Currently have a 80% gas furnace + A/C (not sure of the efficicency of
the A/C) - both units 7-8 years old.

2000 sq ft house in Indiana, decent insulation. Gas prices are going
up, electric rates are fairly low here.

Straightforward swapout of current setup for new heat pump, air
handler, backup electric coils. Assume 14 SEER.

Done by a reputable licensed local company (many to choose from), not
a fly by night.

Is this a $3000 thing, $4000, $5000 ? Just trying to get a bead on it
so I can plan ahead. May not even be worth it. Thank you.

wrote in message
...
Currently have a 80% gas furnace + A/C (not sure of the efficicency of
the A/C) - both units 7-8 years old.

2000 sq ft house in Indiana, decent insulation. Gas prices are going
up, electric rates are fairly low here.

You might first look into keeping more or less what you have and making the
best of it.

You can set the thermostant on the low side of being barely confortable and
"balance" your system to get places like the bathroom a little more heat and
then shutting off registers here and there.

Likewise, a small electric heater to "keep the feet warm" as compared to
cranking up the heat to the entire house might make sense.

I take it your have NG on the premises. You might look into a VENTLESS
heater for the family room. These approach 100% "efficienty" but they may
be illegal or you may have health problems that make it not such a hot idea.

Straightforward swapout of current setup for new heat pump, air
handler, backup electric coils. Assume 14 SEER.

Done by a reputable licensed local company (many to choose from), not
a fly by night.

Is this a $3000 thing, $4000, $5000 ? Just trying to get a bead on it
so I can plan ahead. May not even be worth it. Thank you.

Hey, I'll WAG it and say "about" $5k. I understand it gets COLD up there
in the plains so you might look into a ground source heat pump. That might
cost $10k or more installed.

If you have friendly relations with your present HVAC guy he might give you
an "off the wall" quote.


** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

On Jun 12, 8:36*am, "John Gilmer" wrote:
wrote in message

...

Currently have a 80% gas furnace + A/C (not sure of the efficicency of
the A/C) - both units 7-8 years old.

2000 sq ft house in Indiana, decent insulation. *Gas prices are going
up, electric rates are fairly low here.

You might first look into keeping more or less what you have and making the
best of it.

You can set the thermostant on the low side of being barely confortable and
"balance" your system to get places like the bathroom a little more heat and
then shutting off registers here and there.

Likewise, a small electric heater to "keep the feet warm" as compared to
cranking up the heat to the entire house might make sense.

I take it your have NG on the premises. * You might look into a VENTLESS
heater for the family room. * These approach 100% "efficienty" but they may
be illegal or you may have health problems that make it not such a hot idea.



Straightforward swapout of current setup for new heat pump, air
handler, backup electric coils. *Assume 14 SEER.

Done by a reputable licensed local company (many to choose from), not
a fly by night.

Is this a $3000 thing, $4000, $5000 ? *Just trying to get a bead on it
so I can plan ahead. *May not even be worth it. *Thank you.

Hey, I'll WAG it and say "about" $5k. * *I understand it gets COLD up there
in the plains so you might look into a ground source heat pump. * That might
cost $10k or more installed.

If you have friendly relations with your present HVAC guy he might give you
an "off the wall" quote.

** Posted fromhttp://www.teranews.com**

keep the gas furnace for the backup..

replace the A/C with heat pump

don't use electric coils for backup...use the gas furnace you already
have for backup.

Mark

On Wed, 11 Jun 2008 20:50:27 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

Currently have a 80% gas furnace + A/C (not sure of the efficicency of
the A/C) - both units 7-8 years old.

2000 sq ft house in Indiana, decent insulation. Gas prices are going
up, electric rates are fairly low here.

Straightforward swapout of current setup for new heat pump, air
handler, backup electric coils. Assume 14 SEER.

Done by a reputable licensed local company (many to choose from), not
a fly by night.


Another idea. Replace the ac with a heatpump and use the gas as
backup heat. It might be cheaper to set up and may even be cheaper to
operate.

On Thu, 12 Jun 2008 06:46:21 -0700 (PDT), Mark
wrote Re Typical heat pump cost ?:

keep the gas furnace for the backup..

replace the A/C with heat pump

don't use electric coils for backup...use the gas furnace you already
have for backup.

Mark

That's the best advice yet.

On Wed, 11 Jun 2008 20:50:27 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

Currently have a 80% gas furnace + A/C (not sure of the efficicency of
the A/C) - both units 7-8 years old.

2000 sq ft house in Indiana, decent insulation. Gas prices are going
up, electric rates are fairly low here.

Straightforward swapout of current setup for new heat pump, air
handler, backup electric coils. Assume 14 SEER.

Done by a reputable licensed local company (many to choose from), not
a fly by night.

Is this a $3000 thing, $4000, $5000 ? Just trying to get a bead on it
so I can plan ahead. May not even be worth it. Thank you.

Ideally, if you have a relatively open concept home or can run your
circulator fan at a continous low setting, you might also consider a
ductless heat pump such as a Fujitsu 12RLQ (21 SEER and 10.55 HSPF).

The key advantages a

1) lower initial cost;
2) lower operating cost;
3) ability to spot heat and cool the immediate area where
the unit is located; and,
4) a backup heating and cooling system in the event
your primary system goes down.

My older 14,000 BTU/hr Friedrich (7.2 HSPF) satisfies roughly 80 per
cent of my total space heating requirements and has reduced my home
heating costs by about 75 per cent. An ultra high efficiency model
such as the aforementioned Fujitsu could theoretically supply nearly
100 per cent of my needs (works down to -15C) and use one-third less
electricity.

Cheers,
Paul

Get estimates. And go for the 16 seer. My outdoor unit alone runs $2300.
Then there's the labor and the inside eq. I'd bet you're looking at around
5k if you buy some decent equipment. And don't forget you may need an
electrical upgrade if you're going all electric. you could also consider
the heat pump and retain the gas furnace if the electrical upgrade is out of
the question.

s


wrote in message
...
Currently have a 80% gas furnace + A/C (not sure of the efficicency of
the A/C) - both units 7-8 years old.

2000 sq ft house in Indiana, decent insulation. Gas prices are going
up, electric rates are fairly low here.

Straightforward swapout of current setup for new heat pump, air
handler, backup electric coils. Assume 14 SEER.

Done by a reputable licensed local company (many to choose from), not
a fly by night.

Is this a $3000 thing, $4000, $5000 ? Just trying to get a bead on it
so I can plan ahead. May not even be worth it. Thank you.