, heat pumps are powered by electricity, meaning you aren’t burning fossil fuels to heat your home.
Benefits of Heat Pumps for California Homeowners
Whether you’re considering replacing your old HVAC system with a ducted heat pump system or thinking about installing ductless mini-splits to increase the comfort and efficiency of your home, heat pumps provide many benefits to homeowners. These include:
- A single system for both heating and cooling
- Using electricity, rather than fossil fuels
- Reducing your home’s carbon footprint and lowering its impact on the local and global environment
- Allowing you to utilize clean electricity sources, such as solar power, for heating and cooling your home
- Increased safety due to use of refrigerant(s) rather than open flames
- Improved home comfort, with more even temperatures
Find a Heat Pump Contractor You Can Trust With the Clean Energy Connection’s Contractor Directory
When you make energy efficient home performance upgrades–such as replacing your gas furnace with an electric heat pump–you’re making an investment both in your home and in California’s clean energy future. The Clean Energy Connection’s contractor directory can make the process easier.
We assist homeowners looking to make environmentally friendly, energy efficient upgrades by connecting them to reputable, local clean energy contractors. We have a thorough vetting process that all contractors in our directory go through: from license verification, to reference checks, to ongoing customer satisfaction surveys. And, it’s simple to sort potential contractors by name, location, services offered, and locally available incentives and rebates.
Our contractor directory not only helps homeowners find the contractor that best fits their needs but also supports the development of the clean energy workforce in California. If you’re ready to upgrade your gas furnace to an energy efficient electric heat pump or ductless mini-split, turn to the Clean Energy Connection to simplify the process.
Find an expert heat pump contractor near you.