[masraum]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

I've had natural gas heat for as long as I've owned a home. I've always been happy with it. But we just moved into an all-electric home this fall.

HVAC in it is 3 heat pump systems - sort of in between a central heat pump and mini-splits.

This heat pump system sucks. Absolutely sucks. And it's only 5 years old.

I had the company that has been maintaining it come out and give me a tutorial on using it. They call the air handler/heat exchanger the "furnace" and the outdoor units the "AC." One furnace is in the basement and the other two are in the attics.

The furnaces pump out huge volumes of lukewarm air. The moving air causes a wind chill factor, in addition to contributing to static electricity build-up, and being noisy. We were comfortable at 68 degrees in a gas heated house, but have to keep it at 72 here to stay comfortable because of the wind chill. Worst of all, one of the air handler/furnaces is directly above the master bedroom. When it comes on full tilt, it's like trying to sleep under a jet engine. It is so bad we turn that unit off at night and rely on air wafting in through the bedroom door to keep us from freezing.

Did I mention this system sucks? The last two electric bills were $685 and $895. The solar panels are finally on-line, so the bill for January should be lower.

We do have a fireplace insert and keep a fire in it, so there is at least one warm area in the house.

If I had a choice I would heat with natural gas unless I lived someplace where they don't use the heat much. Electric might work for the OP.

Wow, sounds like you have a horrible system. From what I understand there are heat pumps that are able to function in places that are very cold.

"Cold climate heat pump technology offers high efficiency and exceptional performance, even in extreme cold conditions. These systems are designed to efficiently heat homes in temperatures as low as -22° F, maintaining comfort without sacrificing energy savings. Cold climate heat pump technology allows for heat pump installation in all regions and provides warm, energy-efficient heating even when it’s below freezing outside with some Carrier models operating down to -22° F.
'Earlier heat pumps had a poor reputation for efficiency,' said Curtis Herchenbach, owner of Herchenbach Mechanical in Gurnee, IL. 'Today’s cold-climate models can deliver 100% heating capacity down to 0°F.'"

It makes me wonder if you don't have one of the modern super efficient models.