Personal Consumer Issues • Heat Pump vs Gas Furnace in Bay Area, CA

I am in Bay Area. I have gas furnace that is near death and must be replaced and have been talking to HVAC people. Best quote I got so far (4 bids) is ~30K for either heat pump or gas furnace! But that includes that I have to replace all ductwork too and house is ~2500SF. So your price looks really low by comparison. I cant help but wonder if HVAC persons located elsewhere in state or country would like to come for a visit to Bay Area and do it cheaper, as I gather much of the cost is for labor

No need for either/or.

Most heat pump installs here (natural gas available) also include a gas furnace in the air handler as backup instead of electric heat strips.

The above option is usually called 'dual-fuel' & I would have it no other way.

I got a dual-fuel quote that is not that much more than straight heat pump. However, I can get at least $2500 back if I go electric only based on available rebates in my area. I assume your preference for dual-fuel is to give you flexibility based on future relative prices of natural gas vs electricity?

A lot of us with dual fuel systems had them installed when available heat pumps (or at least commonly available in US) were less able to handle below freezing temperatures. For some with cheap NG, it won't lead to cost savings to upgrade any components in the system until they die, so there isn't much of an impetus to do it.

I don't have NG lines in my area, so my backup heating is propane. Even with a much more expensive heating fuel, it still doesn't make a lot of sense for me to upgrade my old single stage ASHP early...I use the backup propane furnace very infrequently as it is (which also means it has quite a bit of life left in it), and we have a propane fireplace, so I won't be digging the propane tank out of the yard even if the furnace goes away.

Statistics: Posted by cmr79 — Tue Sep 03, 2024 10:17 pm — Replies 27 — Views 2982

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