New house question: install a new electric heat pump or update to newer tech propane furnace?

[blurredvision]

Another question for you guys about a house the wife and I are considering purchasing. I asked yesterday about new flooring for the house that would be included in the purchase contract, now I have a question about another part we are going to include on the deal.

The house is currently heated by propane, and cooled by an electic air conditioning unit. The house has an at least 10+ year-old furnace installed, although the current owners installed wall units to cut down on propane usage a few years back.

I'm trying to consider cost savings to ourselves on a monthly basis, and wonder what my best option is. Should we install a new heat pump to control both the air and heat, and not have to worry about the unit for quite some time, or should we install a higher efficiency propane furnace for MUCH better warming during the winter months (this central KY)? The house is about 1200sq.ft, with just my wife and I living there. Current propane estimate was around $1.79/gallon, and with the 300-gallon tank installed behind the house (holds around 250 gallons), it'd be around $454 for a full tank (+$60 tank lease fee if we don't use over 450 gallons or so in a year).

Thanks for any info guys! You were a great eye-opener to the whole carpet thread, I hope to get similar useful info here.

 

[vailr]

Initial expense is high, but less expensive over time:
http://www.waterfurnace.com

 

[MrPickins]

It's probably not the most efficient (hell, it may be. what do i know?), but I voted for a heat pump simply for the fact that electricity doesn't need a tank, or need to be refueled.

 

[Rubycon]

300 gal is a bit small unless you're certain the delivery truck can get there anytime. That latitude is a gray area for heat pumps. Strip heaters get damn expensive to run when you consider what the true balance point is per climatologic norms. I guess it all boils down to your personal level of comfort and logistics.

Gotta admit those condensing furnaces ("pulse") are damn nice pieces of machinery.

 

[blurredvision]

bump

 

[FoBoT]

our ground source heat pump is awesome and cheap on the electric bill

are you looking at an air or ground source heat pump?

 

[blurredvision]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
our ground source heat pump is awesome and cheap on the electric bill

are you looking at an air or ground source heat pump?

Initially air. Our budget is around $3000 installed, and I'm a complete noob at this game. We've got some people telling us stick with the propane, others tell us go with the heat pump. Who knows?

 

[knightc2]

Man this is a tough one. How well is the house insulated? You may want to look at fixing any air leakage around windows, lack of insulation or other problems if there are any as well. Heat pumps can be cheaper to operate, but it depends on the electric rate and the climate you are in. KY gets pretty warm in the summer and cool in the winter so an 'air' heat pump might work well in your situation. I live in michigan where ground loop pumps work better.

I personally have a 90% efficientcy propane furnace and a 500 gallon tank. We spent $1.50 a gallon last year for propane and averaged about $300 a month to heat our 1800+ sq ft house that has has a poorly insulated unfinished 1200 sq ft upstairs. I wanted to go with a geothermal in ground system, but the initial cost was in the 25 grand range. My furnace, A/C and all ductwork was around 10 grand. $3000 grand sounds cheap for an air source setup to me...

Propane will most likely heat faster, but will be less efficient than a heat pump. Do others in your area use either propane or heat pumps? Ask around and see what other people's experiences are in your area.

 

[Rubycon]

Is wood an option? Axes in all different shapes and forms are still cheap! :laugh:

 

[blurredvision]

Originally posted by: knightc2
I wanted to go with a geothermal in ground system, but the initial cost was in the 25 grand range. My furnace, A/C and all ductwork was around 10 grand. $3000 grand sounds cheap for an air source setup to me...

Two estimates that we've gotten so far have been $2900 and $3400 respectively for a heat pump installation, although in our case, the ductwork is already in place. The house has a central A/C unit (it looks quite old), with the heat being propane.

Originally posted by: MS Dawn
Is wood an option? Axes in all different shapes and forms are still cheap! :laugh:

Wood is always an option .

 

[Kelemvor]

Can you convert to natural gas or anything like that and just get a normal high efficieny furnace? Not sure what that would cost or how it differs from a propane furnace but just an option.

Or heck, could even look into solar panels if you really want to save money. Really high to put them in but could have a huge effect down the road... heh.

 

[Vette73]

How about both or heat pump and natural gas. The reason I say is that when gas was cheap people were ONLY putting in N.Gas heating. But with the rise of gas prices so much many are now adding heat pumps and only use gas when it gets so cold outside the heat pump is not efficent anymore.


So I say both. Me and the wife will be doing solar down the road and adding a heat pump to our N.Gas house. That way which ever works the best and is cheaper will be on.