Tony wrote:
I have electric hot air heat and I am wondering how much I can expect
save with a heat pump? Eastern TN, almost in the Smokies and the North
Carolina border. Elevation about 1650'. It's around 15 degrees warmer
on the west side of the smokies where I am than compared to the NC side.

I've managed to keep the electric bill below $115 most of the winters
when I turn down the central heat to 55-60 and use a small portable
electric heater in the room I am using. I would like to heat the whole
house to 68F. using a heat pump. I figure the heating portion of the
electric bill is about $75-$90. How much would that be with a heat
pump? If my rough figures are anywhere near accurate, it looks like I
won't break even for 15 to 20 years and that is without heating the
whole house to 68F.
I just built a house on the NC side near
Franklin. I have a high efficiency
(16SEER) 2 stage heat pump/AC unit. Our
last month electric bill ran $73.
That included AC and a little heat at
the end. We ran the AC even thought
is wasn't too warm out, mostly to bring
down the humidity. A heat pump
can give you several times the heat
output for the same amount of electricity
as straight resistance heat .
BTW, this morning it was 45 degrees and
for the 1st time, the 2nd stage
heat pump kicked in during a few cycles.
My backup, when it gets too
cold for the heat pump, is a propane
furnace.