"anne in pa" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi,
We live in southeast PA, near Philadelphia. We have a heat pump for
heat and central air, with an oil furnace backup. We need to replace
the heat pump because it has a Freon leak. It's 25 years old, so it's
probably time.

We've had three sales people out, and they each recommend different
options. Should we:

1. Replace the heat pump and add electric backup, eliminating the oil
furnace? Electricity here is about 14.5 cents/kwh, though supposedly
there's a discount for all-electric houses.

This is the option I would choose. It eliminates the oil tank, and the
chances of a spill.

2. Replace the heat pump and keep the oil backup? The furnace is also
about 25 years old, but it hasn't run that much because it's backup
only. It tested at 82% efficiency last fall. One rep told me new ones
were about 86-90% efficiency. But another rep told us the old furnace
fan can't be used with a new heat pump.

Depends on how many gallons of oil you use each year, and other associated
costs. If you are using enough oil to make the cost of a new more efficient
furnace worthwhile, you need to consider a more efficient heat pump.

3. Make the oil furnace our primary heat and just replace the central
air? I do like the feel of hot air coming out of the vents when it's
cold.

As the price of heating oil goes up you will enjoy the heat the you get from
your wallet. This will turn out to be an expensive choice.


--
George Eberhardt
(732)224-8988