Michael T Wing CPA wrote:

Joseph Meehan wrote:

A heat pump is probably out of the question due to cost.

In the long run it may be the cheapest solution,
especially in your area. You also gain a very effiecent air
conditioner.

You are probably correct. The local electric company claims that
a heat pump can cut the cost of straight electric heating by
about half. Not bad, but since this savings is only in the winter
months (summer might actually REVERSE the trend if you start
relying heavily on air conditioning), the payback period is
rather long. By the same token, major insulation projects, such
as those I mentioned, might have equally lengthy paybacks.

Thanks for the comments,

MTW

Glad you said "local" as the overall efficiency depends on
where you live. The milder the winter, the higher the
efficiency. If you live where it is really cold, the
efficiency will approach 1:1 compared to straight resistance
heating.